Unlocking Potential: Design as a Catalyst for Engineering Scholarship

With Carolyn Conner Seepersad

Date of recording: Wednesday, 26th February 2025

In most countries, women still represent less than 20% of the engineering workforce in industry and academia. Organized by the DEI committee, the DS is launching a series of online talks to encourage women to explore opportunities for careers in engineering, fostering diversity, innovation, and equality in the field. Women from academia and industry will describe their experiences and efforts to encourage more women to pursue an engineering degree and subsequently enter engineering leadership. These talks are motivated to inspire change and provide insight into creating inclusive environments.

These talks are open to everyone, and you're encouraged to invite colleagues and interested students. All sessions will take place online on the first Wednesday of each of the next six months, at the same time. Recordings will be available on the Design Society website. 

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Women in Engineering Talk Series

Episode 3

Episode 3 Speaker: Carolyn Conner Seepersad, Woodruff Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Title: Unlocking Potential: Design as a Catalyst for Engineering Scholarship

My academic journey, like that of many colleagues within the Design Society, commenced with a strong foundation in design. My graduate studies were dedicated to the development of innovative frameworks and computational methods for engineering design. These foundational design principles have proven invaluable in my subsequent contributions to diverse fields. They not only inform design frameworks that are customized for these fields but also instill a designer's perspective when approaching scholarly inquiries. This presentation will explore concrete examples of how a grounding in design principles can serve as a catalyst for a wide range of scholarly pursuits within engineering.

Carolyn Conner Seepersad Bio

Carolyn Conner Seepersad is the Woodruff Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design. Her research interests include design for additive manufacturing, simulation-based design of materials and structures, and process innovation in additive manufacturing. She is a member of SME's Additive Manufacturing Technical Leadership Committee, an elected member of the Advisory Board for the Design Society, and a former chair of the ASME Design Engineering Division Executive Committee. She is the author of more than 150 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications.