Conference Session

Identity, Experiences, and Perceptions (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 2)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Renata A Revelo, The University of Illinois at Chicago; Melissa Espindola, University of Illinois Chicago; Betul Bilgin, University of Illinois Chicago; Houshang Darabi, University of Illinois Chicago

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

Illinois at Chicago (UIC). With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University, Dr. Bilgin has extensive experience in both biotechnology research and engineering education. Since joining UIC, she has developed and taught various undergraduate courses, integrating innovative teaching methods and industry-relevant content to enhance student learning and engagement. Dr. Bilgin’s research focuses on engineering education, particularly in fostering professional identity among engineering students and integrating data science into the chemical engineering curriculum. She has received multiple awards for her contributions to teaching and mentoring, including the ASEE Ray Fahien Award and the UIC COE Harold

Conference Session

Identity, Experiences, and Perceptions (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 2)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lucy Arellano Jr., University of California, Santa Barbara; Margarita Rodriguez, University of California, Santa Barbara

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

the opportunities that students had to access resources and receivetraining in the theories and practices of STEM through their coursework along with opportunitiesto engage in scholarly discussion with their instructors and peers. We also examine the role ofgender and recognition of gender disparities in the development of this STEM pathway andoverall science identity. Methodology This study was conducted at Blue Lake College, a Hispanic-Serving community collegein California, to explore how institutional and individual factors influence STEM studentoutcomes. The “Culturally Contextual STEM Identity” (CCSI) tool was developed specificallyfor this campus and used to measure constructs related

Conference Session

Culture, Agency, and Responsibility through Curriculum (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 5)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nagma Zerin, The Johns Hopkins University; Melo-Jean Yap, The Johns Hopkins University; Hexin Bi, The Johns Hopkins University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

discussions the students could test each other’sunderstanding of the course content, through the group debate the students could developawareness regarding their social and ethical responsibilities as engineers. Through the debates, thestudents learned to consider the pros and cons of controversial topics like gene editing, human-animal chimera, brain organoids, and so on, and got the opportunity to learn how to be respectfulto those with different perspectives. Before beginning the group activities, the students submitteda teamwork contract. The students read online articles and watched a YouTube video on effectiveteamwork before filling out the contract, where they discussed their individual roles in the team,preferred methods of communication

Conference Session

Identity, Experiences, and Perceptions (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 2)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Fatemeh Khalkhal, San Francisco State University; Stephanie Claussen, San Francisco State University; Yiyi Wang, San Francisco State University; Xiaorong Zhang, San Francisco State University; Elysee Matembe Ekanga, San Francisco State University (SFSU)

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

State University (SFSU) Elysee Matembe Ekanga was a senior undergraduate student majoring in Civil Engineering at San Francisco State University at the time of the project. She is dedicated to promoting diversity and equity in the field of engineering. Over the years, she has gained valuable knowledge and experience in construction management through various internships, both in her home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the United States. This coming fall, she will pursue her graduate studies at Stanford University in the Sustainable Design and Construction program. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025Underrepresented-minority students’ portrayal of engineering

Conference Session

Belonging Across Engineering Environments (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 1)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tolulope Iyanuoluwa Abiri, Morgan State University; Ayobami Christianah Dunmoye, Morgan State University; Michael Oluwafemi Ige, Morgan State University; Samuel Sola Akosile, Morgan State University; Olushola V. Emiola-Owolabi, Morgan State University; Pelumi Olaitan Abiodun, Morgan State University; Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E., Morgan State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

Research Assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Morgan State University, Maryland, where he is pursuing his M.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Construction Management and Transportation Engineering. He earned his B.Tech. in Building Structure from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. Michael has extensive professional experience managing large-scale heavy construction and fac¸ade projects, including high-rise and industrial developments across West Africa, having held key roles in the field. His research interests include the integration of digital tools in construction education, resilient building design, and asset management in civil

Conference Session

Understanding Concealable Stigmatized Identities (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 10)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Darby Rose Riley, Rowan University; Heather Malino, Rowan University; Cara Mawson, Rowan University; Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison, Rowan University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

Paper ID #47222Exploring the Engineering Classroom Experiences of Students with Non-ApparentDisabilitiesDarby Rose Riley, Rowan University Darby Riley is a doctoral candidate pursuing her third consecutive degree at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). Her research focuses on identity development in engineering education—specifically, how engineering students construct their sense of self through their academic journey and how personal identities shape this process. As a disabled researcher, she brings both academic and lived experience to her work, with a particular interest in how students with disabilities navigate the

Conference Session

Interrogating Race, Caste, and Power (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 4)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Stephen Secules, Florida International University; Atota Bedane Halkiyo, Florida International University; Maimuna Begum Kali, Florida International University; Nivedita Kumar, Florida International University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

in Architectural Acoustics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a PhD in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from the University of Maryland. Prior to his academic career, Stephen was an acoustical consultant for 5 years. His education research has focused on culture and equity in engineering education, particularly undergraduate contexts, pedagogy, and student support. Through his work he aims to use critical qualitative, video-based, participatory, and ethnographic methods to look at everyday educational settings in engineering and shift them towards equity and inclusion. He also leads the Equity Research Group where he mentors graduate and undergraduate students in pursuing critical and action-oriented

Conference Session

Engineering Education in Colonial and Local Contexts (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 8)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashish Agrawal, Rochester Institute of Technology (CET); Sarah Aileen Brownell, Rochester Institute of Technology (COE)

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

decline to an underemphasis of engineering programs on policyimplications, and ethical and social issues. This finding, however, also points to the possibility ofturning students’ apathy into engagement through curricular changes. For example, Agrawal andHeydenrych [15] note how a community-driven course project helped students more criticallyconsider the impact of engineering developments on the health and welfare of communitymembers. At a larger scale, Cech and Finneli [16] show that engineering students who receivedtraining pertaining to public welfare responsibilities in engineering classes are more likely tohave an expansive understanding of these responsibilities in their workplace. Our work is an attempt to help engineering students

Conference Session

Belonging Across Engineering Environments (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 1)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charlotte Dworak, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach; Victoria Minette Belveal, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Kai Jun Chew, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

process, unlike the passive learner role common in lecture-based modalities inengineering classrooms. del Carmen Salazar [7] implied the need to address power dynamics inthe process of practicing humanizing pedagogy, explaining that co-constructing mutual trustbetween students and teachers through dialogue must be a component in such practice. All in all,to humanize engineering education, our community must further research in understandingstudent-teacher power dynamics in engineering classrooms. As far as we have reviewed theexisting engineering education literature [4], [12], knowledge on this topic should continue to beexpanded and built to develop foundations for pushing efforts to practice humanizing pedagogyin engineering education

Conference Session

Disability in Engineering Programs (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 3)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alec Jon Bauer, Clemson University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

often lack the informal peer interactions in physicalclassrooms, exacerbating feelings of isolation. Dillenbourg et al. [9] highlighted the weight of collaborativetools in virtual education, yet many online platforms cannot incorporate features that support neurodivergentlearners in building peer connections. Many digital platforms cannot assimilate accessibility features, such as text-to-speech functionality,customizable layouts, or simplified navigation. These design limitations exacerbate learning barriers forneurodivergent students and highlight the urgent need for inclusive design principles in educational technology.Nielsen [10] discusses usability engineering principles, which align with findings that neurodivergent

Conference Session

Disability in Engineering Programs (Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division ECSJ Technical Session 3)

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bridget M. Smyser, Northeastern University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY), Equity

wasdiagnosed with ADHD after age 40 and with autism at age 50. I have taught design andlaboratory courses for more than 25 years and have performed engineering education researchfor that entire time. My interest in supporting students with invisible disabilities was initiallysparked by my own sons’ struggles in school with their learning issues. Subsequently, exploringmy neurodiversity led me to connect with other neurodiverse faculty. Hearing that I was not theonly person who struggled in college, graduate school, and beyond made me feel I could start tobe my authentic self. This allowed me to connect with my neurodiverse students, learn fromthem, and challenge myself to optimize my classes for them.Accommodations in Higher EducationThe Americans