Our lab meetings are open to all students, staff, and faculty at Michigan! We hope that you’ll join us if you find one of the topics interesting. You are welcome to add the meetings to your Google Calendar by clicking this link.
Upcoming Lab Meetings
All lab meetings will be held from 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm in 2006 FXB and over Zoom. For the Zoom link, please contact Betsy Strehl at [email protected].
Winter 2025
January 22, 2025
Discussant: Aria Olson
She will be exploring the history of space militarization, the limited policy efforts addressing it, and discussing the development of a lesson plan to foster student awareness and reflection on the relationship between aerospace and the military-industrial complex (MIC).
February 19, 2025
Discussant: Oluwakemi Johnson
This meeting will be led by PhD student Oluwakemi Johnson, sharing stories of lesser-known innovators who have shaped aerospace engineering and exploring why their contributions have remained overlooked until now.
March 26, 2025
Discussant: Beyonce Cruz & Cynthia Deneus
Cynthia and Beyonce will be doing individual passion presentations! Cynthia will examine Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, discussing how music serves as a powerful medium for storytelling and connection. Beyoncé will also lead a conversation on the instability of the aerospace curriculum at UM, highlighting the lack of standardized courses in the department and its implications for students.
April 16, 2025
Discussant: Elijah Thompson
Topic TBA
Previous Lab Meetings
Fall 2024
September 10, 2024
Discussant: Em Butane
Em will be sharing preliminary findings from a literature review about engineering student perspectives of non-technical skill building in the discipline
October 8, 2024
Discussants: Beyonce Cruz & Cynthia Deneus
They will be leading passion presentations focusing on space colonization, specifically discussing the possibilities of settling beyond our home planet. We will learn about potential colonization sites like the Moon and Mars, the technological advancements driving these efforts, and challenges humanity must overcome.
November 12, 2024
Discussant: Betsy Strehl
Her presentation will focus on photovoice, a research method that uses photography taken by participants to explore experiences and emotions in research. We will discuss the method itself, applications in engineering education, and do a brief activity with a photo that you will bring to the meeting.
December 10, 2024
Discussant: Oluwakemi Johsnon
Her presentation will center around using artificial intelligence to help engineering faculty with grading open-ended problems in engineering. She plans to share current developments about how Generative AI can provide feedback to students as well as guide instructor’s assessment of student learning.
Fall 2023
September 13, 2023
Topic: Spaceport Development, Colonization, & Displacement
Discussant: Aria Olson
October 11, 2023
Discussant: Boomer Perry
Boomer will be leading his discussion about non-economic barriers for low-income undergraduate students. Research literature tends to focus on financial obstacles for students within higher education, so we’d like to discuss additional social, academic, or emotional influences on the low-SES undergraduate experience.
November 8, 2023
Discussant: Betsy Strehl
We will be discussing how governmental and institutional definitions of identities related to socioeconomic status and who may be left out of these groups in collegiate environments
December 13, 2023
Discussant: Em Buten
We will be discussing our own experiences regarding professional development in engineering and how those perceptions develop during our time in engineering.
Winter 2023
April 21, 2023
Topic: Literature Review on low SES students in engineering
Discussant: Betsy Strehl
April 14, 2023
Topic: Literature review on engineering internships and co-ops
Discussant: Em Buten
March 31, 2023
Topic: Weed-out classes in engineering
Discussant: Boomer Perry
January 20, 2023
Topic: The (Mis)Framing of Social Justice: Why Ideologies of Depoliticization and Meritocracy Hinder Engineers
Discussant: Megan Ennis
Fall 2022
December 7, 2022
Topic: Pre-college engineering education
Discussant: Boomer Perry
November 9, 2022
Topic: Impact in engineering education research
Discussant: Em Buten
October 26, 2022
Topic: Being not-rich at Michigan
Discussant: Betsy Strehl
September 28, 2022
Seminar title: Inclusive engineering education through grassroots and institutional practices
Speaker: Megan Ennis