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Kathleen H. Sienko

Kathleen H. Sienko

Kathleen H. Sienko is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Bioastronautics from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, and holds an S.M. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from MIT and a B.S. in Materials Engineering from the University of Kentucky. She co-founded the U-M Center for Socially Engaged Design and directs both the Global Health Design Initiative (GHDI) and the Sienko Research Group. She is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award and several teaching awards including the ASME Engineering Education Donald N. Zwiep Innovation in Education Award, U-M Teaching Innovation Prize, UM Undergraduate Teaching Award, and UM Distinguished Professor Award. Dr. Sienko has initiated several innovative global experiential learning experiences for students at the Department, College of Engineering, and University levels using an educational framework and activities focused on design ethnography and human-centered, context-centered, and co-creative design processes. The U-M GHDI has provided more than 400 engineering and non-engineering students with opportunities to identify and define global health challenges and develop appropriate solutions (>100 projects) in collaboration with healthcare providers in international and domestic settings. She is currently serving on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Board on Global Health.

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