Shanna Daly is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan. She serves as the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Center for Socially Engaged Engineering & Design (C-SED) and is one of its co-founders.
In her role at C-SED, Shanna leads research efforts that advance the integration of sociotechnical thinking into engineering and design education. Her work contributes directly to C-SED’s mission of fostering engineers who routinely merge technical expertise with societal understanding to develop holistic, sustainable solutions. She supports this mission by designing and conducting evidence-based studies on how students, instructors, and professionals engage with the sociotechnical dimensions of engineering problems. Insights from this research underpin many of C-SED’s learning experiences, tools, and curricular innovations. Her foundational Front-end Design content and pedagogy is the foundation for much of the design skills training offered at C-SED, and she co-initiated the sociotechnical case study project through a collaboratively written grant. Shanna’s research is supported by multiple NSF-funded projects that explore how students and practitioners incorporate sociotechnical considerations in engineering design, and how instructors bring sociotechnical content into their teaching. These projects not only deepen understanding of socially-engaged design processes but also shape the pedagogical strategies, educational materials, and faculty development initiatives offered by C-SED.
She holds a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education Research from Purdue University.
Interested in Dr. Daly’s research? Learn more about the Daly Design and Engineering Education Research Group website.
Dr. Daly can be reached via email at: srdaly@umich.edu