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Kelly J. Cross, PhD
Kelly J. Cross
Assistant Professor
UAW 4108
(404) 385-5056
Research Interests:

My research has focused on two broad yet related areas: 1) broadening participation and improving the inclusion of students of color within engineering; and 2) improving collaboration and teamwork for students and faculty within projects designed to mimic professional engineering work. I study student and faculty experiences using all three methodologies common in engineering education research (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods) for the purpose of broadening participation of underserved populations in engineering.

Empathy and Excellence are core components of all my work as a researcher and scholar for supporting difficult conversations in engineering. Specifically, highlighting disparate student experiences across various marginalized groups. For example, I have published on challenges unique to women of color in engineering and used an intersectional framework. Empathy is included in my research by emphasizing participant voices that critique the culture rather than blame students. I amplify the voice of marginalized groups in two projects focused on women of color (Grant # 1900530) and studying the LGBTQ+ identified in STEM (Grant # 1748473). Also, empathy is the motive for my work on the NSF CAREER project (Grant # 2145884) where I supplement the lack of official training or professional development opportunities regarding inclusivity and student success for engineering faculty. Finally, I intentionally strive for excellence in my research and scholarship by constantly emphasizing aspects of research quality with collaborators (N=25) and students (N=30). As a result, my paper on African American males (Cross et al., 2020) is an exemplar for qualitative research and the phenomenological methodology in engineering. My paper on undergraduate student stress in the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE), is an exemplar of addressing aggregating or disaggregating underrepresented groups in quantitative research.

Publications:

  

  

     

  

 

 

Latest Articles:

Both the graduate and undergraduate programs in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering were nationally ranked no. 1 in 2023. It was a first-time top ranking for the grad program. Dedicated faculty and innovative curriculum earned the department its lofty spot and will be what keeps it there in the future.

NSF Recognizes Kelly Cross for Her Work in in Engineering Education