Ritter promoted to associate teaching professor

07/18/19

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The College of Engineering recently announced faculty promotions, including the promotion of Sarah Ritter to associate teaching professor, effective July 1, 2019.

 Ritter joined the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP) in 2014 as an assistant professor of engineering design. As a SEDTAPP faculty member, she has taught undergraduate- and graduate-level Engineering Design (DESIGN) courses, biomedical capstone design, and Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship courses.

“Sarah is passionate about teaching and engaging engineering students in the design process. She does this very successfully at the first-year through graduate levels,” Sven Bilén, head of SEDTAPP and professor of engineering design, electrical engineering and aerospace engineering, said. “Her promotion is a recognition of the impact she has had on our DESIGN program.”

In 2018, she was appointed as the course chair for Engineering Design (EDSGN) 100: Introduction to Engineering Design. In this role, Ritter is responsible for coordinating the course and leading curricular updates University-wide. EDSGN 100 is taught annually to more than 3,500 students at 20 campuses, including more than 50 sections at the University Park campus.

“Sarah has provided immense focus, drive and innovation to our design curriculum, particularly the cornerstone engineering design course,” Bilén said. “She builds a strong rapport with her students and it is clear that she cares about them and their formation into engineers.”

Recently, Ritter served as an author or co-author on four papers accepted by the American Society for Engineering Education’s 11th annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference. Paper topics include non-discipline specific making in a first-year engineering course; portable, hands-on additive manufacturing in a first-year engineering course; creation and implementation of project framework to improve a first-year engineering course; and Engineering Design 100 serving as the cornerstone building block for engineering education at Penn State.  

Ritter received her doctoral degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M and her bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Louisiana Tech University.

 

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Sarah Ritter, associate teaching professor

“Sarah has provided immense focus, drive and innovation to our design curriculum, particularly the cornerstone engineering design course. She builds a strong rapport with her students and it is clear that she cares about them and their formation into engineers.”

 
 

About

The School of Engineering Design and Innovation delivers effective engineering education and unrivaled research opportunities through active, collaborative, project-based, and professionally oriented classroom experiences. The school offers a variety of programs that partner faculty, students, and industry in the study of real-life engineering problems. Our programs teach students to solve real-life problems with innovative solutions. 

School of Engineering Design and Innovation

304 Engineering Design and Innovation Building

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802

Phone: 814-865-2952