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Faculty

Below you will find stories about our faculty, their research, awards and notable appointments, as well as books they've published, new courses they developed, and much more.

View all faculty profiles here.

Article

An exterior image of a horizontal-shaped, glass-windowed campus building under a blue, cloudy sky.

Apps for Accessibility to Empower the Blind and Visually Impaired

For people who are blind or visually impaired, tasks such as navigating through unfamiliar environments can be difficult. Navigation is part of a set of skills collectively called Orientation and Mobility (O&M), and researchers have shown that one’s proficiency with this set of skills is pivotal to allowing people to access social and economic opportunities in their community.

Article

Paul Ruvolo, Associate Professor of Computer Science, in blueish grey shirt, smiles for a photo.

Ruvolo Awarded NSF Grant for Assistive Technology Research and Education

Paul Ruvolo, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Olin College of Engineering, has been awarded a three-year, $343,842 NSF grant to develop an orientation and mobility (O&M) app that provides indoor navigation and exploration technology for blind and visually impaired users.

Article

A professor in black vest and striped shirt, speaks to two students in a classroom.

Keeping the core of courses alive during online learning

A natural question to ask is, What’s changed in Olin’s teaching practices as a result of the COVID-19 crisis? For Olin Assistant Professor of Measurement Science, Alessandra Ferzoco, the more interesting question is what will be the same.

Article

Professor Dave Barrett (in the center) with checkered shirt and glasses, and Professor Daniella Faas (on the left) in black shirt and close-cropped hair, talk with students in a machine lab in 2019.

Keeping hands-on activities during remote learning

It’s fair to say that when the COVID-19 crisis hit, the Olin community wasn’t exactly excited to disband in-person classes and jump into online learning. “But we learned a ton,” says Daniela Faas, assistant professor and practice and director of Lab & Fabrication Operations.

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Olin students in a circle on the oval under a blue sky.

Evolving the curriculum to support remote work

When the pandemic forced Olin’s campus to abruptly close, the Quantitative Engineering Analysis (QEA) course - pivotal course for dozens of first-year students - was one of many that transformed into a virtual class halfway through the semester.

Article

Lohmeyer Awarded NSF Grant to establish Olin Spectrum Innovation Initiative Center (OSIIC)

Whitney Lohmeyer, Assistant Professor of Engineering at Olin College, has been awarded a one-year, $198,000 National Science Foundation planning grant for the Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center).

Article

Sara Hendren, Associate Professor of Fine Arts, Humanities and Design.

Professor Sara Hendren’s new book explores design and disabilities

Sara Hendren, associate professor of design at Olin has a new book forthcoming, "What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World," to be published by Penguin Random House in August 2020, and will explore the intersection of design and disability, and some of the ways that the built environment (human-made) can evolve to welcome multiple kinds of bodies and experiences.

Article

Debbie Chachra, professor of engineering, holds a mic and speaks on campus in 2018.

Chachra Receives Sloan Foundation Grant

Debbie Chachra, Professor of Engineering at Olin College, has received a grant from the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to fund research and writing for her forthcoming book, provisionally titled Public Utility. The book, slated for publication in 2021 by Riverhead Books, will examine the complex relationship between infrastructural systems and society, including issues around equity and climate change.

Article

Innovation and approaching the future in times of uncertainty

We are living in a tremendous time of uncertainty. That is for certain. Being part of Olin, we are all accustomed to studying, learning, and collaborating to prepare ourselves for a brighter future. And so this period of time can be very disorienting and demotivating. Story by Adjunct Professor Lee Zamir.

Article

A man with glasses and dark hair, seated in a classroom with a laptop resting on his lap, talks to the class.

Security in an Interconnected World

How do you incentivize people – consumers and vendors alike – to invest in better security? How do you design a cloud-based platform that will enable people to take back some control over their technology? How do we know if the messages we send today will be private 10 years from now?

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An Olin professor in glasses and black top speaks to a student in a class.

Engineering in an Unpredictable World: The Global Challenges Summit

Will AI and other transformational technologies change humanity for the better? Can the world sustain 10 billion people in 2050?