Carolyn Conner Seepersad

Dr. Carolyn Conner Seepersad came to West Virginia University as a Foundation Scholar and has achieved numerous accolades since graduating with her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. She earned the highly prestigious honor of becoming a Rhodes Scholar and attained a MA/BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. Subsequently, she matriculated to the Georgia Institute of Technology to attain her Master’s and PhD in the field of mechanical engineering. Dr. Seepersad is currently a Professor and General Dynamics Faculty Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering within the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Seepersad’s research involves the development of methods and computational tools for engineering design and additive manufacturing. Her research interests include simulation-based design of complex systems and materials, design for additive manufacturing, innovation, and environmentally conscious design of products and energy systems. Dr. Seepersad has earned many awards for her research and teaching, including the 2009 inaugural International Outstanding Young Researcher Award in Freeform and Additive Manufacturing from the additive manufacturing community, the 2010 University of Texas Regents’ Award for Outstanding Teaching by an Assistant Professor (the highest teaching award for faculty in The University of Texas System), the 2010 Outstanding Young Investigator award from the ASME Design Automation Committee, and the 2013 ASEE Outstanding New Mechanical Engineering Educator award. Dr. Seepersad is the recipient of a Best Paper Award for the 2017 ASME Design Automation Conference, the 2009 ASME Design Theory and Methodology Conference, the 2015 ASME International Conference on Design Education, two best paper awards for the 2010 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, and four papers on the list of top 10 papers for the annual Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium and ASME IDETC Design Automation Conference. She is an associate editor for the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design. She is the author of more than 120 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications and one book. She co-organizes the annual Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, and she is a member of the ASME Design Engineering Division Executive Committee. She has been a member of the executive committee for the ASME IDETC Design Automation Conference (2015 conference chair) and the advisory board for the Design Society (2017-present). She has also been a participant (2010) and session organizer (2011) for the annual NAE Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, a symposium organized by the NAE for a select group of emerging engineering leaders ages 30-45, and an invited speaker for the 2013 German-American FOE on the topic of design for additive manufacturing. She was a keynote speaker for the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED) 2015 on the topic of design for additive manufacturing. She teaches courses on product design, additive manufacturing, and computational methods for engineering design. Her research has been featured by several popular media outlets, including Popular Science, The Conversation, US News and World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, Time Warner Cable News, 3DPrint.com, and the Daily Dot.