Gender Schemas, Privilege, Micro-messaging, and Engineering Education: Practical Lessons from Theory

Debbie Chachra is an Associate Professor of Materials Science at Olin College, where she has been involved in the development and evolution of the engineering curriculum since she joined the faculty in 2003. Her current research interests are twofold: as well as her research in biological materials (currently focused on bioderived plastics synthesized by bees), she also researches the engineering student experience, including persistence and migration, differences by gender, and the role of self-efficacy in project-based learning. In 2010, she received an NSF CAREER Award in support of her research on engineering education.