1. Home
  2. News
  3. Five Women Leading the Future of Notre Dame Engineering
Women's History Month

Five Women Leading the Future of Notre Dame Engineering

A collage of five women's headshots with the words "Women's History Month" along the bottom.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the College of Engineering is proud to spotlight five faculty members who hold named chairs—positions that represent the highest level of academic and research achievement. As leaders and engineers, these women are helping to chart the course forward in such fields as bioengineering, sustainable energy, and global resilience, while also representing the broader community of women whose work strengthens Notre Dame Engineering. Together, their work reflects the breadth of research and leadership shaping the future of the College.

“The achievements of these faculty members highlight the thriving community of women within our College who are not only designing better systems, but also engineering a more resilient and healthier world for all of us,” said Patricia J. Culligan, Matthew H. McCloskey Dean, College of Engineering.

Joule Bergerson

Richard and Ellen Stanley Professor of Energy Systems Engineering

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TRANSITIONS

Joule Bergerson, director of ND Energy and the inaugural Richard and Ellen Stanley Professor of Energy Systems Engineering, addresses global energy and sustainability challenges by integrating engineering, economics, and policy. She analyzes energy systems from production, to consumption, to managing waste to enable better planning, investment, and policy making.

By building open-source models, Bergerson enables decision-makers to evaluate complex trade-offs among energy options. These tools, most notably the Petroleum Refinery Life Cycle Inventory Model, provide needed transparency to weigh the financial and environmental implications of technology choices.

Jane Cleland-Huang

Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science

SAFETY IN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Jane Cleland-Huang, Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, is an expert in small uncrewed aerial, land, or submersible vehicles (drones), particularly their use in search-and-rescue missions, fire surveillance, and medical deliveries. Her team, DroneResponse, is laying the groundwork for human-drone partnerships, where the drones serve as semi-autonomous, self-coordinating and trusted members of a mission team.

 In cyber-physical systems, Huang addresses how safety requirements are maintained as software evolves. Her goal is to ensure that tomorrow’s autonomous systems are safe and dependable as they become more integrated into daily life. 

Jane Cleland-Huang
Sharon Hu

Xiaobo Sharon Hu

Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Professor of Engineering

ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPUTING

Xiaobo Sharon Hu, the Leo E. and Patti Ruth Linbeck Professor of Engineering, designs computers and electronics that are fast, reliable and ultra-energy-efficient. Hu’s Codesign Lab ensures that ‘real-time’ electronics—like medical monitors—react reliably and in a timely fashion. To do this, she creates Electronic Design Automation (EDA) methodologies and tools that automate the design process, helping engineers optimize microchips before production and achieve the desired performance after production with minimal energy consumption.

Hu’s work is fundamental to the next generation of real-time embedded systems—such as biometrics sensors in smartphones—and systems that enhance patient care by translating complex biological data into medical insights.

Tracy Kijewski-Correa

Frank M. Freimann Professor of Structural Engineering and Hazard Resilience

RESILIENT CONSTRUCTION FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE

Tracy Kijewski-Correa, Frank M. Freimann Professor of Structural Engineering and Hazard Resilience, uses advanced sensing and data science to benefit communities most at risk from climate-driven hazards. As the inaugural director of NSF’s Structural Extreme Event Reconnaissance network and director of the Pulte Institute for Global Development, she brings together global engineering communities to collect data in the immediate aftermath of disasters. This allows engineers to learn in real-time why buildings fail and how to design them to withstand future storms.

She leads the development of hurricane risk assessment tools and serves as a co-PI for NICHE, a proposed national facility for testing how coastal communities can withstand extreme wind, surge, and waves.

Tracy Kijewski-Correa
Pinar Zorlutuna

Pinar Zorlutuna

Roth-Gibson Professor of Bioengineering

BIOENGINEERED TISSUE FOR MEDICAL INNOVATIONS

Pinar Zorlutuna, Roth-Gibson Professor of Bioengineering and director of the Bioengineering Graduate Program, uses micro- and nanoscale engineering to study how cells interact with their environments. Her work addresses cancer, heart disease, and aging by developing bio-inspired systems and therapeutic models.

Zorlutuna’s lab uses 3D printed biological tissues to understand and control cell behavior. Most recently, her heart-on-a-chip device allowed researchers to simulate cardiac environments with a higher level of accuracy than rodent models. Using 3D bioprinted tissue models, her lab can test drug therapies to determine their effectiveness before animal or clinical trials.

While these five faculty members represent the vanguard of their respective fields, they are part of a broader community of women across Notre Dame Engineering whose work is helping design the College’s next chapter. The stories below highlight just some of the many accomplishments of women in the College of Engineering over the past year.