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Department of Mechanical Engineering

Daria Kotys-Schwartz

Instructor
Daria.Kotys@colorado.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2007
  • M.S. Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2001
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 1998

Professional Recognition

  • Gear Dynamics and Gear Noise Research Laboratory and Integral Attachment Program Research Fellowship (The Ohio State University), 1999-2000
  • Teaching Fellowship (The Ohio State University), 2000-2001
  • Women in Engineering Leadership Award (The Ohio State University), 2001
  • National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship, 2002-2005
  • Sullivan-Carlson Innovation in Teaching award, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 2004
  • Residence Hall Teaching Award, University of Colorado, 2004
  • Leads Faculty Appreciation Award, University of Colorado, 2004
  • Graduate Part-Time Instructor Teaching Excellence Award, University of Colorado, 2004-2005
  • Multicultural Engineering Program Faculty Appreciation Award, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 2005
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers Best Lecturer Award, 2005-2007
  • Brown/ Ricketts/Udick Award, American Association of University Women, 2005
  • ERM Faculty Apprentice, American Society of Engineering Education, 2006
  • Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2007
  • Charles Hutchinson Memorial Teaching Award, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 2007

Research Interests

Daria's education and professional background are rooted in manufacturing engineering. After working as an Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, she focused her research efforts on polymer processing. Daria's current research endeavors center on engineering education. Her research aims to add to the body of knowledge in three research areas identified by the Engineering Education Research Colloquies:

Engineering Learning Mechanisms Research: Daria is dedicated to the continued investigation of interactive instructional techniques and the resulting benefits for engineering students.

Engineering Diversity and Inclusiveness Research: Exposure to work in anthropology and sociology has inspired Daria to pursue a study of how women develop abstract knowledge. Currently, she is part of the National Science Foundation Female Recruit's Exploring Engineering (FREE) project. This three year study is investigating why academically able high school women choose to pursue a career in engineering.

Engineering Learning Systems: The current ABET, Inc. accreditation criteria for undergraduate engineering education identifies an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility as one of the 11 engineering program outcomes. This research is investigating how the attitudes and beliefs about engineering ‘professionalism’ align between three groups: industry, faculty and students.

Selected Publications

  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A. and Carlson, L.E. “Evaluation of the Impact of Interactivity on Student Performance and Attitudes in Engineering.” Proceedings, First International Conference on Research in Engineering Education, Honolulu, HI.
  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A., Carlson, L.E. and Reamon, D. “Systematic Integration of Concept Inventories in Mechanical Engineering.” Proceedings, 2006 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, IL. Session 3430.
  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A. and Carlson, L.E. “Manufacturing Processes and Systems: Evaluation of the Impact of Interactivity on Student Performance.” Proceedings, 2006 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, IL. Session 3166.
  • Zarske, M.S., Kotys-Schwartz, D.A., Sullivan, J.F. and Yowell, J.L. “Creative Engineering: Helping Ninth-Grade Students Discover Engineering.” Proceedings, 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, OR. Session 2610.
  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A. and Zarske, M.S. “Graduate Student Personal Experiences: Improving Collegiate Teaching through K-12 Outreach.” Proceedings, 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, OR. Session 3455.
  • Kolenbrander, A., Kotys-Schwartz, D.A., Yowell, J.L., Mach, N., Zarske M.S., Carlson, D.W. "Curricular Unit: Air Pollution Activities." TeachEngineering. 2004. NSF - NSDL. 23 Mar. 2005 <www.teachengineering.com>.
  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A., Hill, J., Yakacki, C., Zarske M.S., Yowell, J.L. "Curricular Unit: Mission to Mars." TeachEngineering. 2004. NSF - NSDL. 23 Mar. 2005 <www.teachengineering.com>.
  • Kotys-Schwartz, D.A., Zamora Thompson, X., Friedrichsen, J., Zarske M.S., Carlson, D.W. "Curricular Unit: Put a Spark In It! - Electricity." TeachEngineering. 2004. NSF - NSDL. 23 Mar. 2005 <www.teachengineering.com>.