Sponsored by

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Focus

• Judith Bamberger Moderator – ASME Structure
• Amrita Basak – Getting involved in ASME
• Aneesha Gogheni – ASME Mentoring Program
• Columbia Mishra – TEC and Division Conferences and Students and Early Career
• Janis Terpenny –ASME Groups - Coordinator of Intelligent Management Technology Group
• Kathryn Jablokow – ASME Board of Governors
• Karen Ohland – ASME President and Foundation

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Judith Ann Bamberger (Moderator) is a Senior Research Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Judith is an ASME Fellow and Professional Engineer. Her research focus is specializing in slurry mixing, transport, and solids separations. Most recently she has investigated and applied mesofluidics to separation of slurries and deformable particles. Characterizing unsteady mixing she developed and applied unique ultrasonic instrumentation for characterizing slurries and mixing in real time in situ especially for characterizing unsteady pulse-jet mixing system performance. At ASME Dr. Bamberger is past chair of the ASME Fluids Engineering Division 2020-2021 and served on the executive committee through 2024. Currently she is vice chair of the FED Graduate Student Scholar Committee, chair of the Ralph Coats Roe Medal Committee, and past chair of the Henry R. Worthington Pump Medal. She's been active mentoring at ASME in VOLT. On the other side of the organization she’s been a member-at-large for Students & Early Career Development Board, Northwest Region Lead (2019-2022), and District D Leader (2012-2015). She actively publishes and presents at IMECE and FEDSM.

 

Amrita Basak (Panelist) is a Shuman Early Career Professor in Mechanical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2017. Amrita holds two master’s degrees – one in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech and the second one in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur. She received her undergraduate education in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Between her academic stints, she spent approximately one year as a Process Engineer at Intel Corporation, Portland, Oregon and six years as a Lead Engineer at General Electric, Bangalore, India. At Penn State, Amrita's research group focuses on understanding the fundamental processing-structure-property relationships in advanced manufacturing of high-performance metallic alloys. Additionally, her group actively collaborates with other research groups within and outside of Penn State to understand such relationships in ceramic, construction, and polymeric materials. The research conducted by Amrita's group has been recognized with several awards, including the DoE NEUP Distinguished Early Career Award (2022), DARPA Young Faculty Award (2022), NSF CAREER Award (2024), ASME IGTI Dilip R. Ballal Early Career Award (2024), and the Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Early Career Faculty Award.

 

Aneesha Gogineni (Panelist) is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Saginaw Valley State University. She received her Ph.D and Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Wichita State University (Kansas, USA). After serving the department for 5 years, she received her tenure, and promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. Aneesha is currently serving as the department chair and is playing a pivotal role in advancing the department's mission and goals. During this time, she taught courses like Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Computational and Experimental Methods using MATLAB, Fluid mechanics, Statics, Engineering Cost Analysis, Heat transfer lab and MATLAB software lab. Mechanical Engineering at SVSU is an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited program where her goal as a professor is to provide the knowledge and skills that enable students to achieve success in the program through complex problem solving and hands on active learning. Her research interests are in the field of Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning, Indoor Air Quality, Heat Exchangers, Bio-Engineering applications and pedagogical studies in active learning. She received Dow Professor award and Braun Fellowship Grant at Saginaw Valley State University to develop hands on active learning approach and Virtual Reality based learning modules in several mechanical engineering courses. She received Ruby Award from first state bank as a recognition for her accomplishments in the STEM field in the great lakes bay region. Aneesha Gogineni is a member of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), ASEE (American Society of Engineering Education) and SWE (Society of Women Engineering). She is also serving as a co-advisor for Society of Women Engineers (SWE). The training and mentorship received through the ASME VOLT program were instrumental in Aneesha's advancement to the role of chair of ASME Process Industry Division. Prior to this position, she served as vice chair and after training she is able to apply the principles and strategies learned during the training to effectively manage and support the division.

 

Columbia Mishra, (Panelist) an ASME Fellow, is a co-founder and chief technology officer of the Global Space Industry Trade Association (GSITA), dedicated to providing underrepresented communities access to workforce development in the space industry. Dr. Columbia Mishra is an experienced engineering leader with over 18 years' track record in systems engineering and program management in diverse technology sectors, including Intel Corporation, Apple Inc, Stress Engineering Services, Makino Asia in Singapore, and Tata Motors in India. Most recently, she was a systems engineering manager and program chief engineer at Maxar Technologies, overseeing the full technical development of four different commercial satellite programs. She has worked on multiple space programs developing next-generation spacecraft for a range of missions, including NASA’s Artemis Mission to the Moon and proliferated low Earth orbit satellites. Dr. Mishra has a deep knowledge of thermal fluids systems, consumer electronics and spacecraft engineering. Her research has been published in journals such as Nature Materials, Journal of Fluid Mechanics. She holds six patents (pending) and three granted for her work in thermal architecture and innovation in electronic systems. Columbia is a distinguished speaker who appears at multiple global forums on the science of spacecraft engineering. Currently, she mentors first-generation high school students and early-career engineers globally. She also serves as the industry advisor to the Carnegie Mellon University Rocket Command club. An active ASME volunteer, Columbia recently joined the board of directors for the ASME Foundation, the philanthropic arm of ASME, and also serves on the Technical and Engineering Communities overseeing 36 technical divisions. Columbia is highly involved with the technical community and served on the CTO Technology Advisory Council of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). Columbia is a recipient of numerous awards including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Emerging Leader Award, ASME Lakshmi Singh Early Career Leadership Award, the Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship, and recently was selected as one of the Top 40 under 40 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Columbia holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, her M.S. from Texas Tech and Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University. The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) inducted her into its Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni for her contributions to mechanical engineering.

 

Janis Terpenny (Panelist) is a program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and lead of the Manufacturing Systems Integration program. She is also a professor of Systems Engineering & Operations Research and Mechanical Engineering at George Mason University. Her research focuses on smart integrated systems, processes for design and manufacturing, and engineering education. Her work has been supported by more than $16M in research funding and published in 200+ peer reviewed journal and conference papers. Previously, Janis served as Dean of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, department head of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State, department chair of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State, director of the NSF Center for e-Design, program director for NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education, and professor at Virginia Tech and the University of Massachusetts. She served as the first technology thrust lead for the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), one of the nation’s first Manufacturing USA institutes. She has industry work experience with General Electric (GE) including a 2-year rotational management program. She is fellow and member of ASME and IISE, and member of AAAS, Alpha Pi Mu, ASEE, INFORMS, SME, and Tau Beta Pi. She is a Governor on ASME’s Board of Governors. Janis served as NSF Advance professor at Virginia Tech and has been an innovator and leader of many initiatives for the professional growth and success of women and other underrepresented groups in engineering.

 

Kathryn W. Jablokow, Ph.D (Panelist, ASME Fellow) is Professor Emerita of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University, where she served as an educator, researcher, and university administrator for 34 years. She currently serves the National Science Foundation (NSF) as Deputy Division Director for the Research, Innovation, Synergies and Education (RISE) Division in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO). Dr. Jablokow is widely recognized for her expertise in cognitive diversity and its impact in engineering education and practice, including manufacturing education, student design experiences, and high-performance design teams. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Jablokow served as an NSF-NATO Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institüt fur Bildsame Formgebung (Institute for Metal Forming) at RWTH Aachen, Germany, where she helped promote the automation of heavy manufacturing processes. As an NSF Senior Executive, Dr. Jablokow leads the RISE Division in fostering transdisciplinary collaborations that engage the broader geosciences community to drive transformative discoveries, innovations in workforce development, and use-inspired solutions for urgent Earth system challenges, including those related to climate change and human health. Dr. Jablokow's ASME service includes more than 30 years' experience as session chair, program/technical committee member, special session/track organizer, workshop organizer, and paper reviewer for numerous ASME conferences and journals. She has also served in key leadership positions within ASME, including Chair of the Technology and Society Division. Dr. Jablokow enjoyed serving as an ASME-ABET evaluator for Mechanical Engineering degree programs for nearly a decade. Most recently, she was elected to the ASME Board of Governors (2023-26), where she serves as the Board Liaison to ASME's new Committee on Sustainability. Dr. Jablokow continues to advocate for female STEM students, educators, and researchers at all levels through a wide range of outreach activities, and she actively mentors students considering careers in research or academia. Dr. Jablokow earned her Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University.

 

Karen Ohland (Panelist) is currently the Senior Associate Director for Finance and Operations at the Princeton Art Museum of Princeton University. Karen is an ASME Fellow and served as ASME's 141st President. Before joining the Museum in 2012, Karen worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for 13 years, most recently as the Senior Administrator for Education and Concerts & Lectures. Prior to working in museum administration, Karen's career was in research and laboratory management, working in industry, academia, and government; most recently as Research Manager for an orthopedic implant manufacturer. Karen received a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College. Karen also holds a Masters degree in Anatomy from the University of Chicago. She is active outside of work, currently serving as Treasurer of her church, as a member of the Board of the ASME Foundation and judging the NYC FIRST Robotics Regional Championships. In her free time, Karen enjoys travelling, flameworking glass and spending time with her family and friends.