Dr. Karen E. Harwell
Director, Undergraduate Research
Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. Harwell came to Georgia Tech in January 2006 as the head of the newly formed Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Her past experience includes over five years with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) of the National Academies. She began her time at the National Academies as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow during the summer of 2000 when she led ASEB’s effort to assess NASA’s Space Solar Power Investment Strategy. Upon completion of this fellowship, she accepted a permanent position with the ASEB as a Program Officer. After 2 years, Dr. Harwell was promoted to Senior Program Officer and then ultimately to the Associate Director of the ASEB. During this time, Dr. Harwell worked with the National Academy of Engineering’s Aeronautics R&T Roundtable, developed and directed the beginnings of the Aeronautics Decadal Survey, led the Review of NASA’s Pioneering Revolutionary Technology Program, and led the planning for a series of space technology workshops, among others.
Dr. Harwell received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University and her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. While at Alabama, she was actively involved in undergraduate research in the Computer Based Honors Program, a program she feels was instrumental in her early understanding of the research process. She also worked two summers as an undergraduate researcher for the Center for Space Transportation and Applied Research (CSTAR) in Tullahoma, TN. Dr. Harwell was President of her student chapter of Tau Beta Pi and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. While at NCSU, she was honored as a Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellow, a Tau Beta Pi Stark Fellow, and a NASA Graduate Student Researcher’s Program Fellow.
Dr. Harwell’s professional interests include working with students, undergraduate research, public policy in science and technology, and aerospace engineering, among others. She reports being excited about the new position at Georgia Tech and is eager to lead the institute’s emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities