Tahira Reid Smith presented on behalf of the Penn State Mechanical Engineering Department at the 2025 Mechanical Engineering Education Summit in Los Angeles. Credit: Provided by Tahira Reid Smith/Penn State.
Mechanical engineering department receives diversity award from international association
Apr 15, 2025
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) recently awarded the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award. A formal award presentation took place on March 29 at the 2025 Mechanical Engineering Education Summit in Los Angeles, where Tahira Reid Smith, the Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Engineering Education and Associate Department Head for Inclusive Research and Education in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, gave a five-minute presentation on departmental diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to conference attendees.
“Penn State was chosen for its bottom-up approach to inclusivity, with faculty actively striving to create inclusive learning environments,” an ASME spokesperson said in an email. “The program fosters inclusiveness through self-awareness, mentoring, innovative labs, an awards series and by integrating diversity, equity and inclusion topics into the curriculum using a storytelling approach.”
The Mechanical Engineering Education Summit is the only conference specifically designed for mechanical engineering educators and leaders from across academia, industry and government, according to ASME. The summit allows ASME members to connect and address key challenges facing mechanical engineering education, facilitating a collaborative exploration of industry trends, innovations and more.
Penn State’s Department of Mechanical Engineering provides a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students with a state-of-the-art engineering curriculum in fields like energy, security, biomedical devices and transportation systems. The department was selected for the diversity award by the ASME Mechanical Engineering Department Heads Executive Committee, a group of mechanical engineering department heads at higher-education institutions who collaborate and determine best practices for university department heads and leaders in academia.
Penn State's Mechanical Engineering Department was awarded a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the ASME for outstanding efforts to create an inclusive learning environment. Credit: Provided by Tahira Reid Smith/Penn State.
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