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Jinjuan She

My Approach to Teaching and Learning

I transitioned from industry to academia primarily to empower students by teaching, mentoring, and supporting them while sustaining my passion for pursuing intellectual curiosity. I am committed to my research discoveries in engineering design to inspire and empower students to address real-world challenges. The teacher-scholar model at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú encourages me to integrate the latest innovative knowledge, insights, and practices to engineering design education. Beyond modernizing classroom teaching, I believe student research – undergraduate or graduate – provides valuable, accessible, on-campus opportunities to enhance diverse technical and soft skills in a synthesized way. 

I personalize research mentoring in the design field based on students’ interests and abilities in order to encourage their success. I am convinced every student can succeed in the areas they are passionate about: Educators are facilitators to help them identify and fuel the passion. Since joining ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú in Fall 2019, I have advised around 20 diverse graduate and undergraduate students on research projects. More than two-thirds have published peer-reviewed papers, presented their work at conferences, or received research awards. Some also won competitive national or state scholarships. In research mentoring, I suggest projects that match students’ interests and qualifications, keep monitoring their interests, and adapt expectations based on their ability so they can progress appropriately. My collaborations with students help us grow together, which elevates the bi-directional link between teaching and research.

My Teacher-Scholar Journey

The teacher-scholar model enhances faculty excellence in research and teaching as well as student success. My group conducts design research at the intersection of engineering and psychology, aiming to advance theories and methodologies that keep end-users at the center of the design process and enhance engineers’ and designers’ decision-making. We study human-product interaction that impacts design attributes. We investigate ways to support individual and team design processes, such as functional modeling, multi-stakeholder co-design, and team design.

Being a teacher-scholar at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú means translating my passion and expertise for design into enhanced teaching and interaction with students. In class, I build bridges between textbook knowledge and real-world issues with guest lectures from professionals and well-known scholars, integrating vital professional skills (e.g., patent search and review, entrepreneurial mindset, empathy building, technical writing) into projects, and exemplifying how to connect classroom learning to career preparation. Being a teacher-scholar at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú also means enabling students to become partners in scholarly activities – by exposing them to cutting-edge knowledge, and mentoring them to contribute to new knowledge discovery and creation. 

I provide experiential learning through mentored research and scholarship experiences to students interested in engineering design. Typically, a team consists of one graduate or senior and a few undergraduate students, based on their interests and experiences. I meet with each team weekly to ensure progress toward a mutually chosen semester goal. Student teams showcase their achievement in research forums, conferences, and peer-reviewed articles when they make good progress, with the aim of strengthening their credentials and confidence.

Knowledge is Power

“ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University values student-centered, active, experiential learning. The teacher-scholar model shapes a vibrant environment to implant this value in daily activities. It will ultimately benefit both faculty excellence and student success – and in turn, contribute to exploring, investigating, and solving the issues facing local communities, the nation, and the world.”

Education

Ph.D. Iowa State University
M.S. Wuhan University (China)
B.S. Wuhan University (China)

More About Me

I am an engineering design researcher and practitioner, studying design theories and methodologies at the intersection of engineering and psychology. I employ an empathic research approach to address issues in autonomous-vehicle and pedestrian interaction, sustainable design, smart-product design, and healthcare. I apply a similar approach in developing instructional materials and mentoring students.