Elizabethtown College’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) was well-represented at the 2025 Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) National Conference from Jan. 23 to 25 in Austin, Texas.
Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Engineering Sara Atwood co-emceed the conference, traveling to Austin with five other Etown faculty: Associate Professor of Engineering Jean Batista Abreu, Associate Professor of Engineering Shannon Clancy, Professor of Engineering Kurt DeGoede, Assistant Teaching Professor in Physics Judson Wagner, and Associate Professor of Computer Science Peilong Li. The group was the largest delegation Etown has ever sent to the conference.
Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science and Professor of Engineering Sara Atwood with her co-emcee Dr. Reva Johnson, Valparaiso University Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering.
“Serving as the emcee for the KEEN National Conference was definitely one of the highlights of my professional career,” Atwood said. “It was something outside of my comfort zone, but I try to pick one of those opportunities each year and push myself to grow, and I was honored that the Kern Family Foundation staff thought of me for the role.”
In her role, Atwood and co-emcee Dr. Reva Johnson, Valparaiso University Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, were tasked with shaping remarks to introduce and frame the conference theme, “Amplifying Impact.” Atwood also spent time with keynote speakers, including AI expert Todd McLees, former professional gamer and engineer in the technology sector Marcus Kennedy, and CEO and founder of the bionics company PSYONIC Aadeel Akhtar.
Atwood and DeGoede helped to lead the workshop, “Tools for Normalizing Learning From Failure (LFF),” which was co-presented with Ohio Northern University Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Joshua Gargac and University of Detroit Mercy Professor of Mechanical Engineering Shuvra Das. Their workshop explored how to develop a positive failure mindset alongside a mastery-based learning approach, used in many of Etown’s Engineering courses. The pair presented a similar workshop at last year’s conference.
Attendees also had the chance to attend workshops on several topics, such as transforming industrial advisory boards to a partnership board. The trip was entirely funded by KEEN.
Etown’s School of ECS faculty is highly engaged with KEEN through Etown’s status as a KEEN institutional partner, and actively participates in KEEN faculty development activities.
