Flow Control Lab

Contact Info: ahoxie@d.umn.edu;

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EDUCATION

 

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Minneapolis, MN

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, January 2007.

Dissertation: “Reacting flow studies in a dump combustor: enhanced volumetric heat release rates and flame anchorability.”

Advisor P.J. Strykowski.

                       

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Minneapolis, MN

B.M.E., Mechanical Engineering, December 2000.                  

           

COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT / SAINT JOHNS UNIVERSITY Collegeville, MN

B.A., Natural Science, May 1999.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH Duluth, MN                   August 2009- Present

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE)

 

Assistant Professor  (Fall 2009—Present)

• Courses taught:

  • ME 3211 Thermodynamics

    • Average teaching evaluations 5.1/6.0

  • ME 3111 Fluid Mechanics

    • Average teaching evaluations 5.1/6.0

  • ME 4122 Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

    • Average teaching evaluations 5.4/6.0

  •   ME 5325 Sustainable Energy Systems

    • Average teaching evaluations 4.5/6.0

  • ME 5355 Gas Turbines

    • Average teaching evaluations 5.1/6.0

• Number of Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) students supervised -6

• Number of Undergraduate Research Assistants supervised – 7

• Number of Graduate Research Assistants supervised – 3

• Departmental/Professional Service

  • Strategic Planning Committee (May 2016 – Present)

  • Mechanical Engineering Program Committee (September 2009 – Present)

  • Equipment Committee (January 2010 – Present)

  • Faculty and instructor search committees (4)

• Swenson College of Science and Engineering (SCSE) Service

  • SCSE Active Learning Committee (April 2016 – Present)

  • SCSE Outreach Committee (January 2014 – May 2014)

  • SCSE Curriculum Policies Committee (January 2012 – May 2014)

  • Society of Women Engineers Co-Faculty Advisor (January 2012-Fall 2014)

• University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Service

  • UMD Sustainable Operations Committee: Co-Chair (September 2015 – Present)

  • UMD Research and Field Studies Center Committee (June 2010 – Present)

  • UMD Energy Sub-Committee (September 2012 – May 2014)

  • UMD Assessment Workshop (August 2015)

• University of Minnesota System Service

  • Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTS) Steering Committee Board Member (September 2014 – Present)

  • Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Board Member (January 2016 – Present)

 

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Salt Lake City, Utah                                                                             Spring 2009

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Adjunct Professor (Spring 2009)

• Taught an Mechanical Engineering technical elective - Intermediate Thermodynamics

 

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Minneapolis, MN                                                       Fall 2001 – Fall 2008

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Post Doctoral Fellow (Spring 2007- Fall 2008)

• Conduct research on atomization and combustion characteristics of biofuels

• Train and supervise master’s students to conduct experiments and analyze data

 

Adjunct Professor (Spring 2007)

• Taught a Mechanical Engineering advanced technical elective – Gas Turbines

 

Research Assistant – Combustion Control Lab (Fall 2001-Spring 2007)

• Conduct research funded by the Office of Naval Research

• Perform combustion experiments in a dump combustor simulating a ramjet engine

• Analyze data and write annual conference papers

• Train and supervise master’s and undergraduate research students

 

HDR ENGINEERING POWER DIVISION Minneapolis, MN                                      Fall 1999 - Fall 2001

 

Mechanical Engineer (January 2001 – August 2001)

• Design upgrades to a waste-to-energy power plant

• Design upgrades to a waste handling facility

 

Mechanical Engineering Intern (Fall 1999 – December 2000)

• Assist design of a wind turbine farm in northern Texas

 

 

GRANTS

 

Funded Research Grants (19) Total: $633K; Dr. Hoxie’s Share: $478K

• Principal Investigator. Hartley Nature Center Solar plus Storage Upgrade. Technical Assistance Grant: Clean Energy Group. April 2016 - September 2016. Total Budget: $5,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Hartley Nature Center Solar plus Storage Upgrade. Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership Board. April 2016 - June 2016. Total Budget: $7,000.

 

• Co-Principal Investigator. Energy Storage Research and Demonstration Grant. University of Minnesota Serendipity Grant. December 2015 - December 2016. Total Budget: $23,000. Dr. Hoxie’s Share: $7,000. Principal Investigator: Ellen Anderson, Director of the Energy Transition Lab at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

           

• Co-Principal Investigator. How to Implement Renewable Energy Technology at the Community Scale. Chancellor’s Small Grant: University of Minnesota Duluth. December 2015 - December 2016. Total Budget: $3,000. Principal Investigator: Mary Christiansen, Ph.D.

 

• Co-Principal Investigator. Learning from the Experts-How to Implement Renewable Energy Technology at the Community Scale. EVCAA Research and Scholarship Grant: University of Minnesota Duluth. December 2015 - December 2016. Total Budget: $3,000. Principal Investigator: Mary Christiansen, Ph.D.

 

• Principal Investigator. UMD Wind Turbine Installation. Funding Source: UMD Facilities Management In-kind services. September 2013 - April 2015. Total Budget: $100,000.

 

• Principal Investigator.  Flow-Blurring Atomization for the Food Industry. Funding Source, University of Minnesota: MNDrive Exploratory Grant. November 2014 - September 2016. Total Budget: $19,945.

 

• Principal Investigator. UMD Wind Turbine & Sustainable Agriculture Program Building. Funding Source: Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership Board. November 2014 - November 2015. Total Budget: $9,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Characterization of Flow-Blurring Atomizers. Funding Source: University of Minnesota Duluth Chancellor’s Small Grant. November 2014 - November 2015. Total Budget: $3,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. UMD Wind Turbine Installation. Funding Source: University of Minnesota Duluth’s Green Revolving Fund. November 2013 - September 2014. Total Budget: $35,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Small Wind Turbine Installation at the UMD Research and Field Studies Center. Funding Source, University of Minnesota Duluth: Strategic Initiative Grants for Larger Scale Sustainability Projects. November 2013. Total Budget: $5,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Combustion Characterization of Blended Biofuels. University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid. November 2013. Total Budget: $30,908.

 

• Principal Investigator. UMD Small Wind Turbine Installation. Funding Source: Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership Board. 2012. Total Budget: $7,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Combustion Facility Electrical Upgrade. University of Minnesota Duluth: SCSE Chancellor’s Small Grant Proposal. December 2012. Total Budget: $2,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Ignition and Burning Characterization of Blended Biofuel Droplets. University of Minnesota Duluth: Small Seed Research Grant. December 2012. Total Budget: $5,000.

 

• Co-Principal Investigator. Improving Experimental Imaging Capabilities from the Micro Scale to the Landscape. University of Minnesota: Infrastructure Investment Initiative. January 2011. Total Budget: $317,132 Dr. Hoxie’s Share: $180,000. Principal Investigator: Karen Gran, Ph.D.

 

• Principal Investigator. Special Faculty Development Grant. UMD’s Swenson College of Science and Engineering. January 2011. Total Budget: $400.

 

• Principal Investigator. Solar Thermal Powered Refrigeration Study.  University of Minnesota Duluth: EVCAA Sustainability Grant. May 2010. Total Budget: $10,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Flash Point Measurement Validation for Biomass-Derived Oil Blends and Emulsions. University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid. May 2010. Total Budget: $31,153.

 

Funded Teaching Grants (4)

• Co-Principal Investigator. Proposal for the Development of a Cohort of Teaching. University of Minnesota: Innovations in Teaching Grant. December 2014 - December 2015. Total Budget: $20,000.

            Contribution: I wrote this proposal, however because it was a college-wide initiative the Dean of        the college acted as the P.I.

 

• Principal Investigator. Blending Fluid Mechanics: A Move to Active Learning in Engineering. UMD Strategic Initiative Grant. November 2013 - November 2014. Total Budget: $3,000.

 

• Principal Investigator. Flipped Fluid Mechanics Class. UMD Innovations in Teaching Grant. November 2013 - November 2014. Total Budget: $1,500.

 

• Principal Investigator. Small Stirling Engine Demonstrations. UMD’s Chancellor’s Small Grant. September 2009 - December 2009. Total Budget: $750.

 

Grants Under Review

• Principal Investigator. Renewable Community-Scale Microgrids for a Carbon-Neutral Future. University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment Discovery Grant Pre-Proposal.  Submitted: August 15th, 2016. Total Budget: $749,809.

 

• Co-Principle Investigator. Primary Atomization of Viscous Liquids Using Absolutely Unstable Flow Fields. National Science Foundation. Submitted: October 7th, 2016. Total Budget: $289,500. Principle Investigator: Dr. Vinod Srinivasen, University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

 

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PUBLICATIONS

 

Refereed Journal Articles

• Hoxie, A., and Anderson, M., Evaluating High Volume Blends of Vegetable Oil in Micro Gas Turbine Engines, Renewable Energy, Vol. 101, pp. 886-893. 2017  doi:10.1016/j.renene.2016.09.054

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• Coughlin, B., and  Hoxie, A., Combustion characteristics of ternary fuel Blends: Pentanol, butanol and vegetable oil. Fuel. Vol. 196, pp. 488-496. 2017.

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• Greminger, M. and Hoxie, A., Median Ellipse Parameterization for Robust Measurement of Fuel Droplet Size. Measurement Science and Technology. December 15th, 2015. 

 

• Hoxie, A., Shoo, R., and Braden, J., Microexplosive Combustion Behavior of Blended Soybean Oil and Butanol Droplets, Fuel, Vol. 120, March 2014, pp. 22-29.  doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2013.11.036

 

• Shoo, R., and Hoxie, A., Basic Properties of Refined, Bleached and Deodorized Soybean Oil-Butanol Blends, Fuel, Vol. 102, Dec. 2012, pp. 701-708. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2012.06.073

 

• Behrens, A.A.*, Lutz, J.M., and Strykowski, P.J., Instantaneous Flame Anchor Measurements Behind a Rearward-Facing Step, AIAA Journal, Vol. 47, No. 6, 2009, pp. 1350-1357.

 

• Behrens, A.A.,* and Strykowski, P.J., Controlling Volumetric Heat Release Rates in a Dump Combustor Using Countercurrent Shear, AIAA Journal, Vol. 45, No. 6, 2007, pp. 1317-1323..​

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*Note: A.A. Behrens changed her name to A.B. Hoxie on 9/23/06.

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Refereed Conference Papers and Book Chapters 

• Hoxie, A., Christiansen, M., Project-Based Sustainability Courses Provide Practical Educational Experience for Students While Advancing Sustainability Within the Local Community, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA. June 27-29th, 2016.

• Bibelnicks, T., Gorman, K., Hoxie, A., Hill, E., Hamilton, J., Saftner, D., Schokker, A., Willemsen, P., Catalyzing Active Learning: Implementing Active Learning Across an Engineering and Science College, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA. June 27-29th, 2016.

• Hoxie, A., Shepard, T., and Feyen, R., The Flipped Classroom: A Means to Reduce Cheating?, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. Seattle, WA. June 15-18th, 2015.

• Schoo, R., and Hoxie, A., Combustion of Butanol-Soybean Oil Blended Droplets, 8th ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability. Boston, MA. June 31st - July 3rd, 2014.

• Shepard, T., Hoxie, A., and Anderson, M., I Did Not Anticipate This: Experiences from the Early Years, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. ASEE New Engineering Educators Best Paper Award. Indianapolis, IN. June 15-18th, 2014.

• Hoxie, A., Integrating Energy Modeling Software into Sustainable Energy Systems Curriculum. ASEE North Midwest Conference. Duluth, MN. October 2011.

• Shepard, T., and Hoxie, A., Converting Heat to Work: A Thermodynamics Design Project. 118th ASEE 2011 Annual Conference and Exposition. Montreal, Canada. June 2011.

• Forliti, D.J., Behrens, A.A.*, Strykowski, P.J., and Tang, B.A., Enhancing Combustion in a Dump Combustor Using Countercurrent Shear. Part I: Nonreacting Flow Control and Preliminary Combustion Results, Proceedings ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Paper IMECE2005-81267, Orlando, FL. November 5-11, 2005.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Anderson, M.J., Strykowski, P.J., and Forliti, D.J., Enhancing Combustion in a Dump Combustor using Countercurrent Shear. Part II: Heat Release Rate Measurements and Geometry Effects, Proceedings ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Paper IMECE2005-81274, Orlando, FL. November 5-11, 2005.

• Forliti, D.J., Behrens, A.A.*, and Strykowski, P.J., Combustion Control in a Dump Combustor Using Countercurrent Shear, Proceedings International Colloquium on Combustion and Noise Control, Ed. G. Roy, Cranfield, England. August 12-15, 2003, pp. 140-146.

• Forliti, D.J., Behrens, A.A.*, Tang, B.A., and Strykowski, P.J., Prevaporized JP-10 Combustion and the Enhanced Production of Turbulence using Countercurrent Shear, Combustion Processes in Propulsion, Chapter 8, Elsevier Press, 2006, pp. 75-86.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Hallberg, M.P., Forliti, D.J., and Strykowski, P.J., Combustion Control of Premixed/Prevaporized JP-10 in Air Downstream of a Backward-Facing Step Using Steady Counterflow, Advances in Combustion and Noise Control, Chapter 7, Cranfield University Press, 2005, pp. 99-114.

 

Office of Naval Research Proceedings

• Lutz, J.M., Hoxie, A.B., and Strykowski, P.J., Performance of Suction-Based Counterflow in Reacting Step Geometries, Proceedings of 20th Propulsion Conference, Alexandria, VA. December 12-14, 2007.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Lutz, J.M., and Strykowski, P.J., Instantaneous Flame Anchor Measurements Behind Bluff Bodies, Proceedings 19th Propulsion Conference, Costa Mesa, CA. December 18-20, 2006.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Anderson, M.J., and Strykowski, P.J., PIV Measurements in a Premixed JP10/Air Dump Combustor: Role of Counterflow on Turbulence and Heat Release, Proceedings 18th Propulsion Conference, Monterey, CA. August 24-26, 2005, pp. 143-148.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Anderson, M.J., Forliti, D.J., and Strykowski, P.J., The Role of Enhanced Recirculation in Controlling Turbulent Combustion and Flame Anchoring in a Step Combustor, Proceedings of 17th Propulsion Conference, Cambridge, MA. June 16-18, 2004, pp. 27-32.

• Behrens, A.A.*, Hallberg, M.P., Forliti, D.J., and Strykowski, P.J., Control of a Backward-Facing Step Combustor Employing Suction at the Dump Plane, Proceedings of 16th Propulsion Conference, Los Angeles, CA. June 9-11, 2003, pp. 208-213.

• Forliti, D.J., Behrens, A.A.*, Tang, B.A., and Strykowski, P.J., Prevaporized JP-10 Combustion and the Enhanced Production of Turbulence Using Countercurrent Shear, Proceedings of 15th Propulsion Conference, Washington, DC. August 5-7, 2002, pp. 35-40.

 

Invited Presentations 

• Pence, B. and Hoxie, A., Resilient Power Retrofit: How a Minnesota Nature Center Became a Solar + Storage Community Shelter. Clean Energy Group Webinar Duluth, MN. October 2016.

Invited talk by the Clean Energy Group. This talk was presented as a webinar to a national audience. The talk presented the implementation of a solar plus storage retrofit project that I co-lead with Bret Pence of Ecolibrium3, which is a local nonprofit that works on social justice and energy in the Duluth community.

 

• Pence, B. and Hoxie, A., Hartley Nature Center Solar Plus Storage. Department of Energy (DOE) Webinar: Solar Pathways Affinity Group. Duluth, MN. September 2016.

Invited talk to the Department of Energy’s Solar Pathways Affinity group. This talk was presented as a webinar to a national audience. The talk presented the implementation of a solar plus storage retrofit project that I co-lead with Bret Pence of Ecolibrium3.

 

• Hoxie, A., From Fundamental Biofuel Research to Applied Community Energy Projects, Research Slam- UMD Sustainable Energy Workshop. Duluth, MN. May 2016.

Dr. Hoxie was invited to talk about her research at a sustainable energy workshop held at UMD that was created to bring researchers together with city and utility officials as well as community members working on energy projects to talk about the state of energy in Duluth.

 

• Hoxie, A., Advances in Renewable Energy Technologies, Research Slam- SCSE Birds of a Feather on Climate Change. Duluth, MN. April 2016.

Dr. Hoxie was invited to present her research at a university interdisciplinary research collaboration meeting on climate change. The purpose was to develop interdisciplinary research questions to pursue on climate change.

 

• Hoxie, A. Broadening Participation in STEM by Engaging Students Through Project-Based Learning, Minnesota Science Teachers Association Annual Conference. February 26th, 2016.

            Invited Speaker for the Physics Strand with Honorarium of $200.

 

• Hoxie, A. and Christiansen, M., Lighting the way to Solar Power, President Kaler’s visit to UMD. Duluth, MN. October 2015.

Invited Talk to President Kaler during his visit to UMD. This talk was delivered at a brunch for President Kaler and a number of donors to UMD.

 

• Hoxie, A. and Christiansen, M., Lincoln Park Shines!, Department of Energy (DOE) Webinar: Solar Pathways Affinity Group. Duluth, MN. October 2015.

Invited talk to the Department of Energy’s Solar Pathways Affinity group. This talk was presented as a webinar to over 100 participants from across the country. The talk presented the implementation of project based learning into two advanced electives in Mechanical and Civil Engineering. Students were partnered with local businesses to complete feasibility studies of solar photovoltaic installations at the businesses.

 

• Hoxie, A., Small Wind Turbine at UMD, Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership Quarterly Board Members Meeting. Cloquet, MN. March 2015.

Invited Talk to the board members of the Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership about the installation of a small wind turbine at the Sustainable Agriculture Project site at UMD’s Research and Field Studies Center. I led the project and installation of the wind turbine.

 

• Hoxie, A., Food or Fuel? Growing our Future Transportation Fuels, University of Minnesota: Minne-College. Scottsdale, AZ. February 2015.

Invited talk at the University of Minnesota Minne-College. Minne-College is a day-long conference for alumni and donors to UMN. Each year 6-8 professors in the U of M system are selected on a competitive basis to present a talk on their research. The trip is fully funded by the presenter’s college.

 

• Hoxie, A., Transforming the Energy Landscape from the Fundamental to the Applied, SCSE Faculty Research Colloquium. Duluth, MN. February 2015.

Invited Talk to the faculty of the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at UMD. Once a month the faculty gather to listen to a research talk from a professor chosen by the Dean. Upon creation of the colloquium, Dr. Hoxie was the second professor invited to present.

 

Posters and Other Presentations

• Hoxie, A. and Christiansen, M., Project-Based Sustainability Courses Provide Practical Educational Experience for Students While Advancing Sustainability Within the Local Community, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA. June 2016.

• Bibelnicks, T., Gorman, K., Hoxie, A., Hill, E., Hamilton, J., Saftner, D., Schokker, A., and Willemsen, P., Catalyzing Active Learning: Implementing Active Learning Across an Engineering and Science College, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA. June 2016.

• Hoxie, A. and Christiansen, M., Lincoln Park Shines!, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Annual Conference and Exposition. Minneapolis, MN. October 2015.

• Hanson, R., Hoxie, A., Interdisciplinary Land Lab at UMD,  Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Annual Conference and Exposition. Minneapolis, MN. October 2015.

• Hoxie, A., The Flipped Classroom: A Means to Reduce Cheating?, 122nd American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition. Seattle, WA. June, 2015.

• Hoxie, A., Integrating Energy Modeling Software into Sustainable Energy Systems Curriculum, American Society of Engineering Education North Midwest Conference. Duluth, MN. October 2011.

 

 

PATENTS

 

• Worldwide Patent Application: Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): Counterflow Nozzle, July 2016

Contribution: Dr. Hoxie began investigating nozzle designs in 2013 for the purpose of improving the combustion of biofuels, such as raw soybean oil. During a brainstorming session on nozzle designs, Dr. Hoxie, Dr. Strykowski and Dr. Srinivasan developed a new design to improve upon the efficient atomization seen in the Flow-blurring nozzle. Since this time the University of Minnesota’s Office of Technology Commercialization has applied for a provisional patent in 2015 and a full U.S. patent application and worldwide patent application in 2016. Dr. Hoxie has been leading the experimental investigation into the nozzle and Dr. Srinivasan has been pursuing the computational investigation. Dr. Strykowski has been acting as an advisor in the processes.

 

OTHER KEY ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Solar plus Storage Project at Hartley Nature Center

Dr. Hoxie co-led a solar plus battery storage demonstration project at Hartley Nature Center with a local nonprofit, Ecolibrium3. This project brought together collaborators from local nonprofits and the MN Power, the local utility. The battery demonstration project is the first in Northeast Minnesota. The goal is to bring the small nonprofit’s peak electrical demand down into a range where they no longer have to pay demand charges, thus saving them significant amounts on their electric bills. The building will also be used for critical electrical backup during grid outages or a natural disaster. Media coverage of the commissioning ceremony can be viewed at: http://www.wdio.com/news/energy-storage-system-hartley-nature-center/4247110/

&

http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2016/08/29/SF77977

 

• Small Wind Turbine Research Station

Dr. Hoxie led the development of a small wind turbine research station at the Sustainable Agriculture Project site at UMD’s Research and Field Studies Center. The first wind turbine was installed in April 2015. This 5 kW horizontal axis wind turbine was a beta machine made by Windtech, a small start-up company. The wind turbine employed an innovative zero contact gearing technology. The second turbine, currently installed, is an 8 kW vertical axis wind turbine, also with the zero-contact gearing technology, and a beta machine and is well suited for the volatile winds at the site.  Media coverage of the project can be found at:

University of Minnesota Bridge, Testing the Power of Wind: http//bridge.wp.d.umn.edu/2015/02/testing-the-power-of-wind/

WDIO News: Wind Turbine Coverage:

www.wdio.com/article/12628/?vid=2659612&v=1, April 22nd, 2015

Fox 21 News: Wind Turbine Coverage: www.fox21online.com/news/local-news/umd-celebrates-new-wind-turbine/32520222, April 22nd, 2015

 

• Swenson College of Science and Engineering Active Learning Cohort Program

Dr. Hoxie began the Active Learning Cohort program by writing and submitting a proposal to the University of Minnesota’s Experiments in Learning Innovations call for proposals. Dr. Hoxie brought the idea of the cohort to Dean Josh Hamilton and he acted as PI on the proposal. The proposal was funded and had a successful first year of professors from across the disciplines in the College creating a community of learning and practicing active learning. Currently the cohort program is in its second year and has 38 faculty participating in 6 different cohorts. Dean Josh Hamilton has also attached the opportunity to apply for grant funding related to teaching to those participating in a cohort.

 

• Created and Led the UMD External Proposal Writing Retreat, May 2014, 2015 & 2016

Dr. Hoxie attended a workshop on writing NSF proposals and learned valuable information about how to write specifically for NSF support.  She realized that many of the tenure-track faculty could benefit from the information learned and therefore proposed a retreat, organized similarly to the NSF workshop.  She secured funding for the retreat from SCSE and then planned and implemented a 1 ½ day retreat for the pre-tenure faculty in SCSE to learn about successfully writing an external proposal. Senior faculty who had been successful with NSF/NIH and/or had sat on NSF/NIH review panels attended to provide their advice on writing proposals. They also provided feedback on summary pages the tenure-track faculty had written prior to the retreat.

 

• Swenson College of Science and Engineering Active Learning Workshops

Dr. Hoxie worked with Dr. Kris Gorman from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Educational Innovation to develop 2 Active Learning Workshops for the Swenson College of Science and Engineering. The workshops include: Active Learning 101 and Designing your Course for Active Learning. They have now been offered twice, once in Fall 2015 and once in Spring 2016.

 

• Interdisciplinary Land Lab at UMD

Dr. Hoxie has been a leader in building a new educational learning model that brings together disciplines from across the college to work together in a collaborative setting at an outdoor lab.  The land lab features the Sustainable Agriculture Program and the UMD Small Wind Experimental Station. Dr. Hoxie led the effort to garner funding to install UMD’s first wind turbine, thus providing students with a hands-on learning experience in the area of renewable energy. The wind turbine is studied in detail in the ME 5325 Sustainable Energy Systems course in Mechanical Engineering.

 

 

AWARDS

 

• Swenson College of Science and Engineering Young Teacher Award, 2015

In 2015, Dr. Hoxie was nominated for and received the Swenson College of Science and

Engineering Young Teacher award. The award is given annually in recognition of

contributions to teaching, such as innovation in teaching methods, outstanding classroom teaching, scholarship in teaching and dedication to helping students outside of class.

 

• University of Minnesota Duluth Sustainability Inspiration Award, 2015

In 2015, Dr. Hoxie was co-nominated with Dr. Christiansen and awarded the UMD Sustainability Inspiration Award for outstanding leadership in the area of sustainability at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Faculty and Staff Sustainability Inspiration Awards are presented to UMD faculty and staff members (or team/collaboration) who have demonstrated leadership in establishing, promoting, or advancing sustainability in education and operations on campus. Dr Christiansen, Civil Engineering and Dr. Hoxie, Mechanical/Industrial Engineering were chosen for their collective work bringing students and the community together to change the way we think about energy and sustainability.

 

• ASEE New Engineering Educators Best Paper Award, 2014

In 2014, Dr. Hoxie co-authored a paper with Dr. Shepard and Dr. Anderson entitled, “I Did Not Anticipate This: Experiences from the Early Years.” This paper was submitted to the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition. The paper won the Best Paper Award in the New Engineering Educators Division.

 

• Northeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership: Most Significant Change Project.

There were 26 project leaders and organizers who were identified as potential participants for the Northern Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership (NMSDP) Most Significant Change project. Among the 26 people, 23 were interviewed and their story was collected on how the NMSDP projects made significant changes or impacts on individuals and communities in northeastern Minnesota. Their stories were written, and then went through a selection process. There were two selection committees: regional and statewide. After both committees reviewed the stories, the top 10 that demonstrated the most significant changes were selected for the final story report. The wind turbine project and sustainable agriculture project were chosen to be written up jointly as a Most Significant Change Project.

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

 

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), member.

• American Society of Engineering Education

• The Combustion Institute