Cardenas Receives ASEE Best Paper Award

Mary Cardenas, LaFetra Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, received a Best Paper award from the Division of Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies at the ASEE Annual Conference, held June 15-18.

Cardenas presented the paper “An Implementation of Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELN) Using a Learning Management System Platform in an Undergraduate Experimental Engineering Course” during a special session devoted to the best papers. Cardenas described the transition from paperbound laboratory notebooks to ELNs—more common in industry, still rare in undergraduate education—used in Harvey Mudd’s Experimental Engineering course during the 2011–2012 academic year.

Cardenas has been a member of the Harvey Mudd College Department of Engineering since 1995 and has served as associate dean of faculty for academic affairs. She is the co-author of the Journal of Engineering Education paper, ”Use of ‘Studio’ Methods in the Introductory Engineering Design Curriculum” and is co-developer of the sophomore-level rocket-based experimental engineering lab course at Harvey Mudd. She is currently exploring novel pedagogy for introductory environmental engineering courses and researching marine hydrokinetic turbines.

Cardenas shared ASEE Best Paper honors with Harry Powell (University of Virginia), Thomas Schubert and Ernest Kim (University of San Diego), and Tim Dallas (Texas Tech).