Sadan Kulturel‐Konak is a Professor of Management Information Systems and the Director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Center at Penn State Berks. Dr. Kulturel also holds an Affiliate Faculty position at Penn State Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering, Penn State University Park. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Auburn University. Integrating research, teaching, and service has nurtured her passion for her profession.
 
Dr. Kulturel’s research focuses on modeling and optimizing complex systems using hybrid approaches combining heuristic methods and exact techniques from probability and operations research. The primary application areas of her research include designing and redesigning facilities to provide significant economic benefits for the US industries. She has published her disciplinary research in highly regarded journals, including IIE Transactions, Operations Research Letters, INFORMS Journal on Computing, International Journal of Production Research, and European Journal of Operational Research. Dr. Kulturel is also interested in pedagogical research regarding entrepreneurship/STEM fields, such as professional skill development, teamwork in online and offline settings, and innovative thinking skills. Therefore, her research demonstrates the integration of her technical expertise with advances in pedagogy. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications that have garnered over 2,600 citations, the i-10 index of 50 (Google Scholar), and several best paper awards.
 
Dr. Kulturel has designed and taught various courses, ranging from Project Management and Statistics to Engineering Innovation. She also engages her students in research and mission projects in the US and overseas. One example was Dr. Kulturel-Konak led a project group working on an electronic waste project in Kenya. The project formed a collaboration among the students from Penn State and Jomo Kenyatta University and the staff and youth of the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre (CYEC). She combines teamwork, independent work, active learning, and traditional lecturing.
 
Dr. Kulturel has been a principal investigator in several sponsored projects from National Science Foundation (NSF)- Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education and VentureWell- Faculty and Program Grants. Her focus has been on transforming STEM/Innovation education and enhancing diversity. Through these granted projects, she has supported undergraduate research students and supervised them to conduct research, write their research outcomes, and present them at research conferences, which has been an enriching experience.
 
Dr. Kulturel has a strong service record for her university and professional societies. Since 2011, she has been the founding director of the Flemming CEED Center, which aims to foster economic development through technology-based solutions. She is currently an academic member of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE). She also serves as a local chapter representative for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). Previously, she served as the president of the Women in Operations Research and Management Science (WORMS) and chair of the Facility Logistics at the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS). She is an Associate Editor of the Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence (Elsevier).
 
For ASEE, Dr. Kulturel held executive positions at the ASEE Middle Atlantic Section as vice chair, chair-elect, and chair (2015 to 2018). She hosted and chaired the Fall 2017 Middle Atlantic Section Conference, was a conference committee member for the Fall 2022 Middle Atlantic Section Conference and was a reviewer at many ASEE conferences. Her co-authored papers received Best Paper Awards from the ASEE: Entrepreneurship and Engineering Innovation Division Best Paper Award- 2nd place (2021 Annual) and three earlier Best Paper Awards- Middle Atlantic Section Fall 2017, 2018 Zone I, 2018 All Zones. She has stayed connected with the Middle Atlantic Section Executive Board and volunteered with section and ASEE conference committees. In addition to regular presentations, Dr. Kulturel was also to deliver four workshops at various ASEE conferences in design thinking and creative problem-solving.
 
 
 

Bala Maheswaran received his MS and Ph.D. in experimental solid-state physics and MSEE in electrical and computer engineering from Northeastern University, where he has taught for about twenty years and currently is a faculty in the College of Engineering. He has contributed to and authored over a hundred original research and education-related papers and conference proceedings. He has presented papers, organized and presented workshops and panel discussions at several national and international conferences. His goal is to reform engineering education by moving away from the boundaries of traditional, classroom-based approaches toward project-, concept-, team- and skill-based and knowledge-integrated approaches using real-world situations in diverse and inclusive environments. He has taken numerous students to ASEE conferences to improve their educational experiences and has introduced them to the real professional world. His current academic interest includes energy system Innovation and experiential engineering education via innovation. His past research was on high-temperature superconductors, two-dimensional electron gas, and engineering physics education.

An involved member of ASEE since 2001, Maheswaran has contributed in various capacities. The ASEE is an integral part of his professional life for over two decades. He served as chair, program chair, secretary, and webmaster of the Engineering Physics Division, and as member-at-large of the Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation Division. He also served on the Chester F. Carlson Award Committee, PIC III Best Paper Selection Committee, and Division’s delegate for P12 and CDEI commissions, and was the co-chair of the Interdivisional Town Hall (ITH) committee. At the regional level, he has served as the chair, chair-elect, secretary, membership chair, campus rep chair, graduate poster chair, and undergraduate poster chair as well as on the executive and organizing committees of the ASEE-Northeast Section and conferences, and on Zone I executive and organizing committees. In addition, he was involved in several Global Outreach activities, such as Engineering Outreach, Women Leadership, and Pre-University Posters. He is also the co-chair of the TASME (Technological Advances in Science, Medicine, and Engineering) annual conference and is the Director of the Engineering & Architecture Division (EAD), Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER). He has led and helped organize several national and international conferences including TASME 2021 & 22, virtual conferences, the ASEE-NE 2021 & 22 in-person conferences, and ITH 2022; these were well-attended and successful despite the global disruption we faced during the pandemic.
 
A charismatic educator, Maheswaran has received several awards including the Northeastern University First-year Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award twice, Special Recognition Award by the NU student chapters of BESS (Black Engineering Student Society), SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers). He also received the ASEE Northeast Section Outstanding Teaching Award, Best Student Paper Awards, ASEE Division Distinguished Educator and Service Award, nominated for ASEE National Distinguished Teaching Award and ASEE Fellow. Honoring his outstanding contribution, at its 24th & 25th-year award ceremonies, TASME presented awards in his name: “Dr. Bala Maheswaran Junior Faculty Award 2020 for Excellence in Science Education,” “Dr. Bala Maheswaran Physics and Engineering Research Award 2021,” and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. In 2022, he was inducted into the Northeastern University Twenty-Five Year Associate group by the NU president.
 
Maheswaran looks forward to continuing to serve ASEE, its members, and engineering professionals in the role of Zone 1 Chair / ASEE Board of Director to inspire and motivate the younger generation to pursue a career in engineering fields that uplift our world and allow them to play an important role in the ever-evolving technology world.  Taken together, the exceptional classroom performance, contribution to the scholarship of education, and active involvement in both regional and national ASEE meetings and committees, and other international committees (TASME at Toronto, Canada, and ATINER, at Athens, Greece), make him an ideal candidate to contribute to the ASEE by serving as the Zone 1 Chair / ASEE Board of Director.