Yen-Lin Han, PhD
Professor and Department Chair
Biography
Yen-Lin Han is an Associate Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering. She is also appointed as the PACCAR Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and the Thomas J. Bannan Chair of College of Science and Engineering. Dr. Han received her BS degree in Material Science and Engineering from National Tsing-Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, her MS degree in Electrical Engineering and her PhD degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California. She is currently the Co-PI for the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments grant awarded to the Mechanical Engineering department at Seattle University to study how the department culture changes can foster students' engineering identity with the long-term goal of increasing the representation of women and minority in the field of engineering.
Research Interests:
Dr. Han is dedicated to leading undergraduate research. She has mentored many undergraduate students in conducting research and published several journal and conference publications with her undergraduate research students. Her research interests include molecular gas dynamics, micro fluidics, and heat transfer applications in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and medical devices as well as autonomous vehicles and robotics. She holds a patent for a continuous trace gas separator, and has several pending patents in autonomous vehicles, innovative gladhand connector in semi-trucks, and robotic cell phone testing apparatus. Additionally, she has several provisional patents including a dynamic tumor ablation probe and a radiantly driven Knudsen Compressor. Currently, her technical research with her undergraduate research team focuses on soft robots for finger rehabilitations. Dr. Han also conducts research in engineering education from developing innovative pedagogy, facilitating organization changes, to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in high education.
Courses Taught
Dr. Yen-Lin Han is passionate about Engineering Education. She is experienced in developing inverted classroom lectures and facilitating students’ learning through authentic engineering problems. She has also developed an integrated Electrical Engineering and Data Acquisition course series that utilize hand-on laboratory experiments to enhance Mechanical Engineering students’ learning experience. She has taught various undergraduate and graduate courses in the past ten years including Dynamic System, Heat Transfer, Advanced Energy Systems, CFD and DAQ. Additionally, she has coordinated Senior Design Projects and advised numerous senior design projects sponsored by industry partners.
Publications
Peer-reviewed Journal Publications:
- Han, Y.-L., Turns, J., Cook, K., Mason, G., and Shuman, T.R., Students’ Experience of an Integrated Electrical Engineering and Data Acquisition Course in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curriculum. IEEE Transactions on Education, 2022, doi: 10.1109/TE.2022.3178666.
- Han, Y.-L., Cook, K., Mason, G., & Shuman, T.R. (2018). Enhance Engineering Design Education in the Middle Years with Authentic Engineering Problems. ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 140, 122001-1–122001-9. doi: 10.1115/1.4040880.
- Cook, K., Han, Y.-L., Shuman, T.R., & Mason, G. (2017). Effects of Integrating Authentic Engineering Problem Centered Learning on Student Problem. International Journal of Engineering Education, 33(1(A)), 272–282.
Invited Book Chapter:
- Han, Y.-L. (2022). Unveiling my engineering identity. In Margaret Bailey & Laura Shackelford (Eds.), Women in Mechanical Engineering: Energy and the Environment. Springer Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-91546-9.
Peer-reviewed Conference Proceedings (Undergraduate Students’ Names Underlined):
- Han, Y.-L., Cook, and Turns, J. (2022). Will the change last? That’s the question. 2022 Frontier in Education (FIE) Conference, Uppsala, Sweden: IEEE.
- Turns, J., Han, Y.-L., Cook, K., Mason, G., and Shuman, T.R. (2022). Work in progress: Designing a sustainable mechanism for discursively navigating change. 2022 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Minneapolis, MN: ASEE.
- Han, Y.-L., Cook, K., Mason, G., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2022). Cultivating a Culture to Foster Engineering Identity. 2022 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Minneapolis, MN: ASEE.
- Hammel, J., Strebinger, C., Gilbertson, E., Han, Y.-L., Mason, G., Cook, K., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2021). WIP: Building Design Experience and a Greater Sense of Community through an Integrated Design Project. 2021 Frontier in Education (FIE) Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska: IEEE.
- Han, Y.-L., Cook, K., Mason, G., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2021). Engineering with Engineers: Fostering Engineering Identity, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Virtual: Online: ASEE.
- Mejia, K. Han, Y.-L., and Turns, J. (2021). Inclusivity Meter: Tracing How it Worked and What Was Learned, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Virtual: Online: ASEE.
- Han, Y.-L., Hammel, J., Strebinger, C., Gilbertson, E., Mason, G., Cook, K., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2021). Making the “New Reality” More Real: Adjusting a Hands-On Curriculum for Remote Learning, 2021 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Virtual: Online: ASEE.
- Taylor, M., Westra, K., & Han, Y.-L. (2020). Developing a Thermally Actuated Soft Robot for Finger Rehabilitation. 2020 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Virtual, Online: ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2020-23134.
- Han, Y.-L., Mason, G., Cook, K., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2020). WIP: Integrating Electrical Engineering Fundamentals with Instrumentation and Data Acquisition in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curriculum. 2020 Frontier in Education (FIE) Conference, Uppsala, Sweden: IEEE.
- Han, Y.-L., Cook, K., Mason, G., Shuman, T.R., and Turns, J. (2020). Engineering with Engineers: Fostering Engineering Identity through Industry Immersion. 2020 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Montreal, Québec, Canada: ASEE.