Associate Professor of Practice, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Ohio State University
Annie Abell is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Annie earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University and her MFA in Design Research & Development from Ohio State University. She teaches capstone design courses for mechanical engineering students, a product design elective course for senior- and graduate-level engineering students of various majors, and an interdisciplinary product development course for undergraduate students participating in Ohio State’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation minor.
At OSU, Annie has participated in multiple initiatives to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the College of Engineering. She is an inaugural member of the College of Engineering JEDI Council, which supports the College in identifying actionable inclusive excellence activities and recommends promising practices to promote and environment that is just, equitable, welcomes diversity, and is inclusive for all members of the college community. Annie also participated in the College’s first iteration of the Racial and Social Justice Community of Practice, in which a community of instructors work to transfer and translate knowledge of DEI, racial justice, and social justice into the discipline.
Annie’s current scholarship interests are focused on investigating the ways in which students approach open-ended, ill-structured, or ambiguous problems. Previously, Annie taught in Ohio State's Department of Design and Ohio State's First-Year Engineering Program, and has past experience working in prototyping labs. She currently serves as the Central-District representative on the IDSA Women in Design Committee, and is a general member of the American Society for Engineering Education.
Statement of Candidacy
I was inspired to join the Women in Design (WID) committee by the sense of belonging I felt during the Women in Design Deep Dive events over the past few years. To walk into a room full of fellow professionals and be made to feel automatically welcomed and included was an absolutely amazing feeling. This was not something I’ve experienced a lot during my years in the field of engineering and design, so I knew I needed to be part of the group that had helped me first experience a sense of professional belonging.
I was appointed to fill the vacant Central District seat on the WID committee in July 2023, and I hope to continue my work with the WID committee through the 2024-2025 term. One goal of the WID committee is to “enable women in the industrial design community to grow stronger ultimately reaching parity for all gender identities within Industrial Design.” I am firmly in support of this goal, but I don’t think that we will find the answer to gender parity by asking solely women to bear the burden to get us there.
I plan to work with fellow WID committee members to create pathways for our male allies to become more involved in the community and build spaces for their support. We have many supportive male allies in the profession, so we need to explicitly call on them for their backing of our cause. I believe another area of opportunity to make an impact on ultimately reaching gender parity in design is by engaging with students. I plan to work with fellow WID committee members on initiatives to support and connect with women students. There are numerous causes to the current absence of gender parity in the profession, one of which may be attributed to a lack of role models for women students.
Without women role models, mentors, or networking connections, women students may not be able to envision where they fit in the profession. By connecting with student groups with women professionals and supporting networking and mentoring initiatives, we can support more women students to stick with their chosen career path.
