The MIDFIELD Team

Matt Ohland is the Dale and Suzi Gallagher Professor in Engineering Education and Associate Head of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He received a BS in Engineering and BA in Religion from Swarthmore College, MS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. Matt’s research interests include longitudinal studies of student pathways and team-member effectiveness. He is a Fellow of the ASEE, IEEE, and AAAS. He is a co-Director of the National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) and was inducted into the ASEE Hall of Fame in 2024.

Marisa K. Orr is formerly an Associate Professor in Engineering and Science Education with a joint appointment in Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University. She received BS, MS, and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University, as well as a graduate certificate in Engineering and Science Education from Clemson University.  Her research interests include student persistence and pathways in engineering, and self-regulated decision-making. Dr. Orr is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award for her research entitled, “Empowering Students to be Adaptive Decision-Makers.”

Cathy Brawner is President of Research Triangle Educational Consultants. She specializes in research, evaluation, and consulting in higher education STEM disciplines. She received her AB in Economics from Duke University, MBA from Indiana University (Bloomington) and PhD in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from North Carolina State University. Cathy has been an active researcher with MIDFIELD since its inception, doing qualitative research to support and explain patterns found in the data. Her work has particularly focused on underrepresented populations in engineering and computer science.

Richard Layton is a data visualization consultant focusing on educational research. He designs exploratory data graphics to assist a research team in discovering the stories in quantitative data and preparing visuals in which the logic of the display reflects and supports the logic of the argument. With the MIDFIELD team, he has facilitated  numerous workshops on using R for data visualization. He received his BS (1991) in Engineering from California State University, Northridge and his MS (1993) and PhD (1995) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle. Retired from teaching in 2020, he is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Russell A. Long is Senior Data Analyst and Managing Director of The Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) at the Purdue University School of Engineering Education. He has extensive experience in large dataset analysis, program review, assessment, performance based funding, and student services in higher education.  One of his greatest strengths lies in analyzing data related to student learning outcomes and, therefore, to improving institutional effectiveness.  His work with MIDFIELD includes research on obstacles faced by students that interfere with degree completion and, as well, how institutional policies affect degree programs.

Susan Lord is Professor and Chair of Integrated Engineering at the University of San Diego.  She received a BS from Cornell University in Materials Science and Electrical Engineering (EE) and MS and PhD in EE from Stanford University.  Her research focuses on the study and promotion of diversity in engineering including student pathways and inclusive teaching.  She has won best paper awards from the Journal of Engineering Education and IEEE Transactions on Education.  Dr. Lord is a Fellow of the IEEE and ASEE and received the 2018 IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award.  She is a coauthor of The Borderlands of Education:  Latinas in Engineering.  She is a co-Director of the National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI).