Aline Cotel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her research interests are in the areas of biological, environmental and geophysical fluid dynamics. As co-founder of the Women in Fluids Network and the Women-Water Nexus, she has created partnerships between women engineers and scientists in developed and developing countries to promote the education of women in STEM. She is involved in engineering education projects in Western Africa related to retention and professional development of female engineering students. She was most recently a Fulbright Scholar at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa (2017). She has received numerous awards for her teaching and outreach efforts including the 2016 Arthur F. Thurnau named Professorship, 2015 Willie Hobbs Mentoring Award, 2014 Global Engagement Recognition Award, and the 2012 University Undergraduate Teaching Award.

 

An aerospace engineer by training, Aline is inspired by the deep fundamental mathematical concepts embedded in weaving. Her goal is to expand the range of STEM outreach activities by leveraging the mathematics in weaving and its relationship to science and engineering. Her project at WISC is to explore how Navajo weaving and culture can create unique experiential learning experiences and be integrated in STEM outreach efforts.