Malle R. Schilling, Ph.D.

Malle Schilling is currently an Assistant Professor in The Polytechnic School in the Engineering Education Systems and Design program at Arizona State University. Malle obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton and a M.S. in Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech. Malle completed a Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech.

As a graduate student, Malle received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which enabled her to pursue individual research and collaborate across disciplines including urban affairs and planning, rural education, and agriculture education. Malle was also recognized as an Emerging Engagement Scholar by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium. Malle’s primary research interests are reflective of growing up in a rural area of Ohio, and experiences pursuing engineering as a rural student. Malle’s work focuses on:

1. Engagement with rural communities with an emphasis on understanding the career pathways of rural students at all levels of education as well as understanding systems-level contexts that shape and influence rural engineering education in the US.
2. Conceptualizing engineering through a lens of place-based education and other assets-based approaches to broaden conceptions of what engineering is and who can do it, as well as emphasizing systems thinking as a core skill for students and engineers.
3. Community engagement and the organizational structures and capacities that enable partnership and collaboration in engineering education contexts, the role of community engagement in engineering, and participatory approaches to engaging community in research.