Katherine Ziemer Named Vice Provost for Curriculum
ChE Professor Katherine S. Ziemer has been named the Vice Provost for Curriculum at Northeastern University for the next three years. Kate has served as Associate Vice Provost for Curriculum since May of 2015, with a variety of responsibilities, most notably leading the UUCC in the implementation of NUPath (previously known as Core 2016). She is also responsible for the Program for Undeclared Students, General Studies Program, and Peer Tutoring. Kate’s remarkable leadership in all of these areas has contributed to the continued evolution of the high quality educational experiences for which we are all so proud.
Kate received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, after which she was employed by DuPont for seven years. She then earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from West Virginia University, joining Northeastern as the DiPietro Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. During the 2012-2013 academic year, she was a visiting professor at Texas Tech University and, in 2014, she was appointed Vice Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering. She is a Fellow of AIChE, the global chemical engineering professional society.
Kate’s research on engineering surfaces is aimed at enabling telescopes to capture deep-space images like the Hubble telescope does today, eliminating cell-phone towers while expanding the range and strength of communication signals, and reducing energy consumption while increasing the functionality electrically powered systems. Kate has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, NASA, and industry sources, resulting in numerous peer-reviewed journal papers, conference papers and book chapters.
Kate is an outstanding teacher and mentor, teaching a range of courses from undergraduate introductory courses to graduate courses in advanced material science. She is the recipient of the College of Engineering Essigman Outstanding Teaching Award, and has supervised not only Ph.D. and M.S. students, but also many undergraduate students on research projects.
Kate has been extensively involved in institutional and association-related service. She led the ABET accreditation for her department, and has served on a variety of committees which led to improvements in the curriculum and the recruitment of both undergraduate and graduate students. She has also been a leader in her profession and serves in a number of high level roles in the AIChE, including its Board of Directors.
In this role, Kate will be working with the Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Experiential Learning and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education on curricular issues that impact the university, including such projects as leading the UUCC in developing and implementing a plan for the new Core Curriculum; working with colleagues to determine how to effectively support and enhance Writing Intensive Courses; and working with Colleges to evolve their plans for increasing domestic out-of-region and international co-ops.