Sheri D. Sheppard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sheri D. Sheppard
Born	1956
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Awards	U.S. Professors of the Year award
Scientific career
Fields	engineering design
Institutions	Stanford University

Sheri D. Sheppard was born in 1956. She is a very important person at Stanford University. She helps guide students in their studies. She is also a professor of Mechanical Engineering.

Professor Sheppard teaches students about engineering design. This means she helps them learn how to create and build things. In 2014, she won a big award. It was called the U.S. Professor of the Year award. This award recognized her amazing teaching skills.

Early Life and School

Sheri Sheppard finished high school in 1974. She went to William Horlick High School in Racine, Wisconsin. At first, she wanted to study law. But her father suggested she study engineering instead. He said he would pay for law school if she became an engineer first.

She earned her first degree in Engineering Mechanics in 1978. She got this degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. By this time, she really loved engineering! She then went to the University of Michigan–Dearborn. There, she earned a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1980. Later, in 1985, she earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. This was from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.

Her Career Journey

Before teaching, Professor Sheppard worked in Detroit. She worked at Chrysler Corporation. She also worked at Ford Motor Company's research lab.

In 1986, she started working at Stanford University. She became a professor in the Mechanical Engineering department. She was promoted to associate professor in 1993. Then, in 2005, she became a full professor. From 2006 to 2007, she led Stanford's Faculty Senate. This is like being the head of all the professors.

She also worked at the Carnegie Foundation. This was from 1999 to 2008. There, she helped with a big study. It was about how engineers are taught.

What She Studies

Professor Sheppard has done a lot of research. She has studied how parts of machines can break. This includes looking at how metal gets tired and cracks. She has written many papers and books about this.

She also leads studies about engineering education. She wants to find the best ways to teach future engineers. For example, she helped write a report called Educating Engineers: Designing for the Future of the Field.

She has also received money from the National Science Foundation. This money helps her study new teaching methods for engineers. She helped start important centers. These include the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. She also helped create the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation.

Awards and Recognitions

Professor Sheppard has received many awards for her work.

• In 2004, she won the Chester F. Carlson Award. This award is for people who are very creative in engineering education. It means she found new and better ways to teach.
• Stanford University gave her the Walter J. Gores Award in 2010. This is the highest award for teaching at Stanford. It celebrates great teaching in many ways.
• In 2012, she received the Ralph Coats Roe Award. This award is for important contributions to the engineering field.
• Stanford also gave her the President's Award in 2014. This award recognized her for being a role model. She showed women that they can succeed in engineering.

The Carnegie Foundation named her the 2014 U.S. Professor of the Year. They praised her for her teaching style. She helps students learn by doing. She turns big classes into small groups. This way, students can work together to solve problems.

She is also a "fellow" of two important groups. These are the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and the American Society for Engineering Education. Being a fellow means she is a highly respected member of these groups.