Dean Karen A. Thole
Karen A. Thole is the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan. An expert in heat transfer and cooling of gas turbine airfoils, Thole’s detailed experimental and analytical work has influenced the way that gas turbines are designed—both for propulsion and power generation. She is an advocate for mentorship of students and faculty, and passionate about developing future leaders in engineering and STEM.
Thole joined the University of Michigan College of Engineering faculty after 18 years on the faculty of Pennsylvania State University, where she served as a Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. As department head, Thole led efforts to modernize undergraduate curriculum, partner with industry to develop the College’s first micro-credentialing workshops, and offer new online Masters programs, including an online Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an online and resident Master of Engineering in Additive Manufacturing and Design—the first in the U.S.
During her tenure at Penn State, Thole founded and served as director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab, one of the world’s most sophisticated research turbine facilities. START houses a one-stage test turbine with unique measurement capabilities and is a center of excellence for two turbine manufacturers. Through her research, Thole’s fundamental work produced new designs now used in industry that improve aerodynamics, extend component life, and increase thermal efficiency. She has led the efforts to use metal additive manufacturing for turbine research to rapidly evaluate novel cooling technologies. Through support from the U.S. Department of Energy and four gas turbine manufacturers, she developed and manufactured the National Experimental Turbine (NExT), which is a testbed for industry to use in developing advanced turbine designs.
In 2009, Thole co-founded the Engineering Ambassador Program at Pennsylvania State University, as well as the Engineering Ambassador Network (EAN), which has grown to 40 programs across the nation stretching to all corners of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. EAN provides professional development to undergraduate students and outreach to K-12 students in engineering and STEM, and has been funded by the National Science Foundation to run national workshops aimed at teaching other universities how to start their own Engineering Ambassador Programs.
From 1999 to 2006, Thole served on the faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), where she became the first woman at Virginia Tech to be awarded an endowed engineering professorship in 2005. Thole was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1994 to 1998, where she received the 1996 National Science Foundation CAREER Award for her work developing a better understanding of turbine heat transfer and teaching a lab course to first-year women engineering students. Thole conducted post-doctoral research at the Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany from 1993 to 1994. She was appointed Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan in August 2024.
A Fellow of ASME, AIAA, and the Royal Aeronautical Society, Thole has been a member of several National Academy of Engineering studies, of NASA advisory committees, and of the U. S. Department of Air Force’s Scientific Advisory Board. Her work has been recognized by ASME’s R. Tom Sawyer, George Westinghouse, Edwin Church and Heat Transfer Memorial Awards. From AIAA, she has received both the Air Breathing Propulsion Award and the Thermophysics Award. In 2017, Thole was honored with the ABET Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity, which recognizes “extraordinary success in achieving or facilitating diversity and inclusiveness in the technological segments of our society.” As a result of her research, Thole has been an invited presenter in U.S. Congressional Briefings on Gas Turbines in 2016, 2017 and 2019, and provided testimony to the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Science, Space, and Technology Committee in 2021.
Thole has published more than 370 articles and supported over 90 graduate students who have graduated and now work in industry, federal agencies and academia.
Thole earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering in 1982 and 1984, respectively, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1992 from the University of Texas, Austin.
As dean, Thole is committed to fostering an environment that accelerates success, pushes the boundaries of innovation, and prepares Michigan Engineering students to become leaders in their fields, while shaping the future of engineering. With a remarkable breadth and depth of research, a dedication to excellence in education, and a commitment to building a culture where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, Michigan Engineering is a place where engineers work to not only solve the challenges of today, but to make the world a better place for generations to come.
Background
Karen A. Thole, Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering and Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
Robert J. Vlasic
Robert Vlasic was a distinguished civic leader who earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and mechanical engineering from U-M in 1949, where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi. After college, he worked in the Detroit food distribution business founded by his father. He assumed leadership of Vlasic Foods Co. in 1963 when it was still a small, local Michigan pickle producer. By 1978, the business had grown to $100 million and ranked number one in the nation, when it was sold to Campbell Soup Co. Bob served as a director of Campbell Soup Co. and retired as chair in 1996. He founded O/E Automation, Inc., based in Troy, Mich.
His 1996 gift to U-M established the endowed position known as the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering. It was the first endowed deanship in any U-M school or college.