Diana Bairaktarova, Ph.D.

Research Statement

"With her research group, Abilities, Creativity, and Ethics in Design (ACE[D]), Diana Bairaktarova engages in research with undergraduate and graduate students, educators and practitioners by doing research that crosses disciplines, including engineering, psychology, and the learning sciences; this distinctive combination has enabled research-to-practice partnerships that would otherwise not exist. Her work encompasses three focus areas: Learning Environments, Factors Impacting Student Performance, and Creativity, Ethical and Empathic Design. Bairaktarova translates her findings into practical pedagogical approaches by designing and applying contemporary learning environments that closely map the engineering work ethos. 

Biography

Diana Bairaktarova is an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education. She is also an affiliate faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Faculty in the Human-Centered Design at Virginia Tech. Diana has over fifteen years of experience working as a Design and Manufacturing Engineer.  '

Before joining Virginia Tech, Diana was an assistant professor of engineering practice in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical at the University of Oklahoma. She taught several fundamental and engineering design courses, where the design of artifacts was addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective and implementation of design thinking framework. As an engineer with extensive industry experience and an engineering education researcher with knowledge of how people learn, Bairaktarova alignes her research, teaching, and service with the mission of creating and supporting an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st century. 

Selected Awards & Honors

• W.S. "Pete" White Innovation in Engineering Education Award, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2020
• XCaliber Award (eXceptional, high-CALIBER contributions to technology-enriched learning activities), Virginia Tech, 2020
• Engineering Design Graphics Division Innovation Award, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), 2019
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, Virginia Tech, 2018 
• Best Paper Award, International Division, ASEE, 2018
• Editor's Award for Best paper, Journal of Engineering Design Graphics, 2017 

Selected Publications

Bairaktarova, D., & Pilotte, M. (2020). Person or thing oriented: A comparative study of individual differences of first-year engineering students and practitioners. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(2), 230–242. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20309

Yones, R., & Bairaktarova, D. (2020). ViTA: A platform-independent automatic grading tool for two-dimensional CAD drawings. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 1-23, https://doi.org/10.1177/0306419020947688

Li, X., Younes, R., Bairaktarova, D., & Guo, Q. (2020). Predicting spatial visualization problems’ difficulty level from eye-tracking data. Sensors, 20(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/s20071949

Bairaktarova, D., & Reeping, D. (2019). Development and psychometrics of a freely available mechanical aptitude test. International Journal of Engineering Education 2, 35(6), 1839–1850.

Bairaktarova, D., Williams, D., & Katsioloudis, P. J. (2019). Visualizing multi-mode instruction for spatial visualization. Journal of Engineering Design Graphics, 83, 14–26. http://www.edgj.org/index.php/EDGJ/issue/view/172

Cohen, C., & Bairaktarova, D. (2019). A cognitive approach to spatial visualization assessment for first-year engineering students. Engineering Design Graphics Journal, 82(3), 1–19. http://www.edgj.org/index.php/EDGJ/issue/view/171

Ozkan, D., McNair, L., & Bairaktarova, D. (2019). Teacher learner, learner teacher: Parallels and dissonance in an interdisciplinary design. IEEE Transactions on Education, 62(3), 226–235. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2019.2901781

Bairaktarova, D. (2018). Coordinating mind and hand: The importance of manual drawing and descriptive geometry instruction in a CAD-oriented engineering design graphics class. Journal of Engineering Design Graphics2, 81(3), 1–16. http://www.edgj.org/index.php/EDGJ/issue/view/166

Srinivasan, A., & Bairaktarova, D. (2018). Learning thermodynamics with iPad: Adaptation and learning opportunities for both instructor and students. International Journal of Engineering Education, 34(5), 1615–1625.

Bairaktarova, D., & Eodice, M. (2017). Thermodynamics in high energy rhymes and rhythms. Advances in Engineering Education, 6(2), 1–18. https://advances.asee.org/wp-content/uploads/vol06/issue02/Papers/AEE-21-Bairaktarova.pdf

Bairaktarova, D., Graziano, W., & Cox, M. (2017). Enhancing engineering students’ performance on design tasks: The box of parts. Journal of Mechanical Design, 139(5). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.403612

Bairaktarova, D., & Woodcock, A. (2016). Engineering student’s ethical awareness and behavior: A new motivational model. Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics, 23(4), 1129–1157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-016-9814-x

Bairaktarova, D., Bernstein, W., Reid, T., & Ramani, K. (2016). Beyond surface knowledge: An exploration of how empathic design techniques enhances engineers understanding of users’ needs. International Journal of Engineering Education, 32(1), 111-122.

Research Grants

Institutional Transformation: Cultivating an ethical STEM culture through an integrated undergraduate general education

Research: Examining the impact of mechanical objects in students learning of thermodynamics-related engineering problems

Collaborative Research: vObjects - Understanding their Utility to Enhance Learning of Abstract and Complex Engineering Concepts

Impact of Interactive Holographic Scenes in Learning Applications of Data Sensing and Modeling