Lisa D. McNair, Ph.D.

Education

Ph.D. Linguistics, University of Chicago, 2002
M.A. English, University of Georgia, 1992
B.A. English, University of Georgia, 1985

Research Interests

• Interdisciplinarity, focusing on how individuals and organizations engage in interdisciplinary work
• Arts and Design Driven Research
• K-25 education in Science, Engineering, Arts, and Design (SEAD)

Research Statement

My research explores ways to promote teaching and learning across different fields. I design educational environments that support integrative learning, and I investigate ways to embed strategies of assessment and evaluation. I am interested in how communication and collaboration play roles in these diverse settings, including a range of formal and informal experiences, in academia, the community, and business.

Biography

During her time at Virginia Tech, McNair has also been instrumental in fostering innovative research collaborations that bridge technology, arts, and humanities. As a professor in engineering education, she supports early and advanced-stage faculty and students in strengthening their careers through creative, interdisciplinary projects. She recently led a team of arts-driven researchers in exploring the ways humans connect when creating art, resulting in the "Carving out Creativity" exhibitions in Alexandria, Roanoke, and Blacksburg.

Other notable projects led by McNair include developing hands-on additive manufacturing modules to create a cohesive foundation for undergraduate engineering curricula, interdisciplinary project-based coursework for undergraduates, research on the arts and entrepreneurship, and community-focused infrastructure projects in Alaska. Her work has garnered prestigious accolades, including the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER)  award and Virginia Tech’s Alumni and Dean’s Awards for Outreach Excellence.

McNair previously served as the director of the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts, a center within ICAT; associate department head for graduate programs in engineering education; and chair of engineering education’s promotion and tenure committee. She received her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago, and bachelor's and master's degree in English from the University of Georgia.

Teaching/Courses Taught

ENGE 2094: Create! Ideation and Innovation

Innovation Minor, 2018-2022

Interdisciplinary Projects (IDPro) (FS: ENGE 2964/2964)

Awards & Honors

• College of Engineering Dean’s Fellows Program 2025/26: Promoting the Development of Large-Scale COE-Based Externally Funded Centers.

• SNAAP (Strategic National Arts Alumni Project) Research Advisory Board member (invited), Nov 2024 – no end date.

• College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Outreach, 2023.

• Virginia Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence, Team. April 2022. Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI).

• Impact Innovations Award from the NSF center Advancing Research Impacts in Society. June 2020.

• 2015-16 Pathways Scholar, Provost's Office, Virginia Tech

• 2014 Nunnally Award for Outstanding Engineering Education Faculty Member

• 2014 Best Paper, ASEE Graduate Studies Division (with McCord, Hixson, & Ingram)

• 2013 Virginia Tech UOPD Management Academy

• 2012 XCaliber Award for excellence as an interdisciplinary group involved with technology-assisted teaching

• 2011 NAE Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium

• 2010 National Science Foundation CAREER Award

• 2007 Helen Plants Award for Best Nontraditional Session at Frontiers in Education (with Borrego & Newswander)

• 2000-2002 Brittain Fellow, School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Tech

Selected Publications

• Ozkan, Desen & McNair, L.D. (2025, in press). Issues in Interdisciplinarity 43(1).
• McNair, Lisa D. (2025). Navigating uncertainty with interdisciplinary teaching. Times Higher Education. 27 Feb 2025, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/navigating-uncertainty-interdisciplinary-teaching
• Knapp, B., Martin, T., McNair, L. D., & Rassi, T. (2025) The da Vinci's Cube: A New Model for Understanding Innovation at the Edges of Art and Science. In Integrative Contemporary Art and Science Practices (pp. 81-90). Routledge.
• Van Doren, T.P., Brown, R. A., Chi, G., Cochran, P., Cueva, K., Eichelberger, L., … McNair, L., Nicewonger, T., Powell, J. E. (2024). Beyond COVID: towards a transdisciplinary synthesis for understanding responses and developing pandemic preparedness in Alaska. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 83(1). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22423982.2024.2404273
• Patrick, A. Y., Wisnioski, M. H., McNair, L., Ozkan, D. S., Reeping, D., Martin, T. L., ... & Haines, C. E. (2023). In it for the Long Haul: The Groundwork of Interdisciplinary Culture Change in Engineering Education Reform. Engineering Studies, 15(2), 144-167.


Recent Grants

• Phase 2, To support a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab on the Arts, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. National Endowment for the Arts. Co-PI (2025-02 – 2027-02; 2023-02 - 2025-02). Co-PIs: Ben Knapp, Tom Martin (Virginia Tech); Termeh Rassi (Leonardo).

• FMRG: CYBER: Manufacturing USA: Robotic Additive Manufacturing of Volumetrically-Oriented Multi-Functional Composites via Digital Twin-Informed Optimization. NSF CMMI-2428288. $2,999,319. Principal investigators: Williams C; Acar P; Bartlett M; Komendera E; McNair E. Start date:01 Jun 2025.

• Carving Out Creativity: A series of exhibitions and performances that will be held across the Commonwealth - Alexandria, Blacksburg, and Roanoke Artwork Creation. PI. 2024-07 - 2025-06. City of Alexandria Regions 4 & 6. Co-PIs: Julia Basso, David Franusich, Hiromi Okumura, Tanner Upthegrove.

• FAIM: Future Additive Interdisciplinary Manufacturing. Department of Defense. Co-PI. Jan 2024 - Dec 2027.

• Collaborative Research: Co-designing Infrastructural Futures in Alaska. Co-PI, (2024-02 - 2027-02). NSF 2321931. PI: Todd Nicewonger.