Kristen Constant, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Office: 515.294.3337
Email: constant@iastate.edu
Homepage: http://www.mse.iastate.edu/who-we-are/people/faculty/kristen-constant.html

Education/Employment
Associate Professor, ISU, April 1998-present
Scientist, Micron Technologies, Boise, ID July-Dec, 2001
Assistant Chair, ISU, August 1998-2001
Assistant Professor, ISU, March 1992-April 1998
Post-doctoral Associate, MIT, Oct. 1990-February 1992
Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 1990
B.S., Ceramic Engineering, Iowa State University, 1986

Role in the ADVANCE Program

Dr. Kristen Constant, past ADVANCE Professor, current College of Engineering Equity Advisor and Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, has been responsible for coordinating ADVANCE activities in her department. She is a member of the ADVANCE Council, College of Engineering Leadership Council, and she participates in the Equity Advisor/ADVANCE Professor group which meets twice monthly.

Dr. Constant began serving as ADVANCE Professor in January 2007. With her working group in MSE, Dr. Constant developed an action plan for collaborative transformation and began implementation. She was a presenter in November 2007 at the ADVANCE Networking Event 'Making a Career in STEM: Three Women's Stories. Dr. Constant has also participated in presentations to the university community on the progress of ISU ADVANCE, including the Collaborative Transformation Synthesis Workshop on April 1, 2008.

Dr. Constant has recently transitioned into the position of College of Engineering Equity Advisor and helped identify a new ADVANCE professor for the Materials Science and Engineering department. She continues to have monthly conversations with the Interim Dean of Engineering on topics related to ADVANCE, and served on the diversity committee to interview Dean candidates for the COE. Dr. Constant helps prepare and deliver presentations to faculty in the non-focal engineering departments and in non-focal departments outside the engineering college. She continues to coordinate activities with the second ADVANCE Professor in the second round engineering focal department.

Dr. Constant was a panel speaker during the Collaborative Transformation workshop held in the spring of 2009. She also helps coordinate breakfast and lunch informal discussions with College of Engineering women faculty. Dr. Constant also helped plan the 2009 ADVANCE Chairs workshop about promotion and tenure. Dr. Constant has given presentations about ISU ADVANCE activities at the conference of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She has written a manuscript on unintended bias in faculty searches in engineering, which has been submitted to and accepted by the proceedings of the ASEE.

Research Interests

• Photonic Band Gap Materials
• Educational Methods and Assessment of Outcomes