Faculty Spotlight: Annie Abell

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Annie Abell

Where is your hometown?

I was born in Minnesota, but my family moved to Ohio when I was very young. I grew up mostly in Bowling Green, OH which is a small college town south of Toledo. Though it may be small, BG is known as the home of Bowling Green State University, the Black Swamp Arts Festival, and yes, even The National Tractor Pulling Championships! Over the last several years, all of my immediate family members have relocated to Cleveland, OH so that’s where I go for holidays & family time now.

What is your field and why is it significant?

My area of expertise is user-centered product design. To create successful products that are useful, usable, and desirable, a design team needs to deeply understand the needs of the relevant users and understand the context in which the product will be used. To gain this understanding of users takes work in the form of user-centered research, which is a multi-disciplinary pursuit involving the fields of engineering, design, and perhaps even psychology or anthropology. Advances in technology are important to producing new and innovative products, but technology alone does not always make a successful product; we must always consider the users in order to design things that achieve the trifecta of being useful, usable, and desirable.

What brought you to Ohio State?

I came to Ohio State in 2005 for graduate school… and then accidentally never left. I studied in the Department of Design and earned an MFA in Design Research and Development (the MFA is a standard terminal degree in the field of design). I chose Ohio State because the graduate program in design was, at the time, one of few that was open to accepting students like me with undergraduate degrees in engineering. After graduating in 2009, I stayed on in the department to teach design courses such as technical drawing and design for non-designers. Then after a few years I moved over to teach in the First-Year Engineering Program for a while before finally landing here in MAE, where I now teach courses focused on product design.

Why should a prospective student consider your field?

The field of product design is an exciting space that is forward-thinking and ever changing. Product designers are always tackling new problems of all sizes and scopes, from the very specific job of designing everyday consumer products to tackling very complex problems like how the impact of a product’s design can impact societal behavior. The field of product design is also very interdisciplinary, involving teams of people with expertise from engineering, design, business, psychology, and beyond.

What do you like most about your job?

I really like teaching and working with our students, because it means I get to continue learning! I’ve always loved school and obviously I still do, since I’ve made a career out of it! Most of my courses are project- and discussion based, so I learn a lot from my students by observing the creative solutions they bring to problem solving and by hearing their unique perspectives during class discussion.

What advice would you give students considering a career in engineering?

It takes work and persistence to get there, so be patient with yourself. Whether you’re studying for an undergrad or graduate degree, it’s all hard work… but you can do it! Additionally, don’t forget that your (future) job will require you to work with other people so it’s really important to build your teamwork and communication skills. All engineers will need to collaborate and work with others, whether it’s with colleagues, bosses, clients, etc. Effective communication is the foundation for effective collaboration, so make sure you’re building those skills along with your technical skills.

What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of being a professor?

I’ve always enjoyed distance cycling, and every year I participate with Pelotonia, the local community bicycling event with the goal of raising money to accelerate cancer research at the OSUCCC-James. This year my goal is to ride the 100-mile route again, so once the weather warms up you can find me out on the road training with my cycling club, Girls With Gears.

I also love cooking and baking. I love baking pies and cobbler… and my biggest accomplishment is that I once won a blue ribbon at the county fair for my apple pie! More recently, I received an ice cream maker for Christmas, so I’m going to have to try my hand at that soon- let me know if you have any good recipes!

Categories: FacultySpotlights