Faculty
Dr. Sean Niemi
Instructional Assistant Professor
Sean Niemi is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) department at the University of Florida (UF). He joined the MAE faculty in 2018 after completing his Ph.D. at UF and has instructed a variety of courses focused on design and manufacturing, particularly with a strong hands-on component. He is also the faculty advisor for Gator Motorsports (Formula SAE) and Swamp Launch (NASA SLI and IREC), mentoring dozens of students striving to compete at the highest levels.
In 2019, Sean founded the MERGE lab, a pedagogical research lab focusing on improving design instruction and experiential learning for the next generation of engineering students. His current research focuses on team-based learning, hands-on design/manufacturing, and integrating industry tools to improve the design curriculum.
Dr. Katie Basigner-Ellis
Instructional Assistant Professor
Katie Basigner-Ellis is an Instructional Assistant Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at the University of Florida (UF). She joined the UF ISE faculty in 2018 and teaches Engineering Economy, Lean Manufacturing, CNC Manufacturing, Senior Design, Facility Planning, and Simulation courses. Her current research is developing active and experiential learning opportunities for Gen-Z in person and virtually.
She is the undergraduate program coordinator for the ISE department and, in that role, supports undergraduate students, advising, curriculum, and future directions. Her background is in advanced manufacturing, in which she received her BS, MIE, and Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University. She has over a decade of manufacturing experience both in industry and academia. She specializes in developing teaching materials with direct applications in industry for students.