Stephanie Rivale
University of Colorado System, University of Colorado Boulder
Papers
2
Total Citations
15
H-Index
2
About
Stephanie Rivale’s research focuses on broadening participation in engineering, particularly through K-12 curriculum design that integrates biomedical and biomechanical topics to engage diverse student populations. Her major contributions lie in developing and evaluating innovative robotics curricula that explicitly address gender disparities in engineering interest and identity. In her most-cited work (2011, 13 citations), she compared traditional task-oriented robotics courses with biomedical robotics courses, using pre/post Likert-scale assessments to reveal how relevant, context-rich projects can differentially impact high school students’ engineering attitudes, especially for female students. Another notable study (2011, 2 citations) describes a semester-long biomechanical engineering curriculum where students designed robotic surgical devices, implemented in highly diverse high schools by graduate TEAMS Fellows. This work demonstrates how embedding real-world biomechanical research into classroom projects can increase engineering interest among underrepresented groups. Rivale’s research is pivotal for educators and curriculum designers seeking evidence-based strategies to make engineering more inclusive, showing that the *relevance* of engineering problems—not just exposure—is key to sustaining student engagement and broadening the engineering pipeline.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2