RAMP-UP! at Rensselaer: Project Leadership

Dr. Deborah Kaminski

Principal Investigator is a Professor of Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Kaminski has had a long career teaching at Rensselaer and was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006. Having researched the changing face of faculty under the tenure of President Shirley Jackson, Dr. Kaminski has had the opportunity to closely monitor women's advancement at the institute. In addition to many service and advisory responsibilities, she co-authored with Dr, Geisler the "13+ Club" article on advancement at Rensselaer.



Dr. Robert Palazzo

Co-Investigator is Rensselaer's Provost. Formally head of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) which opened in 2004, Dr. Palazzo is committed to innovation and growth throughout the Institute. He has been a strong advocate of the RAMP-Up program from the beginning, hosting luncheons for women faculty, providing an e-newsletter, and working continuously on Work-Life initiatives to support faculty families. [More]





Dr. Kristin Bennett

Co-Investigator is a Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Bennett is in charge of the RAMP-Up! T.E.A.S. monthly seminars dedicated to promoting strategies for advancement and removing barriers to success. She is working with RAMP-Up leadership to find seminar speakers, panelists, and facilitators to deal with topics such as managing and enhancing research, developing web presence, professional impact of gender bias, and other key topics. Her research interests include machine learning, neural networks, Artificial Intelligence, tabu search, data mining, and bioinformatics. [More]




Angela Doyle McNerney

Program Director for RAMP-Up!, teaches Writing in Marketing & Promotion as an Adjunct Professor at Rensselaer along with overseeing the ADVANCE grant. Her background is in public relations and she worked as a freelance writer for over a decade. As Program Director, she manages the implementation of RAMP-Up initiatives and helps to create projects which will advance women through their professional careers in academia. McNerney also heads the Tech Valley Connect project which focuses on recruitment and retention of top talent.






Advisory Board Meeting

Joining the leadership team to guide and support the project are select members from a cross section of ranks and departments representing faculty and administration. [See Profiles]



Faculty Coaches

In Year Two of our ADVANCE grant, the Advisory Board added two new members, who serve the project as Faculty Coaches within the School of Science and School of Engineering. [See Profiles]