In 2004, Dr. Kevin Hadley graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. Immediately after graduation, he attended the department of chemical and biological engineering at Vanderbilt University. His thesis work involved coarse-grained molecular models of self-assembling lipid molecules under the advisement of Dr. Clare McCabe. In addition, while attending Vanderbilt, Dr. Hadley participated in their teaching certificate program. As part of this program, he was the first to publish the results of his Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project in a peer-reviewed journal (Chemical Engineering Education). After graduating in 2009, he took part in a post-doctoral study for the National Institute of Aerospace at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. His research centered around molecular modeling of self-healing polymers.
Currently, Dr. Hadley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He has been there since 2012 where he has engaged in research in both molecular modeling of smart materials and engineering education. His modeling research has focused on anti-icing surfaces and anti-biofueling membranes. Under the discipline of STEM education research, Dr. Hadley has led research on teamwork development including an NSF funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site focused on modeling and teamwork. Recently, he has received a grant to expand the theoretical framework of numerical literacy to the engineering discipline.