Dr. Patricia (Patsy) Brackin is in her first year as director of Rose-Hulman's engineering design program, joining with colleagues to find ways to incorporate design opportunities throughout a student's four-year college experience—in any major course of study. The first step happened this summer when department faculty and English faculty combined on a five-week course that introduced design skills and characteristics for a select group of freshmen. So, it shouldn't be surprising that Dr. Brackin's expertise is in design methodology, creativity and innovation. She also helped develop the Home for Environmentally Responsible Engineering (HERE) program, a living-learning experience for students interested in sustainability and humanitarian engineering. Dr. Brackin also spent 11 years as director of Rose-Hulman's Operation Catapult program, helping introduce high-school seniors to the wonders of science and engineering. She attended Green Belt training to learn how Cummins, Inc. incorporates Six Sigma principles into manufacturing and design processes. In addition, she spent a year’s sabbatical with Eli Lilly learning their processes for developing medical devices. Dr. Brackin was a design engineer for Chicago Bridge and Iron before becoming a college professor. She is a big fan of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.