Sharon L. Walker, PhD
Drexel Engineering Dean Sharon L. Walker, PhD, was honored with the Mark A. Stevens Distinguished Alumni Award by the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) on Thursday, April 13.
The award is presented to an alumnus or alumna of the school in recognition of their exemplary professional accomplishments and in acknowledgement of its namesake's exceptional contributions to the field of engineering.
Walker was lauded for her commitment to increasing the rate of participation of women in engineering, including her leadership of the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) at Drexel program. She also co-led an NSF ADVANCE-funded project with three other universities to explore the factors that influence pay scale differences across the faculty spectrum.
"This achievement is a shared one," she said of the award. "There have been trailblazers, but I see myself as a trail maintainer. We must challenge societal and academic structures, and only then can we meet the pressing challenges that face our world."
Prior to joining Drexel in 2018, Walker earned her bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from USC Viterbi in 1998. She went on to earn her master's degree and PhD from Yale University, focusing her academic research on bacterial pathogens and engineered nanomaterials. Most recently, she has applied her expertise to agricultural and food safety issues.
Walker is a two-time winner of the Fulbright Fellowship, received an NSF Career Award in 2010, and in 2018 won the AEESP inaugural Mary Ann Liebert Award for Publication Excellence in Environmental Engineering Science. She held an ELATES fellowship from 2014-15 and is currently the executive director of ELATES at Drexel. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Association of Women in Science, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi and Golden Key honor societies. Walker's previous service includes election to the roles of vice chair (2015) and chair (2017) of the prestigious Environmental Nanotechnology Gordon Research Conference, as well as an official with AEESP and with the American Chemical Society's Colloid and Surface Science Division.