Marijel Melo

Dr. Marijel (Maggie) Melo is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina's School of Information and Library Science (SILS), specializing in equitable makerspace design and critical maker culture. She directs the Equity in Making (EITM) Lab and is a 2020 NSF CAREER Award recipient for her work on makerspaces' spatial equity. Her research focuses on creating inclusive STEM-rich learning spaces in academic libraries, particularly addressing gender and diversity inclusion through spatial analysis and pedagogical innovation.

Education:

• B.A., California Lutheran University
• M.A. in English, California State University of Northridge
• PhD in English, University of Arizona (AAUW Fellow)

Research emphasizes makerspace design's impact on user demographics, with key projects including the University of Arizona's iSpace/CATalyst Studios expansion and the Southwest's first women-only hackathon. She explores themes like 'pedagogical violence,' VR integration challenges, and post-pandemic makerspace adaptations.

Awards include the Deborah Barreau Teaching Excellence Award (2020) and the Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Award (2017). She co-authored Re-making the Library Makerspace and has presented at venues like the Google Developer Group Summit and MIRA conference.

Teaching focuses on information literacy, diversity in services, and maker pedagogy through courses like INLS 490: Real-time Data Science in Makerspaces.