Ben Lutz

Professor Ben Lutz serves in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the College of Engineering, where he has taught for six years and currently leads a National Science Foundation-funded project titled "Charting the Development of Sociotechnical Thinking in Engineering Students and Professionals." His work integrates social justice principles into engineering education through scenario-based pedagogy that challenges students to move beyond purely technical solutions.

Lutz's research centers on sociotechnical thinking—training engineers to consider social, political, and cultural dimensions alongside technical aspects when solving problems. His classroom demonstrations, such as contrasting high-tech bike lane sensors with the simple Dutch Reach technique, reveal how over-engineering stems from limited problem-framing. He investigates how these multifaceted reasoning skills develop across career stages through discourse analysis of scenario-based design tasks involving renewable energy systems and elderly care technologies.

His recent publication trends (2021-2024) demonstrate consistent focus on engineering education reform, particularly inclusive teaching practices, school-to-work transitions, and diversity integration. Key themes include the development of sociotechnical thinking frameworks, the impact of social justice pedagogy on student outcomes, and the role of capstone design in professional preparation. His work bridges engineering practice with critical social theory through instruments like the Engineering Social Justice Scale.

Lutz currently directs a $172,000 NSF grant engaging 60-70 engineering professionals and 75-100 students in three-year research examining how career-stage influences sociotechnical reasoning. The project actively involves three undergraduate and two graduate research assistants in data collection and discourse analysis. His mentoring extends to students in the "Engineering, Design and Social Justice" course who participate in research exploring non-formulaic problem-solving approaches.

His research operates through cross-career-stage teams tackling real-world design challenges like rural renewable energy systems and elderly smart home technologies. The NSF project employs scenario-based tasks to map how professionals and students discuss solutions, with discourse analysis revealing qualitative differences in sociotechnical reasoning depth. This collaborative structure connects academic research with industry practice through participant-driven solution development.