Fiona Zoutendyk

Fiona Zoutendyk is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Mechanical & Materials Engineering department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with an affiliation to the Biomedical Engineering department. She holds a PhD (2001) and BS (1992) in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research focuses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), emphasizing active learning innovations in materials science, thermal fluids, and engineering education. She has contributed to national and regional conferences, including a 2020 ASEE NE Best Professional Paper Award for work on math skill gaps in engineering curricula.

Her academic service includes chairing the Undergraduate Committee in Mechanical & Materials Engineering and leading initiatives to promote STEM education for women and underrepresented groups. She co-founded the New England Materials Experience program (2000–2019) and secured grants for undergraduate women’s conference participation (2022). Prior to academia, she worked in metallurgical R&D, focusing on gold alloys and patented ferro-alloy casting processes.

Zoutendyk is affiliated with the Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD) and the Electric Guitar Innovation Lab. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes collaborative project-based learning (PBL), as reflected in her 2023 faculty fellowship developing modular PBL toolkits. She advises numerous capstone projects, blending engineering rigor with real-world applications. Key awards include the Russell M. Searle Instructorship Award (2020) and WPI’s Educational Development Grant (2015).