2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Advancing Human-Centered Engineering (HCE): A Framework for Defining and Building the Emerging Discipline

Presented at Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) - Human-Centered Engineering

This paper examines the emerging field of Human-Centered Engineering (HCE), an interdisciplinary approach that integrates engineering, human-centered design, social sciences, and creative practices. While drawing from Human-Centered Design (HCD), HCE distinguishes itself by embedding human-centered values systematically into engineering processes, balancing empathy, ethics, and societal impact with technical rigor and system performance. HCE also builds on earlier traditions within engineering that have long advanced social justice, sustainability, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

We explore HCE’s foundational ontology, epistemology, and axiology to establish a working definition of the field, distinguish it from adjacent domains, and outline the opportunities and challenges it faces in becoming a recognized discipline. The growing number of undergraduate and graduate programs reflects an important shift, yet defining boundaries, developing assessment strategies, and aligning with accreditation standards remain critical tasks.

Drawing from a series of community dialogues, we summarize efforts to create a shared language, identify best practices, and foster an inclusive Community of Practice connecting academic, industry, and policy leaders. We conclude with a call to action, inviting broader contributions toward building a formalized and sustainable future for Human-Centered Engineering.

Authors

Dr. Brock Craft http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1247-2457 University of Washington [biography]

Brock Craft is a Teaching Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Program in the department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. His areas of specialization include Information Visualization, Human-Computer Interaction, and Instructional Design.
Dr. Alexander Pagano University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Alexander Pagano, PhD, is a postdoctoral research with the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. In addition to a BS in Materials Science and Engineering, He earned his graduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering building origami robots and studying how design teams reach shared understanding. His current focuses on the theory behind engineering design and the integration of Human-Centered methods into existing engineering design paradigms.
Mr. Saadeddine Shehab University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

I am currently the Associate Director of Assessment and Research team at the Siebel Center for Design (SCD) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I work with a group of wonderful and talented people at SCD’s Assessment and Research Laboratory to conduct research that informs and evaluates our practice of teaching and learning human-centered design in formal and informal learning environments.

My Research focuses on studying students’ collaborative problem solving processes and the role of the teacher in facilitating these processes in STEM classrooms.
Dr. Cristian Eduardo Vargas-Ordonez http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7979-3901 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology [biography]

Cristian Vargas-Ordonez is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines. He has a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University, a Master in Education from the University of Los Andes in Colombia, and a Master in Science, Technology, and Society from the National University of Quilmes in Argentina.
Hadi Ali http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5308-3231 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott [biography]

Hadi Ali is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Dr. Micah Lande http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-4964-5654 South Dakota School of Mines & Technology [biography]

Micah Lande, PhD is an Assistant Professor and E.R. Stensaas Chair for Engineering Education in the Leslie A. Rose Department of Mechanical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Dr. Lande directs the Holistic Engineering Lab and Observatory. He teaches human-centered engineering design, design thinking, and design innovation courses. Dr. Lande researches how technical and non-technical people learn and apply design thinking and making processes to their work. He is interested in the intersection of designerly epistemic identities and vocational pathways. Dr. Lande received his B.S. in Engineering (Product Design), M.A. in Education (Learning, Design and Technology) and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Design Education) from Stanford University.
Prof. Georges Y. Ayoub
Dr. Sebastian Dziallas University of the Pacific [biography]

Sebastian Dziallas is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of the Pacific. He previously served as a founding faculty member at Fulbright University in Vietnam. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Kent and a B.S. in Engineering from Olin College of Engineering. His research interests in computing education research include using narrative methodologies to understand student experiences and exploring novel work-based learning approaches.
Ms. Taylor Parks http://orcid.org/0009-0005-3311-7795 University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Taylor Parks is a course development fellow in engineering education at the Siebel Center for Design. She earned her bachelor's in engineering mechanics and master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on promoting teamwork in complex engineering problem solving through collaborative task design. She currently co-leads the integration of human-centered design principles within select courses across the Grainger College of Engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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