Diana Haidar
Faculty Director, Tech Spark
Associate Professor of the Practice, Mechanical Engineering
Diana R. Haidar joined Carnegie Mellon University in fall 2017 as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and leads efforts in the new Maker Ecosystem. Her prior research work developing both metal and polymer nanocomposites for advanced performance in extreme environments required her to design, fabricate, and build various custom testing equipment for these unique materials. In instructing undergraduate and graduate student teams to make their own machinery, she developed a passion for using maker space resources to bring more hands-on design experiences to the classroom.
Haidar focuses her efforts on connecting students to new makerspace resources. She is a proponent of increasing active learning in the classroom and enhancing engineering education by making. In addition to her makerspace and teaching roles, she pursues her passion for promoting diversity in STEM through youth outreach activities
Education
2017 Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware
2011 BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Affiliations
Media mentions
Tech Spark
Carnegie Mellon hosts international makerspace symposium
Makers and educators from more than 150 academic institutions attended the 2023 International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces (ISAM).
Popular Science
Haidar quoted in Popular Science
MechE’s Diana Haidar was quoted in Popular Science talking about 3D printing. “Mass manufacturing methods, almost all of them are quite fixed. You can only remake the exact same parts over and over again. But people also want custom parts. That’s where 3D printing has a niche,” she says.
CMU Engineering
Behind the shield
Tech Spark is fabricating face shields for essential workers at the front lines of the COVID-19 response.
CMU Engineering
Transforming ideas into reality in Tech Spark
In the College of Engineering’s Tech Spark, Robert Smith, senior windows systems engineer, has developed a system that allows students, faculty, and staff to access machines and tools they have been trained on, and directs them to training courses they may need to use the systems in the future.
Boston Globe
Rethink the Rink Make-A-Thon featured in Boston Globe
MechE’s Diana Haidar and students participating in the Rethink the Rink Make-A-Thon were featured in the Boston Globe for the student’s efforts to create safer boards for hockey rinks.
Mechanical Engineering
Making it happen
From collaborative maker spaces to multidisciplinary make-a-thons, Diana Haidar plays an integral role in the College of Engineering’s maker ecosystem.