HomeBlogPodcasts Incorporating Artificial Intelligence into Engineeringby Jessie L. Moore and Nolan SchultheisDecember 1, 2025 Share: Section NavigationSkip section navigationIn this sectionPodcasts – Home 60-Second SoTL Limed: Teaching with a Twist Making College “Worth It” Special Series First-Year Seminars Land Acknowledgement Making College “Worth It” – Season 3, Episode 3 In this episode, we explore the technical, ethical, and social complexities of using AI in engineering. We speak with Dr. Blake Hament, Assistant Professor of Engineering at Elon University, who shares an example of developing a voice-enabled robotic guide dog in close collaboration with members of the visually-impaired community. Our conversation also examines the long history of AI in engineering, illustrating that GenAI is an updated application of a longstanding technology. View a transcript of this episode. Meet our Guest Professor Blake Hament is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Elon University. He received a B.S. in Physics from Duke University and served as a research assistant at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN). After his undergraduate studies, Blake joined Teach for America, served as a robotics coach, and earned his M.Ed. in Science Education from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He earned his Ph.D. with the Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Nevada, Las Vegas while conducting R&D with companies like Tesla, Lockheed Martin, Boston Dynamics, and local aerospace and robotics startups. Blake was awarded a US Congressional Commendation and a US Department of Transportation Outstanding Student of the Year award for these contributions. At Elon, Blake has been working to build bridges with other disciplines, with projects like Musical Theatre Robotics and UAV for Stormwater Sampling. Episode Credits This episode is co-hosted by Jessie L. Moore, Director of Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning, and Nolan Schultheis, a third-year student at Elon University, studying Psychology with an interest in law. Nolan Schultheis also edited the episode. Episode art was created by Nolan Schultheis and Jennie Goforth. Funky Percussions is by Denys Kyshchuk (@audiocoffeemusic) – https://www.audiocoffee.net/. Soft Beat is by ComaStudio. Making College “Worth It” is produced by Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning. Explore Resources Related to The Episode Keefe, Amalie J., and Blake Hament. 2024. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Voice Module for Robotic Service Dog.” IEEE Xplore 2024 Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS). https://doi.org/10.1109/SIEDS61124.2024.10534692 Dr. Hament’s Google Scholar page – https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CQNe4WcAAAAJ&hl=en The Affordances and Risks of Generative AI for Training Undergraduate Researchers Undergraduate research is credited with helping students develop cognitive abilities along with an understanding of the way that research happens, among other benefits, when done well. Some characteristics of high-quality undergraduate research include working on unsolved research problems (Bhattacharyya, Chan, and Waraczynski 2018) working closely with faculty having some autonomy in the research decisions (Gilmore et… Future of Feedback in the Age of GenAI 60-Second SoTL – Episode 86 What is the future of feedback in higher education in the age of GenAI? This episode features an open-access article that posits four key values for integrating GenAI feedback into care-full feedback encounters: Winstone, Naomi… Assessment in the Upside Down: Academic AI with Students as the Audience Recently, I downloaded Grammarly’s 2025–26 AI Trends Report. It had an interesting statement in its introduction: “Higher education is no longer at the beginning of its AI journey, but clarity of direction is still emerging” (2). Given other things I… Academic AI and Audience: Thoughts for Research Would you use AI to create materials for a tenure portfolio? How about a reference letter for a student’s graduate school application? For a conference? If so, what would you do with it? As faculty consider the risks and benefits of AI use, one area to think about is the… AI Literacy and Higher Education Instructors Is it time to teach kindergarteners prompt engineering, yet? This New York Times article is about grade school education, but I thought the subhead was telling: “Artificial intelligence companies are urging teachers to prepare students for an ‘A.I. -driven future.’ What that means varies from… 1 2 … 10 11 >
