Dr. Karen Thorsett-Hill
Associate Professor of Practice
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Thorsett-Hill (aka “Dr. KTH”) research interests are in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. She has taught at several universities including California State University, Sacramento, University of Colorado, Boulder, and University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she was a founding advisor to UNC Charlotte’s nationally acclaimed Rocketry Team.
Dr. Thorsett-Hill spent 20 years in engineering design and project management in the U.S. Navy and private industry.
Education
- Ph.D. 2012, University of North Carolina at Charlotte—Mechanical Engineering
- M.S. 2010, University of North Carolina at Charlotte—Mechanical Engineering
- M.B.A. 1997, California State University
- B.S. 1991, University of Memphis—Mechanical Engineering
Resources
Research Interests
Aerothermodynamics of High-Speed Flow
General Applications of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer
Honors and Awards
- UNC Charlotte mechanical engineering department nominee for the College of Engineering undergraduate teaching award in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
- Faculty mentor to the award-winning 49er Rocketry and Projectile Society and NASA USLI senior design competition team. The team placed first in the nation in rocket design, second in the overall national competition (twice), third in the world for their instrumentation in the National Instruments Student Design Competition, and won UNC Charlotte College of Engineering’s best senior design project award.
- Selected as a Levine Scholars faculty affiliate and mentor for North Carolina’s most prestigious merit-based college scholarship program.
