Dr. Karen Thorsett-Hill
Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Programs
Associate Professor of Practice
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Karen Thorsett-Hill’s (aka “Dr. KTH”) research interests are in aerothermodynamics of high-speed flow through rocket nozzles and general applications of fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Dr. KTH is a US Navy veteran and has spent 20 years in engineering design and engineering project management in the military, government, and private industry.
Dr. KTH taught in the mechanical engineering programs at California State University, Sacramento, University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before arriving at Colorado State University in 2020.
Dr. KTH is the founding advisor of UNC Charlotte’s nationally acclaimed Rocketry Team and is an advisor for CSU’s Rocketry Team. She holds a certificate in rocket propulsion from the University of Alabama, Huntsville.
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.
