Professor Audeen Fentiman holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mathematics and a Master’s and Doctorate in Nuclear Engineering.  She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at Ohio State University and later in her career became the first woman to lead a university Nuclear Engineering program in the United States.  In the past five years she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Nuclear Society, the Board of Directors of the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the National Nuclear Accrediting Board which accredits training programs for people who operate nuclear power plants.  In addition, she was elected Chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization. 

Dr. Fentiman has co-authored a text book on radioactive waste management, led teams that prepared informational materials for elected officials and the general public on radioactive waste management, and given scores of presentations on nuclear power around the country. 

She began her career in industry where she held top secret clearances from both the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.   Much of her work was in radioactive waste management, protection of nuclear facilities, and counter terrorism.  After a decade in industry, she accepted a faculty position at Ohio State where she continued her research on radioactive waste management while taking on series of other tasks including serving as Director of the Environmental Science Graduate Program, leading a team that redesigned the first year engineering curriculum to make it more hands-on, team-oriented, and student centered, developing an Introduction to Engineering course for high school students, establishing a women in engineering summer workshop, and serving as Chair of the Nuclear Engineering Program.  In 2006 she moved to Purdue University where she now spends 50% of her time as Associate Dean of Engineering, 50% of her time in the President’s office as Assistant Director for Strategic Planning and Regional Campuses, and the remaining time teaching nuclear engineering classes. 

Dr. Fentiman has won outstanding teacher awards at Ohio State and Purdue and in 2001 received the American Society for Engineering Education’s Sharon Keillor Award as the outstanding woman engineering educator in North America.  She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a 2010-2011 American Council on Education Fellow, a reviewer for archival journals, author or co-author of several journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers, and enjoys hiking, gardening, and reading – in her spare time.