6/9/2022
Written by
Professor Wendy Crone (BSEM ’90) attended MechSE’s Spring 2022 Awards Banquet to receive a Distinguished Alumni award from the department. She is a professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently a program director with the National Science Foundation for the Mechanics of Materials and Structures Program and Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Program.
“I truly appreciate the honor that has been bestowed on me tonight,” Crone said. “And thank you very much for the opportunity to be here with you and enjoy and celebrate the accomplishments of the other award winners.”
As an undergraduate at Illinois, Dr. Crone was actively involved in undergraduate research and engineering outreach efforts, as well as several student organizations. Her undergraduate years were punctuated with coop and intern experiences with Caterpillar and Sonoscan. While on campus she had the opportunity to work on research with Prof. John Harris (TAM) and Prof. Bill O’Brien (ECE). She was named as a Knight of St. Patrick before completing her BS in Engineering Mechanics with Honors in 1990. She also conducted research with Prof. Jim Phillips (TAM) after completing her MS in Engineering at Brown University with Prof. K.-S. Kim. She then embarked on a study abroad adventure at the University of New South Wales in Australia on a Rotary Scholarship. After returning to the U.S. she spent a short time in industry with GUIDANT Cardiac Pacemakers in St. Paul, Minnesota, before returning to academia. Dr. Crone completed her PhD in Engineering Mechanics with Prof. Tom Shield at the University of Minnesota.
In 1998 Dr. Crone joined the faculty of the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she developed an international research reputation in experimental mechanics applied to a variety of technical areas including nanotechnology and biotechnology. She has served as principal investigator on numerous single and multi-investigator research projects and co-authored successful grants totaling more than $70M in multi-investigator and center awards. In addition to numerous publications, and several patents, she has published two books – the most recent, "Introduction to Engineering Research" (Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2020), was written to help undergraduates and graduate student embarking on a research experience. She has received numerous awards for research, teaching, and mentoring and is the Karen Thompson Medhi Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is also a Fellow and Past President of the Society for Experimental Mechanics.
Dr. Crone’s leadership experience includes serving as Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She had oversight of all areas of graduate education for over 9,000 enrolled students across more than 150 post-baccalaureate programs, and was responsible for Graduate School offices which managed admissions, academic services, academic analysis, funding, professional development, and diversity. In addition to numerous committee appointments, she has directed a campus-wide mentoring program for faculty, and was the Associate Chair for Faculty and Staff Development in the Department of Engineering Physics before taking her rotating position at NSF.