Catherine Berdanier is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from The University of South Dakota, her M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Her research interests include graduate-level engineering education including doctoral student attrition and persistence; engineering writing; and engineering communication. Her research has been published in Journal of Engineering Education, International Journal of Engineering Education, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, and many other journal and conference venues.