Student earns Harrisburg’s first doctorate in engineering and computing systems

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Trisha Campanaro recently became the first student to earn a doctorate in engineering and computing systems from Penn State Harrisburg, marking a milestone for the program that began in 2023.

Campanaro defended her dissertation in June and graduated in August, which coincided with Penn State celebrating the University's one millionth degree awarded.

“It's kind of now hitting me how cool and special the timing is,” Campanaro said, noting that in addition to being the first graduate of her program, she's also graduating during Penn State Harrisburg's 60th anniversary. “That's a pretty neat milestone for everybody.”

The engineering and computing systems doctoral program offers an interdisciplinary education that combines course work and doctoral research that cut across disciplines with a focus on topics such as those defined by the U.S. National Science Foundation as “engineered systems.” Students may develop expertise in the traditional civil, environmental, electrical, mechanical engineering, and computational systems but apply their doctoral research to engineering systems. 

Campanaro earned her undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering technology from Penn State Harrisburg in 2020. She then pursued a master’s degree in engineering management from Rowan University in New Jersey in 2022.

She worked in a few manufacturing roles, and while working in one project management role, she began interacting more with people who worked in research and development. It became clear to her that she wanted to do research, too.

She said she had always stayed connected to Penn State Harrisburg and heard about the new doctoral program. She saw that some of her favorite undergraduate faculty were involved, she said, and that their research focused on vibrations and manufacturing — an area she was beginning to see her own interests lie.

She began the program in fall 2023. The first cohort of students was a small, tight knit group at first, she said, despite representing different engineering disciplines. They worked through some of the program ‘firsts’ together, she added, before branching into their own areas of interest.

Campanaro's dissertation focused on the psychoacoustic characterization and noise reduction of centrifugal air blowers using computational fluid dynamics and machine learning.

Centrifugal air blowers used in HVAC systems generate complex noise that conventional metrics don't capture, she said. A decibel meter would read the raw sound pressure level, but Campanaro's work focused on how humans actually perceive the noise from these devices — small "birdcage" impellers used in larger air conditioning systems, like those found in buses or hospitals. Using simulation, machine learning and physical testing, she developed blower designs that sound quieter and less harsh to people, even when they aren't necessarily the most aerodynamically efficient — a distinction, she found, that conventional engineering approaches tend to miss.

Campanaro said she was fortunate to connect with Issam Abu-Mahfouz, professor of mechanical engineering and her doctoral adviser, on research that she was interested in, and she was able to find an area of focus quickly.

“I got really lucky that we're a very applied research campus, which is awesome because then you get to attack a real problem and get the hands-on experience,” she said.

Campanaro said she was lucky to have an “incredible” adviser in Abu-Mahfouz. She added that she thinks the program has done a great job of connecting students with advisers from the start.

“That's been like a core component of success that I think is unique to this program,” she said. “And especially with the interdisciplinary nature, I think that's a little harder to do and they nailed it.”

Campanaro has accepted a faculty position at Penn State Great Valley in the engineering management department, which enables her to combine her doctoral work with her previous experience.

“That was kind of a match made in heaven, so I'm really excited,” she said.