Karen J. Horton
Professor, Mechanical Engineering Technology
Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Maine
2012 University of Maine Presidential Public Service Achievement Award
2010 Society of Women Engineers Outstanding SWE Counselor Award
M.S. Industrial Mathematics, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1993
B.S.E., Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University, 1983
B.S. Education, State University College at Oneonta, NY, 1979
Karen J. Horton, P.E. joined the MET faculty in the Fall of 1997 from Bath Iron Works where she worked for five years in Noise, Shock and Vibration building Aegis Destroyers. Prior to pursuing her Masters Degree she spent three years as a Mechanical Engineer at the Naval Coastal Systems Center in Panama City, Florida and taught Math and Electronics for a year at Ramstein American High School, Germany. She has lived in New York, Arizona, Iceland, Florida, Germany, and Maine.
Prof. Horton is passionate about increasing the number of women and other underrepresented groups in the engineering career fields. She was a co-Principal Investigator on a National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant at the University of Maine to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty members in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and in the social and behavioral sciences. She serves as the advisor to the collegiate section of the Society of Women Engineers and encourages young women to pursue engineering as a career. From 2002-2010 she served as the Assistant Director then the Director of the Creative design at CAD Camp which offered scholarships to students in groups underrepresented in engineering including girls, minority students, and underprivileged students.
Prof. Horton teaches Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Technology, Design I, Design II, and Industrial Vibrations. She has also taught Technical Drawing, Manufacturing Technology, Introduction to Computer-Aided Machining, Fluid Flow Technology, CAD/CAM Projects, Engineering Materials, and Virtual Preservation of Historical Structures.