Nembhard has been at Oregon State since July 2016, where in addition to her role on the College of Engineering’s leadership team, she has been active in university-level strategic planning as well as efforts to advance inclusivity, student success and well-being. She has been named dean of the University of Iowa College of Engineering and will begin that appointment in June. Nembhard earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California; a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Arizona State University; and a master of science and Ph.D. in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan. Her scholarship is focused on improving complex systems across manufacturing and healthcare. It has led to several advances including a patented imprint lithography manufacturing process for small-scale medical devices and a sensor-based system to conduct early screening for Parkinson’s disease. She is widely published in leading professional journals, has served in numerous journal editorships and has authored three books including Healthcare Systems Engineering. She is a fellow of both the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the American Society for Quality. She currently serves as a member-volunteer for the ARCS Foundation and as an alumna-trustee for Claremont McKenna College.
