Karen A. Thole receives prestigious award from ASME
The Kate Gleason Award recognizes distinguished women in engineering for outstanding entrepreneurial success or a lifetime of achievement.
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For turning influential turbine research into a powerful educational platform, Karen A. Thole has received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) 2025 Kate Gleason Award.
Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at U-M and a professor of mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, is honored “for providing students unique educational experiences involving large-scale experiments, mentoring them for positions in industry, government, and academia.”
Given annually to a distinguished woman in engineering, the Kate Gleason Award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurial success or a lifetime of achievement, according to ASME. It is named after Kate Gleason, the first woman to be a full member of ASME.
“Like the award’s namesake, Karen Thole is a trailblazer,” said Daisie Boettne, chair of the ASME Kate Gleason Award Committee and professor emerita at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. “She has broken barriers and made lasting contributions to the profession and to society through the technologies she’s created and the talent she has developed.”
Thole is the first woman to serve as dean of Michigan Engineering, and was the first female head of the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering—a role she held for 18 years beginning in 2006. She has also held key leadership positions within ASME’s International Gas Turbine Institute.
“Kate Gleason’s groundbreaking accomplishments as a builder, innovator, leader, community advocate, and engineer stand the test of time, and I am honored to be recognized with this award in her name,” Thole said.
Thole is a renowned expert in gas turbine cooling design as well as in translating fundamental research into patented technologies that benefit society. Her work has improved both aircraft propulsion and power generation systems that produce 40% of the world’s electricity. Along the way, she established one of the world’s most sophisticated research turbine facilities, the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab at Penn State, and supported over 90 graduate students who now work in industry, federal agencies and academia. Advances born in her lab are used today in industry to improve aerodynamics and turbine efficiency and durability.
Beyond her technical accomplishments, Thole has been a successful advocate for STEM education and outreach. She co-founded the Engineering Ambassador Network, a national initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of engineers. Since 2009, the program has introduced more than 200,000 K-12 students to the field of engineering, and more than 40 universities currently participate.