• Menu
    • ASME
    The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

    Special Issue on Identity and Representation in Engineering Design

    Journal of Mechanical Design
    Journal of Mechanical Design icon
    Interactions between personal identity and engineering design have long been of interest to the design community, especially in the context of design theory and methodology. Many engineered artifacts and systems fail to serve the needs of diverse users. Recent work in the Journal of Mechanical Design has explored root causes and effects of this phenomenon by investigating impacts of gender on team dynamics, cognitive processes, self-efficacy, prototyping spaces, stakeholder analysis, and more. 

    We encourage researchers to build upon and extend this work across the design process and within broader frameworks of intersectional identity. Submissions to this special issue may also explore challenges and opportunities related to engaging diverse participants in engineering design research and/or methods to increase the diversity of samples in design theory and methodology studies, which are often based on undergraduate engineering courses or professional teams that are not reflective of a diverse global population. Overall, this special issue aims to explore current design research that engages with issues of identity and representation to inform approaches and methodologies used in engineering design. 
     

    Topic Areas

    THE SCOPE OF THIS ISSUE INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

    • Sociotechnical investigations of engineering design in relation to different demographic groups or social identities
    • Explorations of bias in engineering design 
    • Experimental studies investigating the impact of identity and/or representation in various engineering design contexts
    • Exploration of underrepresentation in engineering practice, such as in industry contexts
    • Investigations exploring intersectionality of demographics or identities within engineering design
    • Investigations of how AI-assisted design practices may affect or amplify biases
    • Investigations of underrepresentation and identity in engineering design education
    • Studies exploring the intersection of identity and perceptions of expertise
    • Intersection of identity with various design approaches/methodologies, including but not limited to, global development, resource-constrained design, participatory design, value-sensitive design, or human-centered design
    • Studies exploring the role of stereotypes in shaping design processes in engineering design, such as in empathic design processes
    • Explorations of positionality in engineering design (e.g., engineers’ identities in relation to the context of a design project)

    Special Issue Publication Dates


    Paper submission deadline: November 20, 2026
    Initial review completed: January 1, 2027
    Publication date: July 2027

    Submission Instructions

    Papers should be submitted electronically to the journal through the ASME Journal Tool. If you already have an account, log in as an author and select Submit Paper. If you do not have an account, you can create one here. 

    Once at the Paper Submittal page, select the Journal of Mechanical Design, and then select the Special Issue on Identity and Representation in Engineering Design.

    Papers received after the deadline or papers not selected for the Special Issue may be accepted for publication in a regular issue.

    Guest Editors

    Madhurima Das, The University of Melbourne (madhurima.das@unimelb.edu.au)

    Anastasia Schauer, The University of Texas at Austin (anastasia.schauer@austin.utexas.edu)

    Anastasia Kouvaras Ostrowski, Purdue University (akostrow@purdue.edu) 

    Jessica Menold, The Pennsylvania State University (jdm5407@psu.edu)

    Kate Fu, University of Wisconsin - Madison (kfu26@wisc.edu)

    Aliaa Maar, The Pennsylvania State University (amaar@psu.edu)

    Laura R. Murphy, University of Michigan (lrmurphy@umich.edu)