Cheryl Knobloch is an engineer, a higher education practitioner, and STEAM change agent. As senior director of the Penn State Women in Engineering Program since 2002, Cheryl champions engineering equity, inclusion and allyship for precollege, undergraduate, graduate students and alumnae. She also teaches undergraduate first-year mechanical engineering courses and advises the nationally award-winning student chapter of Society of Women Engineers. Cheryl is an invited external evaluator for National Science Foundation (NSF) engineering mentoring initiatives and was appointed as an expert reviewer on the 2022 NSF Committee of Visitors for the Directorate of Engineering.
In 2022, Cheryl was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation. The PAESMEM Award recognizes career impact and leadership broadening participation of underrepresented individuals in STEAM. Successful underrepresented engineering mentees are found in every conceivable professional workplace including government, industry, tech start-up, higher education, research and medicine.
Cheryl has published and presented exceptional retention initiatives and inclusion best practices to amplify the success of women in STEM. Penn State WEP was selected as national recipient of the 2019 Women in Engineering ProActive Network “Women in Engineering Initiative Award” through her leadership, recognizing “outstanding programs that serve as a model for other institutions to increase recruitment and retention of women in engineering.”
Cheryl earned a B.S. in ceramic engineering from Alfred University and a M.Ed. in higher education from Pennsylvania State University. Selected honors include Penn State Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award (2013), Zonta Status of Women Award (2017) and Penn State Achieving Woman Award (2018). Cheryl was honored to be one of six professionals featured on the 100th Penn State Homecoming Court (2019) in celebration of Penn State excellence themed, a “Century of Stories.” Cheryl shares her STEAM journey with two daughters that bring her endless joy.
