Biography

Dr. Kristina (Kris) Ropella is Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering at Marquette University.  She joined the biomedical engineering faculty at Marquette in 1990 and served as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2004 to 2013, when she was named the executive associate dean. Ropella assumed the permanent role of Opus Dean in 2015. In this leadership role, Ropella provides vision and leads strategic planning and implementation, creation of academic programs, engagement with industry, government and other academic institutions, fundraising, and community outreach.

Ropella’s research expertise is in biosignal processing and medical imaging for diagnostic medical devices, with emphasis on monitoring of cardiac arrhythmias and brain mapping.  She led the creation of several innovative educational programs, including the Joint Functional Imaging Ph.D. program with MCW, a new biocomputer engineering major at Marquette, a GAANN Graduate Fellowship Program in Functional Imaging, and the Marquette and MCW Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is also the founder and faculty director of Excellence in Leadership, a curricular innovation leadership development program for undergraduate students across the disciplines at Marquette. Through a curriculum rooted in the Jesuit tradition, E-Leaders progress through a three-year program focused on leading oneself, leading with others, and leading innovation. 

Ropella was named the Wisconsin U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support for Education (2007). She has twice received the college’s Outstanding Teacher Award (1994 and 2002) and received the university’s Robert and Mary Gettel Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence (2002). Ropella received the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 (2000) and Women of Influence (2008) awards; STEM Forward’s Engineer of the Year award (2016); and the Kern Family Foundation’s Outstanding Dean award (2016).

Ropella is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She has served on the board of directors for AIMBE, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Council of Chairs in Biomedical Engineering, and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Board of Directors at Milwaukee’s St. Augustine Preparatory Academy and the Cristo Rey Jesuit  High School Governance Board.

She received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Marquette University, and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University.

Podcasts 

	Manufacturing Happy Hour In this episode of the "Manufacturing Happy Hour", Dr. Kristina Ropella meets with host Chris Luecke, Eng '09, to discuss how engineering education is evolving to incorporate more creativity, diversity and leadership while preparing engineers for the manufacturing industry and beyond.  Listen to the complete podcast.
	SWE Diversity In this "Diverse" podcast episode, Dr. Kristina Ropella, first female dean at Marquette University's Opus College of Engineering, speaks to FY19 SWE President Penny Wirsing about her goal of changing the face of engineering.  Listen to the complete podcast.
	Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria Dr. Kristina Ropella joins Cara Santa Maria for the "Talk Nerdy" podcast to discuss her research in biosignal processing and medical imaging for diagnostic biomedical devices, and her role as one of the few women in the U.S. who serve as Dean of Engineering. Listen to the complete podcast.
	STEM on Fire Dr. Kristina Ropella joins the latest "STEM on Fire" podcast to chat about career paths in engineering, how to succeed in college, and the best advice she received on her path to becoming dean. Listen to the complete podcast.
	We Are Marquette Dr. Kristina Ropella, Opus Dean of Marquette University’s Opus College of Engineering, discusses her passion to change the face of engineering to include more women and underrepresented minorities. Listen to the complete podcast.

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