Gloria Ma

Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Gloria Ma
"I am proud to be a woman because I am capable of working hard while also caring for my family. We are brave to face uncertainties and come out stronger and more resilient."
Dr. Ma joined Wentworth in 2008 as a professor of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering.

What courses do you teach?
I teach Senior Design I and II, Mechanical Vibration, Engineering Dynamics, Introduction to Engineering Design, Engineering Graphics, Introduction to Engineering (Mechanical Lab), Introduction to LabVIEW and Data Acquisition.

How have your interests, research, or experience led you to your field?
When I went to college, I was not quite sure what mechanical engineering was. After taking the fundamental engineering courses, I began to like it. I realized that mechanical engineering is one of the oldest engineering fields. It is a wide caliber field and strongly connected to almost every engineering field, such as civil, electrical, etc. I used to have a t-shirt from the Applied Materials program. There is a slogan on it, which I believe described very well why I am proud to be a mechanical engineer: “We made the machine that made the chip that changed the world!” As a woman, I am eager to see women engineers in STEM fields. During my first semester at Wentworth, I attended an event to promote women in STEM fields, and I was very excited about it. Since then, I have been on the road to encourage more female students to enter STEM fields.

Why are you proud to be a woman in 2021?
I have seen women play a critical role in controlling the pandemic. This fact further strengthens my faith that women can and should be able to contribute more to society. I am proud to be a woman because I am capable of working hard while also caring for my family. We are brave to face uncertainties and come out stronger and more resilient.

Describe one exciting thing that is happening in your classroom.
I am teaching the Senior Design class for Electromechanical students, and I have the privilege to guide students through amazing projects. Watching students overcome many obstacles, completing their prototypes and publishing their research is extremely exciting and rewarding.

What is one interesting fact about you?
I am a certified official in USA Swimming.

Share your favorite quote for Women's History Month.
"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." - Maya Angelou

List of recent publications and other accomplishments (2019 - 2021):

  • G. Ma, S. Dasgupta and A. W. Duva. “Cantilever Beam Experiment”, ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 2020.
  • J. Song, D. Dow, G. Ma and J. McCusker, “Girl Scouts STEM Day Program”, ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 2020.
  • J. Song, D. Dow, G. Ma, W. Li and L. Ma, “STEM Program for Female High School Students”, ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 2020.
  • X. Le, R. Roberts, G. Ma and H. Connor, “A Team Build-Test-Redesign Project in an Engineering Statics Course”, ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 2020.
  • D.L. Peters, M. Darbeheshti, G. Ma, K. M. Vernaza, A.N. R. Abdallah, C. Remucal, S. G. Wettstein, “How Students View the Role of Faculty Advisors in the SWE Organization”, ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, June 2020.
  • R.J. Killkelley, K.C Griffin, N.G. Klint, J. McCusker and G. Ma “Design and Development of an Automated Spatial Analysis Robot”, SII 2020 – International Symposium on System Integration, Hawaii, Jan. 12~15, 2020.
  •  G. Ma and S. Dasgupta, “Development of a Two Degree of Freedom Lab Experiment”, 18th Hawaii international conference on Education, Honolulu HI, Jan. 4~7, 2020.
  • A.J. Asencio, I. Graham, R. Korsen, G. Ma, J. McCusker, “Designing a Better Virtual Reality (VR) Experience Technical Paper Publication”, International Mechanical Engineering and Congress & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT. Nov. 11-14, 2019.
  • M.R. Dean, N.J. Martins, J.D. Brown, J. McCusker, G. Ma, and D. Dow, “Physical Thorax Model and 2D Grid of Force Sensors to Monitor Respiration”, International Mechanical Engineering and Congress & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT. Nov. 11-14, 2019.
  • A. Abdallah, D.L. Peters, G. Ma, S.G. Wettstein, M. Darbeheshti, K.M. Vernaza, and C.K. Remucal, “How Faculty Advisers and Counselors View their Role in the SWE Organization”, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference, Tampa, FL, June 16-19, 2019.
  • G. Ma and X. Le, “Utilize Project to Help Students Learning in Mechanical Vibration Course”, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference, Tampa, FL, June 16-19, 2019.
  • L. Ma and G. Ma, “Modeling and Control of a VEX Robot”, Hawaii international conference on Education, Honolulu, HI, Jan. 5 ~ 8, 2019.