Bio: Samantha Kang is a mechanical engineer, design researcher, and community organizer based in Corvallis, Oregon. Their research investigates how social constructs like gender implicitly structure design theories, design cognition, and technology trajectories in service of building more equitable tech and infrastructure. Their research has been presented at major design conferences such as ACM DIS, DTRS, and ASME IDETC, which has garnered them a Best Paper award and Honorable Mention. They were also honored as an ME Rising Star 2023 at UC Berkeley.
Kang completed their B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. They are currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University in the Design Engineering Lab. Prior, they worked at HP Inc. for more than five years as a mechanical design engineer and MEMS process engineer for HP’s first color MultiJet Fusion 3D printer and 2D inkjet printhead technology, respectively.
This website also provides a look into my research, teaching, and community organizing work via Corvallis Climbers of Color, an organization I founded to reduce barriers to climbing and the outdoors for people of color. I’ve been awarded multiple nationally competitive grants from Arc’teryx and the American Alpine Club. I also write about living with disability here following a major climbing accident.
On the job market for academic/ industry postdoc positions in the ⭐2026-2027 cycle⭐
News:
- August 2025: Presenting at IDETC2025 paper. I will also be hosting my first workshop at IDETC2025 this year on my IAT research.
- July 2025: DIS2025 paper was accepted! Heading to Funchal, Portugal to present.
- April 2025: I presented in OSU’s Graduate Engineering Research Showcase, watch my talk here.
- April 2025: I was accepted into the Labs for Liberation Summer Institute on Disability and Design, directed by Moya Bailey and Aimi Hamraie. Funded by the Mellon Foundation.
- June 2024: Presented at DTRS14 in Sweden.
- Dec 2023: Gave a virtual talk to MIT SERC, hosted by Prof. Anastasia Ostrowski
- Oct 2023: Selected to attend ME Rising Star at UC Berkeley
- August 2023: Won ASME Best Paper at IDETC 2023
Participate in On-Going Research: Take the Gender-Design Implicit Association Test
Data Privacy: All data collected is anonymous, confidential, and will never be shared with any third-party. Qualtrics uses Transport Layer Security (TLC) encryption or also known as HTTPS, which is what banks use to securely transfer credit card information.
Important Disclaimer: The individual researchers who have contributed to this test make no claims about the validity of the claims or self-perceived conclusions from the IAT. You may prefer to examine general information about the IAT before deciding whether or not to proceed.
In this IAT, you will be asked to categorize typical masculine gendered nouns and typical feminine gender nouns as well as words associated with products and product attributes.
Corvallis, OR, is located within the traditional homelands of the Mary’s River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.granderonde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (http://ctsi.nsn.us).
