Dr. Dietz teaches core undergraduate courses in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.A. in Spanish and Global Studies, all from the University of Iowa. Her professional experience includes postdoctoral research at the University of Tennessee followed by work in the consulting industry and in government service. Prior to joining the faculty at PSU, Dr. Dietz worked for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality as Cleanup Program Coordinator leading teams of DEQ project managers and external stakeholders in developing program recommendations, guidance documents and training materials. Before that, Dr. Dietz was an environmental consultant at Geosyntec where she worked on projects at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and for a wide variety of commercial and industrial clients. Her practice included site investigation and contamination assessment, hydrogeological field testing, environmental and solid waste permitting, environmental due diligence services, design and management of relational databases, preparation of technical opinions for litigation support projects, soil and tank excavations, and phytoremediation treatment system evaluation, design and installation. Dr. Dietz is interested in water resources, sustainability, international development, and multi-disciplinary problem solving. She focuses her teaching and mentoring on assisting students in their professional development.
Research Interest and Expertise
- Improving undergraduate STEM education
- Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in engineering classes
Courses Taught