As a civil engineering instructor, Courtney teaches the primary civil engineering courses, which include Structural Analysis, Steel Design, Concrete Design and Geotechnical Engineering. She also teaches Control Systems and Mechanics of Materials. She started at Hope in 2013.

AREAS OF INTEREST

Courtney specializes in structural monitoring and control of civil infrastructure. She develops and uses wireless sensor nodes to collect data from civil infrastructure, such as buildings and bridges; by applying signal processing techniques on this data, she attempts to detect fatigue and degradation in the structure prior to failure.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, 2014, University of Michigan
• MSE, electrical engineering, 2012, University of Michigan
• MSE, civil and environmental engineering, 2008, University of Michigan
• B.S., engineering with mechanical emphasis, 2006, Hope College
• B.A., French, Hope College, 2006

PUBLISHED WORK

• “Bio-Inspired Sensing and Actuating Architectures for Feedback Control of Civil Structures,” Bioinspiration and Biomimetics 14(3), 2019
• “Wireless Sensor Networks for Long-Term Monitoring of Urban Noise,” Sensors 18(9), 2018
• "Digital Control for Mechanical Systems," in Mark’s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, 12th ed., 2017
• "Resource-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network Architecture Based on Bio-Mimicry of the Mammalian Auditory System," Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 26(1), 2015
• "Utilizing the Cochlea as a Bio-Inspired Compressive Sensing Technique," Smart Materials and Structures 22(10), 2013

View more of Dr. Peckens' publications on her CV.

Selected Grants

• National Science Foundation, Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Division, “RUI: Bio-Inspired Architectures Enabling Real-Time Feedback Control in Wireless Sensing and Actuating Networks,” August 2017–July 2020, $133,889

outside the college

Courtney and her husband, Adam (lab director for the Department of Engineering), have two daughters, Molly and Finley. They enjoy backpacking, kayaking and being outdoors as much as possible.