School of Engineering
Showing 1-23 of 23 Results
-
Crystal Pennywell
Faculty Affairs and Staffing Manager, Mechanical Engineering
Current Role at StanfordFaculty Affairs & Staffing Manager in the Mechanical Engineering Department
-
Carrie Petersen
Adm Assoc 3, Computer Science
Current Role at StanfordFaculty Administrator
-
Forest Olaf Peterson, Ph.D.
Research Affiliate, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Staff, Civil and Environmental EngineeringBioDr. Forest Olaf Peterson is Co-Director of the Stanford Workforce VDC Lab, an initiative of the Stanford School of Engineering and Doerr School of Sustainability. Peterson teaches Construction Project Assessment and Budgeting (CEE 240), developed the foundational concept of the VDC-capable construction workforce, and runs an educator certification program placing faculty across Silicon Valley.
As founder of Palo Alto Data Group, Peterson leads development of eCPR, a data infrastructure platform for labor standards enforcement on public works. Peterson holds the California franchise for cadwork, a Swiss BIM platform and CIFE industry member, on building information modeling for heavy civil infrastructure, including highway and rail. Previously, as the founding employee at Rhumbix, a construction technology startup backed by Greylock Partners, Peterson made the Series A pitch.
Public service roles include Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commissioner, chair of the Flood Protection Bond Oversight Subcommittee at Valley Water, board director of the Santa Clara County Construction Careers Association, a nonprofit, and he is a subject matter expert contributor to California labor standards legislation.
Peterson holds M.S., Engineer, and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford. The doctoral work, completed under Terry Winograd, made a seminal contribution — 'change' as a formal primitive in AI agent ontologies applied to construction project monitoring. Peterson is a three-time named engineering fellow at Stanford — Brahtz, Oglesby, and Olsen. His research on teaching construction project management is one of the most cited papers for its influence on construction engineering education internationally.
Peterson brings both blue-collar and white-collar perspectives to the role of scholar of infrastructure. For seven years before Stanford, he was a concrete laborer on large infrastructure projects with the Laborers' International Union of North America. Those years taught social and environmental dimensions from the ground up. His fellow laborers wanted to work safely. However, though skilled, they often did not have the information to succeed without unnecessary hardship. Without it, on a large highway project, a two-ton barrier dropped and hit something that flipped it over where it came to rest just inches above Peterson's chest. They celebrated his chance survival. One cried in memory of a recent work fatality. They were told to get back to work. The futility of the situation has left a lasting impression.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/forest-peterson
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Forest-Peterson -
Mr Ryan K Pierce
Adjunct Lecturer, Bioengineering
BioRyan Pierce is a Lecturer in Bioengineering and Co-Founder of Nine. He has served as VP of Design and Innovation at Ventus Medical, VP of Business Development at Loma Vista Medical, a healthcare investor at De Novo Ventures, Rock Health, and SV Life Sciences, and a product designer at Concentric Medical and The Foundry/Zephyr Medical. An inventor on over 30 U.S. patents, he holds mechanical engineering degrees from MIT and Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
-
Daniel J. Politzer
Ph.D. Student in Management Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2026
Research Associate, Management Science and EngineeringBioDaniel J. Politzer is a PhD student in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University where he researches the impact of AI on organizations and the future of work. He does this as a member of the AI and Organizations Lab and the Center for Work, Technology, and Organization.
Prior to returning to school, Daniel held various positions including leading customer success teams at a technology company, serving as interim COO for turnaround projects, and managing portfolios and derivative trading books at hedge funds and banks.
Daniel has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an AB in Social Studies from Harvard College. -
Robert Prakash
Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Stanford Engineering Center for Global and Online Education
Current Role at StanfordChief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer, Stanford Engineering | Center for Global & Online Education
