Biography
Dr. Kelly Rusch
Consultant
2579 Pickett St.
Plymouth, WI 53073
Dr. Kelly A. Rusch was an engineering faculty member and administrator at North Dakota State University (NDSU) from September 2013 through July 2024. At NDSU, Rusch served as vice president for research and creative activity, associate chair of the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering and ABET coordinator for the Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering program. She has served on the boards of the NDSU Research Foundation, NDSU Research and Technology Park, Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems Authority, and the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation and was a member of the executive committee of the Council on Research – Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities.
Rusch served as executive director of the North Dakota Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) state office where she oversaw efforts of the NSF EPSCoR Track-1 cooperative agreement and the development and implementation of activities that support statewide STEM education and workforce development, diversity, partnerships and collaborations and public communications. She also served as the ND principal investigator for NSF INCLUDES, cultivating Indigenous research communities for leadership in education and STEM (CIRCLES) alliance. CIRCLES is a six-state (all EPSCoR states) alliance that includes Idaho, Montana (lead institution), New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Prior to her roles at NDSU, Rusch was an engineering faculty member and administrator at Louisiana State University. She served in numerous leadership positions, including associate dean of the college of engineering, interim chair of the department of construction management and industrial engineering, and founder and director of the institute for ecological infrastructure engineering. She led a research group focused on microorganism system design, development and modeling, wastewater treatment and surface water quality, industrial waste stabilization and reuse, and engineering education. Rusch has more than 150 refereed articles, technical papers, reports and published columns. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (1986) and her master's degree (1989) and doctorate (1992) in civil engineering with an emphasis on environmental engineering at LSU. She is a registered professional engineer in Louisiana and a board-certified environmental engineer.
Rusch currently serves as an ABET commissioner and program evaluator (representing the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists – AAEES) and consults on EPSCoR-related topics. She can be reached at (225) 266-2059 or kellyrusch212gmail.com.