Biography

Gretchen A. Macht, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering and the Founder and Executive Director of the Engineering for Democracy Institute (EDI) at The University of Rhode Island.

EDI, formerly URI VOTES, has created tools and guidelines, helped implement legislative changes, and addressed both election-year and future potential challenges. A computational community ergonomist, Dr. Macht applies engineering principles to improve election administration function nationwide, directly assisting 35 election jurisdictions in 18 states representing over 26 million registered voters.

Notable awards and designations include: the 40 Under Forty Award by Providence Business News in 2019, an Election Expert by MIT in 2021, a finalist for the 2022 URI Teaching Excellence Award, a Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Science Policy Fellow in 2023, and awarded the 2024 URI Advanced Career Faculty Research and Scholarship Excellence Award.

Her research collaborations and support include the Rhode Island Secretary of State, the Rhode Island Board of Elections, Democracy Fund, Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, National Science Foundation, Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions, Elections Trust Initiative, and the US Elections Assistance Commission. Her public talks were sponsored by The Boston Society of Architecture, RI Common Cause, Center for Technology and Civic Life, and the Bipartisan Policy Center, as well as being featured in USA Today and NPR.

Professor Macht holds degrees from The Pennsylvania State University, with her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering with a specialization in Human Factors and Ergonomics, her M.S. and B.S. in Industrial Engineering with tracks in Manufacturing, as well as a Postdoctoral Scholar in Architectural Engineering.

Since joining the URI faculty in 2015, she has mentored seven Ph.D. and 22 master’s students, with over 50 undergraduates participating in her research group, spanning six URI colleges and hailing from five continents. She also enjoys being a co-leader of Girl Scout Troop 418.