Karen Marais is a Professor and Associate Head for Undergraduate Education in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Electrical Electronic Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch in 1994 and her B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of South Africa in 1997. She completed her S.M. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001 and 2005, respectively. Her research interests encompass Safety Risk Analysis, Systems Engineering, Education, Financial Modeling, Engineering Systems, Environmental Impacts, and Technology. Marais's research primarily focuses on the multi-disciplinary nature of engineering, specifically addressing challenges in safety risk management for complex systems. She investigates the implementation of control theory and digital signal processing in risk analysis and advocates for value-centric system design in aviation. Marais is also committed to understanding civil aviation policy, particularly regarding the adoption of new technologies and their environmental impact. Her substantial contributions to the field have been recognized at numerous conferences, reflecting her expertise in enhancing system reliability and safety in aviation operations.