Karen J. Ohland is an American biomechanical engineer and museum administrator, and the former president of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Ohland graduated fromSwarthmore College with a double major in engineering and biology. Continuing her studies, she earned a master's degree in anatomy from theUniversity of Chicago.[1][2]
As a biomechanical engineer, she researched the mechanical properties and injuries toligaments at theUniversity of Pittsburgh's Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab and Musculoskeletal Research Center from 1986 to 1993.[3] She also worked on orthopedic implants for Howmedica Inc. and Howmedica Osteonics, until its acquisition in 1998.[1]
Shifting to a career in museum administration, she worked as a finance administrator at theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York for almost 13 years before, in 2012, moving to thePrinceton University Art Museum as associate director for finances and operations.[2] She continues to work for the museum as a senior associate director.[4]
Ohland joined the ASME in 1983,[1] and was named as anASME Fellow in 2021.[5] She became president of the ASME for the 2022–2023 term.[1]