University of Detroit Mercy

Darrell Kleinke earned a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University. He has worked as both an instructor and as a practicing engineer. He has taught all levels of mechanical engineering courses, ranging from freshmen courses such as Introduction to Engineering, up to graduate courses in Front and Back Ends of Innovation. He has over 25 years of automotive engineering experience and holds three United States patents. His research interests include collaborative projects with healthcare professionals to develop novel assistive technologies for the disabled community. He has published techniques to foster innovative design methods such as biomimicry via function-mapping and he has encouraged innovation in corporate settings as a hands-on workshop leader.