Melanie Peddle

I graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a B.S., an M.S., and multiple All-American awards from NCAA II Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track. In the course of my athletic career, I suffered multiple injuries and had two surgeries – needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the athletic training room rehabbing my own injuries and commiserating with the other “regulars” from various varsity sports. In retrospect, the training room was a hands-on lab for learning the intricacies of injury and healing.

Shortly after starting my first “real” engineering job, I realized I wanted to work more closely with helping humans heal and enrolled in massage school. After massaging full-time for a few years, I joined the engineering world again at Zeel Networks, Inc. and helped interface between the contracted massage therapists and the engineers on the Product and Tech teams. Now in the Gunnison Valley, I enjoy mountain biking and skiing, and boardgames during mudseason. As a professor, I look forward to uniting multiple disciplines as well as experiential learning into my courses.

How did you discover Western?

Raced against Western while running cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track at Mines.

What are some of the highlights of your career?

A Masters of Science in engineering is a unique path to massage school, but only hindsight is 20/20. Engineering makes me a better massage therapist and massage makes me a more empathetic engineer. As an engineer, I most recently worked at Zeel Networks, Inc. where I assisted the co-founder in a variety of roles. I started in Operations where I developed and launched a new service line, then jumped into the Product and Tech departments where I helped program, develop, and maintain a new onboarding system. I also was a founding member of the data analytics team.

What most excites you about your field?

The human body is the most interesting system of forces and levers, with the added aspects of healing and adaptation. As an engineer, I can’t think of a more exciting machine to study.

What is your favorite thing about the Gunnison Valley?

My favorite thing about Gunnison Valley is the culture of fun. There are so many outdoor activities to do and many people to do those activities with.

Courses taught

• Engineering Biomechanics and Injury
• Application in Adaptive Sports