Meet our GradTrack Mentors

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Caitlin Adams

Department or School: Materials Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I study superabsorbent polymer hydrogels both as internal curing agents in concrete and as mediators of inorganic material crystallization.
Career interest: I want a career where I can share my enthusiasm for science and engineering through teaching and mentoring in an intellectually curious and collaborative environment.

Imani Adams

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: African American K-12th grade youth pathways to engineering
Career interest: I am interested in working with programs that focus on introducing engineering to youth from underrepresented populations.

Shauna Adams

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research interests include assessment of pre-college out-of-school time (OST) engineering/STEM programs and increased engagement of underrepresented youth in pre-college OST engineering/STEM programs.
Career interest: My career interest include consulting with pre-college engineering programs and developing pipeline programs for teens at different engineering companies.

Fernando Aguilera de Alba

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Understand the effects of blast-related injury on the peripheral and central auditory system.
Career interest: I am interested in pursuing a career in academia to guide younger generations and then transition into high-impact sports to treat auditory deficits due to traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Emily Barber

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Rank: Master's Student (Thesis)
Research/Academic interest: I conduct research in using novel radiative cooling technologies to combat climate change

Taymee Brandon

Department or School: Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research focuses on developing and characterizing surface-modified textile-derived biochar for aqueous heavy metal recovery in industrial wastewater systems.
Career interest: My intention is to become a professor so that I may mentor the next generation of scientists and engineers, teach higher education courses with an inclusive pedagogy, and engage in meaningful water quality research.

Jose Capa Salinas

Department or School: Civil Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research interest is focused on design and inspection of bridges, and my current project involves the use of UAS (drones) in the assessment of bridges and similar structures.
Career interest: I would like to pursue a career in academia where I can inspire and help others to achieve their goals.

Mohamed Aziz Dridi

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I am interested in understanding the cultural and structural factors that sustain cross national differences in women's participation in engineering education and practice.
Career interest: nt, international education policy, academia and management consulting.

Ángel Enriquez

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Developing microscale technologies to add functionality to implantable/biomedical devices.
Career interest: To become a professor and create impact through academic research as well as creating programs for increased participations for minorities.

Sopuruchukwu Ezenwa

Department or School: Chemical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I investigate how the properties of catalysts influence the chemical transformations that they catalyze.
Career interest: I am interested in advancing fundamental research that enables practical solutions while contributing to the development of future generations of diverse minds in STEM.

Damilola Lawore

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Systems Biology approach in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Career interest: I am interested in the development of therapeutics for diseases like cancer.

Ruben Lopez

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Better understand how K-16 students develop engineering thinking and professional skills through diverse learning environments.
Career interest: I want to continue working in academic settings and developing innovative curricular interventions in engineering.

Nafissa Maiga

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I am interested in conscious engineering education especially when it comes to sustainability and Indigenous knowledge.
Career interest: I'd like to eventually become an environmental engineer consultant & educator in West Africa.

Sara Metti

Department or School: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Studying material properties for topological quantum computing
Career interest: I am interested in exploring the possibility of a career in academia to conduct impactful research and contribute to science education.

Stefannie Morales Jiménez

Department or School: Aeronautics and Astronautics
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Development of green rocket fuels for space exploration applications.
Career interest: Establish a non-profit organization focused on aerospace engineering research in Puerto Rico.

Xavier Morgan

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Research/Academic interest: Lunar in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and carbon neutral solar fuels.
Career interest: Human spaceflight operations and entrepreneurship.

Juan Paz

Department or School: Industrial Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research interests are in the fields of data analytics and decision making for logistics in Emergency Medical Systems (EMS) and smart and connected communities.
Career interest: My career interest is to pursue a faculty position where I can perform research and student mentoring that: first, lowers the barriers to healthcare access, and second, fosters underrepresented students to achieve their personal objectives and become agents of social wellness.

Margaret Perlman

Department or School: Civil Engineering
Rank: Master's (Thesis)
Research/Academic interest: My research focuses on extreme hazard loading on steel-plate concrete composite systems.
Career interest: My goal is to design and protect critical infrastructure against extreme hazard loads (blast, impact) to ensure the safety of all communities.

Josue Rivera

Department or School: Aeronautics and Astronautics
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Control theory and machine learning
Career interest: Research Engineer

Julio Rivera-De Jesus

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research is based on point-of-care diagnostics, we design and develop accessible technology to monitor/diagnose diseases near the patient.
Career interest: In the future, I would like to pursue a career in academia.

Alex Santiago Vargas

Department or School: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research focusses on designing adaptive RF power amplifiers.
Career interest: I'm looking forward to work as a professor.

Paula Sarmiento

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Tendon omics and tissue engineering
Career interest: Translational research

Kerry-Ann Stirrup

Department or School: Materials Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research focuses on the behavior of crystalline explosives during high-speed dynamic failure.
Career interest: I would like to countinue to work in the energetic materials field, focusing on the material properties of explosives.

Jonathan Turnley

Department or School: Chemical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research focuses on the synthesis of metal chalcogenide semiconductors for solar energy applications.
Career interest: I hope to obtain a faculty position at a research university and to lead a lab focused on sustainable energy research.

Abhishek Kumar Umrawal

Department or School: Industrial Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I develop causal and reinforcement learning algorithms for artificial intelligence problems with applications to social influence maximization and product recommendation.
Career interest: I would like to have a career in academic and industrial research.

Juan Verduzco

Department or School: Materials Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research involves the design of materials by combining machine learning algorithms, physics-based simulations, and materials synthesis & characterization for battery applications.
Career interest: My career goal is to work in industry, in a position that deals with combining data science and materials informatics. At the same time, I would like to contribute to training the new generation of researchers in ML techniques.

Juan-Pablo Almanza-Soto

Department or School: Aeronautics and Astronautics
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Astrodynamics; finding Earth-Moon connections in the restricted three-body problem.
Career interest: I'd like to be a space mission designer, looking at either cislunar or interplanetary objectives.

Emily Bartusiak

Department or School: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research focuses on applying deep learning and machine learning techniques to signals, images, and videos for forensic, defense, and biomedical research.
Career interest: I strive to serve humanity through innovation, wherever my career takes me.

Tania Lee Class Martinez

Department or School: Chemical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research is focused on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides for automotive emissions control strategies.
Career interest: I aspire to become an influential researcher in academia where, as a professor, I intend to help young scientists and engineers to continue discovering knowledge through research.

Laura Melissa Cruz Castro

Department or School: Engineering Education
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: The incorporation of human-centered data analytics in education
Career interest: I want to pursue a path in academia.

Abigail Ekeigwe

Department or School: Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research is on developing and implementing competence-based regulatory sciences education for regulatory scientists in sub-Saharan Africa.
Career interest: My career goal is to work in the industry and serve as an adjunct faculty in my area of regulatory sciences expertise.

Ángel Enriquez

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Developing implantable biomedical device technologies to improve their long term reliability and performance
Career interest: To achieve a professorship position where I can transition technologies to the clinic and provide opportunities for minorities to excel in higher education.

Andrea Felicelli

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research interests include nanomaterials, additive manufacturing, sustainable energy, and bio-inspired technology.
Career interest: My future career interests are teaching in engineering higher education and working in academic research in materials and advanced manufacturing,

Rachel Gehr

Department or School: Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research explores how vacuum UV and photochemistry can be used for treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water sources.
Career interest: Upon completion of my PhD, I plan to pursue a faculty position at an R1 institution.

Mateo Gomez

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Laser Diagnostics and High-speed tomographic imaging of combusting environments.
Career interest: I want to continue doing research on next generation devices and advancing diagnostic capabilities to complement their development.

Vanessa Kwarteng

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research interest using game-theory and reinforcement learning in modeling to develop resilient socio-technical systems.
Career interest: My career interests are focused on exploring roles in government, academia and the financial industry.

Danyel Martinez

Department or School: Mechanical Engineering
Rank: Master's (Thesis)
Research/Academic interest: Computational solid mechanics
Career interest: Technical leadership

Jesus Perez-Cardona

Department or School: Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: My research is focused on the redesign of products aiming to maximize the environmental and economic performance while minimizing non-intended consequences from a system perspective.
Career interest: I would like to combine my career path between academia as a professor and industry as an engineering consultant.

Laura Roa

Department or School: Biomedical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I focus on unraveling the biophysical properties of dendritic spines using a combination of nano-electrophysiology, two-photon calcium imaging, transmitter uncaging, and SEM.
Career interest: I am interested in continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge on microcircuits of the cortex in a post-doctoral setting in order to continue a rigorous scientific training in a collaborative environment.

Ángel Santiago Colón

Department or School: Chemical Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Study of heterogenous catalysts to convert methane to valuable chemicals
Career interest: Become a tenure-track professor in a research university and help on the professional development of future researchers.

Abhishek Kumar Umrawal

Department or School: Industrial Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: I develop machine learning algorithms for influence maximization over social networks.
Career interest: I would like to have a career in academic and industrial research.

Jose Waimin

Department or School: Materials Engineering
Rank: Ph.D.
Research/Academic interest: Design of sensors and devices for microbial activity diagnostics in agricultural, health, and food packaging industry.
Career interest: Looking forward to finishing my PhD and going into a career in Industry.