Team

Old main building

Current Students

Janice Higuera. Janice is pursuing her PhD in civil engineering with a focus in civil systems / construction engineering management. She is researching military service experiences. 

Karen Crofton. Karen is researching entrepreneurship education during her PhD in Engineering Education.

Wendy Martin.  Wendy is researching nanolearning for statistics education during her PhD in Engineering Education.

Sheila Davis.  Sheila is a GRA on the ADVANCE grant exploring the experiences of women faculty of color in STEM. She is pursuing the PhD in Engineering Education.

Calvin Wynn. Calvin is pursuing a PhD in Engineering Education.

Undergraduate students: Maya Leizerovich, Alex Aronov.

 

Former Students

Joany Tisdale (2023).  Joany completed her PhD in civil engineering with an engineering education and civil systems focus. Her dissertation research focused on sustainability education in mechanical engineering. Joany is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor / Instructor with the Integrated Design Engineering Program at CU Boulder, teaching Engineering Tools and Analysis and Engineering Projects for first-year students. Previously she was a Graduate Part Time Instructor leading sections of GEEN 1400 FirstYear Engineering Projects and MCEN 3012 Thermodynamics.  Joany Tisdale Website

Joan Tisdale

 


D.C. Beardmore (2023). Desi completed their PhD in civil engineering with an emphasis in Construction Engineering Management. Their research explored the experiences of graduate students with invisible dis/abilities. Desi was previously a graduate fellow working with the CU Engineering Goldshirt Program and a Graduate Part Time Instructor teaching GEEN 1400 First-Year Engineering Projects. Desi is currently the Goldshirt Program Manager for the BOLD Center of the CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science.   


 Sabina Schill (2021)
Sabina earned her PhD in environmental engineering with an engineering education focus. Her dissertation research focused on the impacts of mentoring K12 students in STEM on the STEM identity of the mentors. At CU Sabina was a GK-12 fellow, Teaching Assistant in environmental engineering, editor for TeachEngineering, and a Chancellor's Fellow for STEM Education (2019/2020). She also explored the relationship of mentoring and identity on learning assistants (LA's), work in collaboration with Valerie Otero of CU's School of Education. Sabina was a postdoctoral fellow at Florida International University working at the STEM Transformation Institute from 2021-2023. Sabina is currently a Teach@Mines instructor and advisor at the Colorado School of Mines. 

Sabina Schill

 


James Harper, P.E. (2020)
James earned his PhD in civil engineering with a civil systems / global engineering focus. His dissertation research focused on fecal sludge management in Cambodia, in collaboration with iDE. Co-advised by Amy Javernick-Will. James is currently a Teaching Assistant Professor at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ.  He is also a research manager at Realize Research. James was previously a program manager and lead engineer at EWB-USA. 

James Harper

 


Rebecca Komarek (2020) 
Becky earned her PhD in civil engineering with a civil systems / engineering education research focus. Her dissertation studied leadership development in engineering students. She is currently the Executive Director of the Scott Scholar Program at Colorado State University. For many years Becky was the Associate Director of the Idea Forge in the College of Engineering & Applied Science at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Rebecca Komerek profile

Rebecca Komarek

 


Maddie Polmear (2019)
Maddie earned her PhD in civil engineering with an environmental and engineering education focus. Her dissertation research focused on macroethics education.  Maddie earned her BS in Environmental Engineering and MS in Civil Engineering at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ. At CU she was involved in outreach projects in communities affected by oil and natural gas development, worked with community groups in Colorado and tribal students in North Dakota on citizen science projects relating to air and water quality monitoring. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida working with Prof. Denise Simmons from 2019-2021, followed by a EUTOPIA Science & Innovation Fellowship/Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND Fellow at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Dr. Polmear is currently a lecturer in Engineering Education at King's College London. 


Beth Myers (2016)
Evaluating Admission Practices as Potential Barriers to Creating Equitable Access to Undergraduate Engineering Education. Awarded the WEPAN Leader in Engineering Education Award from the Women in Engineering ProActive Network in 2020. Beth is currently the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at the University of Colorado Denver. Previously, Beth was the Assistant Vice Provost for Student Success Initiatives (2019 - 2022) and the Director of Accreditation and Assessment in the College of Engineering & Applied Science (2016-2019), both at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

Beth Myers

 


Greg Rulifson, P.E. (2015)
Evolving Social Responsibility Understandings, Motivations, and Career Goals of Undergraduate Students Initially Pursuing Engineering Degrees. Currently: Capacity Development and Grant Writing Consultant, Anese & Associates LLC. Formerly:  US AID Senior Humanitarian Sustainability Advisor. AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Lecturer, University of Maryland; Assistant Professor, Division of Engineering, Design, and Society, Colorado School of Mines.

Greg Rulifson

 


Marissa Forbes (2015)
Course Choice Opportunity and Technical Non-Technical Balance in Undergraduate Engineering Education. Marissa was also lead editor of the TeachEngineering Digital Library and an NSF GK=12 Fellow. Currently: Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of San Diego. 

Marissa Forbes

 


Nathan Canney, P.E. (2013)
Assessing engineering students’ understanding of personal and professional social responsibility. Currently: Senior Project Manager at Taylor Devices, Inc. Previous: Instructor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seattle University (2013-2017); Structural Engineer, CYS Structural Engineers, Sacramento CA (2017-2020).

Nathan Canney

 


Malinda S. Zarske (2012)
Impacts of Project-Based Service-Learning on Attitudes towards Engineering in High School and First-Year Undergraduate Students. Current: Teaching Professor and Director for the Integrated Design Engineering Program, College of Engineering & Applied Science, Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Website

Mindy Zarske

 


Todd Cort (2000) Lecturer in Sustainability; Faculty Director of Sustainability Program. School of Management, Yale University.