MEET OUR TEAM
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Dr. Jacqueline ShanksFaculty AdvisorDr. Shanks is the current adviser of the GradSWE at Iowa State University. Dr Shanks received B.S. in Chemical Engineering Iowa State University and, Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from California Institute of Technology. Her research interests are in plant and microbial metabolic engineering, particularly measuring fluxes and concentrations in metabolic pathways. Dr. Shanks has more than 30 years of experience in academia along with several accolades under her belt. She is also the ChE Dr, and loves to mentor the next generation of engineers and scientists.
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ESTHER OREOLUWA JOKODOLAPresidentEsther is currently a Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. As it is often said, “Scientists study that which already exists; Engineers create that which has never been.” This captures the crux of her interest in Engineering, not only to invent useful things but to re-invent the ideology of women in engineering and promote the need for all hands to be on deck. Having spent nine years in the engineering field, and held several leadership roles like the general secretary for the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineering LMU Chapter, she believes in the untapped potential of women in the field of engineering. She enjoys learning new skills, cooking, volunteering, and shopping for leisure.
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RAHMAT ADESUNKANMIVice President IRahmat is currently a Ph.D. student at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. She received her B.S. degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. For her Ph.D., she is pursuing noise-robust machine learning, where information about data distributions is incorporated into the algorithms to reduce outliers' impact. She has also been an active member of her professional society by being a participating member of the IEEE, NSBE, and gradSWE. She has kept alive her passion for contributing to women's and minorities' diversity and inclusion in society by also being a member of the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the ISU Student Union Board.
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FATEMEH GANJIVICE PRESIDENT IIFatemeh is a Ph.D. student in the Civil, Construction, and Environmental department at Iowa State University. Her interest areas are climate change and its effects, as well as the Water-energy-food nexus. We always have taken water for granted, but now, with the global warming and climate change effects starting to resurface, the accessibility problems are demonstrated in different parts of the world. So, in her master’s thesis, she worked on assessing the effects of climate change on the quality and quantity of surface water. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watercolor painting, and watching movies.
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Maria RojastreasurerMaria is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from "Universidad del Norte" in Colombia in 2016 and completed her master's degree at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2020. Her research interests include transportation safety, human factors, asset management, and sustainability. Maria passionately believes in the transformative power of education to drive positive changes in our society and the importance of a more active role of women in the science and engineering fields. Beyond her academic pursuits, Maria enjoys exploring new places, books, and art.
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CAMILLA JUNAIDVICE TREASURERCamilla is concurrently pursuing her Master’s and Ph.D. Degrees in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, specializing in Transportation Engineering at Iowa State University. Her research primarily focuses on safety and data analytics within transportation. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from University of Benin, Nigeria in 2017 and garnered diverse engineering experience before commencing her graduate studies. Through her professional journey, she directly witnessed the notable underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, igniting her passion to inspire younger generations while dispelling myths that hinder their aspirations. In her leisure time, Camilla loves to cook and travel to new destinations.
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RUPSA ROYSecretaryRupsa is a PhD student at Iowa State University in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. With a specialization in Geotechnical Engineering, she earned her Master of Science degree from SUNY Buffalo in 2020. Her doctorate research concentrates on numerical modeling of slope stability. Rupsa enjoys music, art and communicating and learning from people across the globe. She is strong advocate for woman in the STEM field. She actively encourages women to participate and contribute to the advancement of this field.
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Esther Y Akoto-Vice Secretary IEsther is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. Esther has a multi-disciplinary background in Food Science and Technology and Industrial and Agricultural Technology. This reflects her interest in entrepreneurship, hence becoming a founder of Pinesod Foods- a food processing enterprise in Ghana that adds value to indigenous Ghanaian food products. She believes that scientists and engineers can make a great impact through entrepreneurship. Esther has a passion for serving others, hence leading a charitable group that solicits support for widows and orphans in Ghana yearly. Before becoming an executive member of GradSWE, ISU chapter, she volunteered with the group at science fairs and many more! Esther believes that everyone can make a change, no matter how small. She trusts that the future of science and engineering is “women.”
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Aparna JoshiVICE SECRETARY iiAparna is a Ph.D. student specializing in Intelligent Infrastructure within the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department. She is working on projects centered around naturalistic driving data, funded by the Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center and carried out in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, all under the management of the Institute for Transportation. She embarked on her academic journey, earning a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from GB Pant University, followed by a Master's degree in Transportation engineering from BITS Pilani Hyderabad. She then worked in WSP ICRC UK as a Graduate Transportation Engineer before coming to ISU for her PhD. She's a vocalist in the ISU Fusion band known as the Punk Punditz, and she takes pleasure in playing both the guitar and percussion instruments.
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PRIYANKA LAMAPUBLICITY CHAIRPriyanka is a Masters Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on mining smart meters and EV charging data for modeling customers' charging behaviors and EVs. Leverage the developed models to study the impacts of higher EV penetration on the distribution grids. She received her B.Tech and MBA degrees from India and has four years of corporate experience. In her free time, she indulges herself in reading and running.
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ANISHA KARKIVICE PUBLICITY CHAIRAnisha is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering specializing in Structural Engineering at Iowa State University. Her current research involves enhancing the accelerated bridge construction by using UHPC for bridge substructure. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Nepal in 2019. She is a firm proponent of equity, women’s empowerment and breaking gender stereotypes in STEM, and hopes to make contributory changes for those causes. She enjoys reading, listening to music and exploring new places in her free time.
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JENIFFER PEREA-LOPEZOUTREACH CHAIRJeniffer is a PhD student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. In 2019, she earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Wellesley College. Her research focuses on engineering nonconventional microbial hosts and developing stable expression platforms for convenient gene and pathway manipulations. Jeniffer enjoys traveling to new places, experiencing different cultures and reading. She enjoys reading stories centered around issues/representing women, POCs and the LGBTQ+ community. As a woman and Latine in engineering, Jeniffer wants to help foster diversity and inclusivity in a field in which women are underrepresented.
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Shadi Azadvice OUTREACH CHAIRShadi is a PhD student in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University. Specializing in Structural Engineering, her research focuses on enhancing the quality and efficiency of bridges through innovative design methodologies. Passionate about promoting equity and expanding educational resources and opportunities for underrepresented groups, Shadi has been an active participant in volunteer work throughout her academic journey. Her aspiration is to give back to her community, with a focus on advancing equity and diversity within the field of STEM.
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Julia BowmanProfessional Development and Leadership ChairJulia is currently a Master's student majoring in Agricultural Engineering in the power and machinery focus area. Julia completed her bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State University as well focusing on livestock environments and structures. She specializes in precision agriculture and her research focuses on sprayer sustainability in terms of nozzle application and BoomTrac stability. She is also a young professional member of ASABE, contributing to outreach of high school and college students to pursue STEM majors. She enjoys meeting new people and traveling.
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Shristi shresthaVice Professional Development and Leadership ChairShristi is an M.S. student in Human Computer Interaction program at Iowa State University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Nepal. Shristi is passionate about empowering underserved populations with more than five years of experience in community leadership roles. She is a tech product enthusiast with an interest in human-centered design and inclusive innovation. Her current research interests lie in the intersection of education and tech. In leisure, Shristi enjoys cooking, reading fiction, and traveling.
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ONYEKA ONYENEMEZUSocial Event ChairOnyeka is a PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering. Her research focuses on rational engineering of microbes to increase their robustness for industrial applications. She is passionate about representation, diversity and equality. In her leisure time, Onyeka enjoys immersing herself in music, savoring delicious food, exploring new places, and learning new languages. These passions reflect her deep appreciation for diverse cultures and experiences.
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SHERLY HATTASANJAYAVice SOCIAL EVENT CHAIRSherly is a master’s student in Aerospace Engineering. Her research focuses on data-driven approach of aerodynamic optimization using machine learning. Sherly completed her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Iowa State University. She is passionate about supporting women in STEM and encouraging younger generation to pursue STEM majors. In her role as a social event chair, Sherly plans and organizes gathering events for women across various engineering departments, allowing them to meet and connect with one another. In her free time, Sherly enjoys travelling, reading, and cooking.
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Kamrun Nahar KeyaMembership ChairKamrun Nahar Keya is a PhD student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering (majoring in Engineering Mechanics) at Iowa State University. She began her PhD journey in the spring of 2021 in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Dakota State University before transferring to ISU in the fall of 2023. She earned her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Military Institute of Science and Technology in 2016. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree, Keya worked as a research fellow at the Institute of Radiation and Polymer Technology, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research expertise spans three primary domains: molecular dynamics simulations, computational chemistry, and machine learning. Her research focuses on understanding the behavior of polymers using a combination of molecular dynamics and machine learning approaches, as well as on photoactive materials and light-induced processes in conjugated polymers and metalorganic complexes. In her free time, Keya enjoys watching movies and cooking.
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THIVANI SENATHIRAJAGRadSWE AmbassadorThivani is a PhD student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. In 2018, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK), India. Her research focuses on advancing the development of block copolymers and their use in gas separation and hydrogen fuel cells. She is an ardent supporter of STEM education and promotes it by organizing and volunteering at several outreach programs targeted at young kids, young adults, and high school teachers. Thivani spends her leisure time reading novels, traveling, and experimenting with fun healthy recipes!
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JOYCE W. KAMAUVice GradSWE AmbassadorJoyce, from Molo Kenya, is currently a graduate research assistant Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering. She enjoys giving back to the community by being a mentor to the young generation and advocates for more girls in stem-related career. She is a Co-founder of Stem Wahadisi La femme Kenya which is involved in mentoring high school girls from the marginalized area and providing information on stem-related fields. She graduated from Kenyatta University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. She likes walking and dancing on her free time.
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