Celebrating our Engineering Leaders
On International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting the engineers who are shaping our college and inspiring future leaders.
At the College of Engineering and Applied Science, we believe women and non-binary people belong. They belong in the classroom. In the lab. In leadership roles. In STEM. In all places where decisions are being made and innovation is essential. Our women faculty members are National Academy inductees, international research stars, devoted family members, and mentors to aspiring engineers. They choose to challenge convention, to persist in their endeavors against the odds and to lead by doing what they love to do.
The accomplishments of our engineering faculty members are many, and there’s still work to be done. We are taking steps together to grow our ranks and achieve equity — because we choose to challenge, and we're committed to change.
Choose to Challenge: Stories of Progress
This ongoing project, launched on March 8, 2021, highlights stories of progress within our college. We invited engineering students to interview current faculty members they respect and admire about their journeys into engineering, the challenges they've overcome and their advice for younger generations.
We invite you to read, be inspired and help us raise the voices of these and other women and non-binary engineers in pursuit of a more just future.
Our Engineering Leaders
Anderson has been fascinated by space since third grade. Her research now involves spacesuit design and biomedical issues in space and aviation.
By Madisen Purifoy-Frie
“Keep your eyes looking forward, surround yourself with people that are supportive, and don’t be afraid to seek out good mentors.”
By Sarah Fischer
Axelrad credits many of her “inspiring and supportive” mentors for setting her on her career path.
By Jane Manalo
“I love math and science, but I also loved everything else—poetry, reading.”
By Yamelit Medina-Lopez
A conversation with a relative who was an electrical engineer at NASA became the catalyst for Bryant to study chemical engineering.
By Sarah Kim
Cox would advise her younger self to try to be more relaxed about certain things. Opportunities lend themselves.
By Tanvi Gopalabhatla
Hind's research is fueled by her love for biology.
By Erica McNamee
Hoenigman’s journey in engineering began through self-teaching powered by curiosity.
By Cathleen Samson
Ignited by the disastrous Haiti earthquake that coincided with the start of her career at CU Boulder, Javernick-Will leveraged her experience in working with global companies into her current research.
By Elif Deniz Oguz Erkal
Her advice to her younger self would be to “be authentic.”
By Mia Miller
Recent Honors
Distinguished Professor
Member of the the National Academies of Engineering, Medicine and Sciences
Distinguished Professor
Professor Emerita
Michelsen's research focuses on soot from flames and atmosphere and their effect on the environment.
By Kimberly Fung
“Growing up in a family of public servants in the backdrop of the civil and women’s rights movements led me to get involved in equity issues across campus.”
By Keith Molenaar
Sprenger's research is focused on a holistic approach to infectious diseases such as HIV.
By Jacqueline Rodriguez Mora
“Nothing is more fulfilling than empowering other people, and that’s the amazing thing about being a professor.”
By Mia Miller
“A commonly walked, well-articulated path, might not be the most rewarding.”
By Sasha Hall
Tsai discovered her engineering “ah-ha” moment when she was invited to join her high school robotics team.
By Kimberly Fung
Being a woman in STEM has its challenges; to be successful, Young says to treat others with respect.
By Katelynn Thammavong
Zarske is a personal professor who looks out for the good of her students.
By Erika Antunez