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Ulises Trujillo Garcia is an undergraduate student at Boise State University, pursuing a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. He is actively involved on campus. Currently, he is a McNair Scholar conducting research on historically marginalized students' challenges during the pandemic under Dr. Krishna Pakala's guidance. He is also the Vice-President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Financial Officer of Chi Epsilon-The Civil Engineering Honor Society, and Events Fundraising Officer for Organizacion de Estudiantes Latino-Americanos. Among his numerous accomplishments and awards, Ulises was recently elected as a 2021 fellow for the prestigious Station1 Frontiers Fellowship (SFF). He plans to earn an MS in Structural Engineering to gain further insight into the field of engineering and to be able to teach introductory engineering courses where he can serve students who are at vulnerable points in their degree progression. Subsequently, Ulises wants to pursue a Ph.D. in Engineering Education to help diverse students navigate this challenging field, access resources, and increase their graduation and retention rates.

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Krishna Pakala, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University (Boise, Idaho) where he has been since 2012. He is the Faculty in Residence for the Engineering and Innovation Living Learning Community. He is the Director for the Industrial Assessment Center at Boise State University. He served as the inaugural Faculty Associate for Mobile Learning and as the Faculty Associate for Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning. He has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyoming). He has approximately 25 publications/presentations. He is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He is the recipient of David S. Taylor Service to Students Award and Golden Apple Award from Boise State University. He is also the recipient of ASEE Pacific Northwest Section (PNW) Outstanding Teaching Award, ASEE Mechanical Engineering division’s Outstanding New Educator Award and several course design awards. He serves as the campus representative (ASEE) for Boise State University and as the Chair-Elect for the ASEE PNW Section. His academic research interests include innovative teaching and learning strategies, use of emerging technologies, and mobile teaching and learning strategies.

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Samantha Schauer is a graduate student at Boise State University, pursuing a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in engineering education and preparing students for design based profession. Samantha works as a Graduate Research Assistant under Dr. Krishna Pakala.

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Dr. Diana Bairaktarova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Through real-world engineering applications, Dr. Bairaktarova’s experiential learning research spans from engineering to psychology to learning sciences, as she uncovers how individual performance is influenced by aptitudes, spatial skills, personal interests and direct manipulation of mechanical objects.

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Dr. Bhaskar Chittoori received his bachelor's degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, India in 2002 and master's degree from National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India in 2004. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2008 from the University of Texas at Arlington. After his Ph.D. he worked at Parsons Brinckerhoff, a well renowned civil engineering design firm, in their Dallas office. Dr. Chittoori joined as Assistant Professor in Geotechnical Engineering area of the Civil Engineering Department of Boise State University in the fall of 2013.; His research interests are clay mineral quantification, sustainability assessment, advanced soil testing and interpretation, soil stabilization, soil reinforcement, pavement materials characterization along with finite element modeling of soil systems. He has published articles in ASCE Geotechnical Journal, ASTM Soil Testing Journal, Transportation Research Board Records, International Conferences on Soil Mechanic Related Topics, ASCE conferences. He is a member of ASCE sustainability committee, TRB Bridges and Foundation's committee. He is a licensed civil engineer in the state of Texas and a member of Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi honor societies.

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