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Jacoba Ubidia is a research assistant at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in the Civil Engineering department. She holds a B.A. on Architectural Studies & Environmental Science from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

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Miguel Andrés is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Civil Engineering and Architecture at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, in Ecuador. Miguel Andrés is a civil engineer from USFQ (2009), was awarded a MSc in Civil Engineering – Construction Engineering and Management at Iowa State University (Fulbright scholar, 2012)and his PhD in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech (2019), as well as two Graduate Certificate in Engineering Education and Future Professoriate.

(i) ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE: Miguel Andrés was Project Manager of PREINGESA where he has directed construction projects in the development of urban infrastructure for urbanizations such as earthworks, drinking water works, sewerage, underground electrical cables and fiber optics, roads, aqueducts, water reservoirs, housing construction, among others. He was also a Project Management Associate for a Habitat For Humanity housing project in the USA.

(ii) RESEARCH: Miguel Andrés' research focuses on (1) decision-making for the design and construction of infrastructure projects, (2) the planning of sustainable, smart and resilient cities, and (3) the development of engineers who not only have solid technical and practical knowledge, but also social understanding for, through infrastructure, address local and global challenges on humanitarian, environmental, social and equity issues.

(iii) EDUCATION RESEARCH: Related to STEM education, Miguel Andrés is developing and applying contemporary pedagogies and tools for innovation and student empowerment to address climate change. Currently, Miguel Andrés is developing teaching and evaluation pedagogy that directs a philosophy of seeking excellence as a pillar to eradicate corruption.

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Dr. Homero Murzi (he/él/his) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech with honorary appointments at the University of Queensland (Australia) and University of Los Andes (Venezuela). Homero is the leader of the Engineering Competencies, Learning, and Inclusive Practices for Success (ECLIPS) Lab where he leads a team focused on doing research on contemporary, culturally relevant, and inclusive pedagogical practices, emotions in engineering, competency development, and understanding the experiences of traditionally marginalized people (e.g., Latinx, international students, Indigenous students) in engineering from an asset-based perspective. Homero is interested in understanding how to develop effective and culturally relevant learning environments that can promote the sustainable competencies engineering students require to succeed in the contemporary workforce. His goal is to develop engineering education practices that value the capital that traditionally marginalized students, bring into the field. Homero aspires to change discourses around broadening participation in engineering and promoting action to change. Homero has been recognized as a Diggs Teaching Scholar, a Graduate Academy for Teaching Excellence Fellow, a Global Perspectives Fellow, a Diversity Scholar, a Fulbright Scholar, an inductee into the Bouchet Honor Society, and received the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Homero serves as the VT Engineering Education Chair for Equity and Inclusion, and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Incoming Chair for the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CDEI). He holds degrees in Industrial Engineering (BS, MS) from the National Experimental University of Táchira, Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Temple University, and Engineering Education (PhD) from Virginia Tech.

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