Dr. Arrieta's research interests are on the subjects of advanced compliant structures and smart material systems exploiting nonlinear behavior for creating novel functionality in engineering systems. Prior to coming to Purdue, Dr. Arrieta was the team leader of the Compliant Systems Group at the Laboratory of Composite Materials and Adaptive Structures of ETH Zurich. Upon his arrival at ETH Zurich, he received the prestigious ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship award, allowing him to independently fund his research. Before moving to Switzerland, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher officer at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Dr. Arrieta obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bristol and his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes
Dr. Bernal teaches Ecology and Conservation Biology and leads a research lab within the Department of Biological Sciences. She is also Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Her interests lie at the interface between behavior, evolution, and ecology and her research focuses on animal communication. In her lab, she and her team study the ecology and evolution of mating calls of frogs and their interaction with frog-biting midges that eavesdrop on them. Dr. Bernal holds a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Physiology and Animal Behavior from Universidad de Los Andes and a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of over 36 peer-reviewed journal articles and one book chapter. Dr. Bernal is also heavily involved in efforts to bring knowledge about frogs and their behavior to the community and supportive of an inclusive academic environment.
Dr. Esteban García explores computational arts as a researcher, a practitioner and as an educator. His research has been featured in the annual meetings of international organizations such as SIGGRAPH and ISEA, as well as in the publication Leonardo Journal of Art, Sciences and Technology. His artwork has been displayed internationally in media art festivals, exhibits, and artist-in-residence programs. He earned his MFA from Purdue University in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Technology, also from Purdue, in 2013.
Dr. José García is a Certified Fluid Power Hydraulic Specialist and performs applied research in Hydraulics and Pneumatics at Purdue. His current research in fluid power focuses on electric-hydraulic hybrid vehicles and the application of hydraulic drive-trains for middle and small sized wind power turbines. He also works on the development of a new generation of hydraulic components and systems that can operate using environmentally friendlier fluids. Dr. García received his PhD and MSc degrees from the Agricultural and Biological Engineering department at Purdue.
Martha García-Sáenz was Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Construction Engineering and Management Technology at Purdue North Central. Before she attended graduate school at Purdue, she worked as a civil engineer in Colombia for 20 years. During this time, she got involved in all manner of projects, including the construction of the tallest building in Colombia by then. After earning her MSc degree in Civil Engineering in 1999, she joined the faculty at Purdue North Central. Her contributions to Purdue include founding the Women in Engineering and Technology organization on the Westville Campus and co-establishing two academic scholarships for Purdue Northwest students in engineering and technology fields. She retired from PNW in May and was granted Professor Emerita status by the Purdue University board of trustees.
Liliana Gómez-Díaz represents Purdue University in Colombia, striving to connect Purdue projects and people with the needs of Colombia at a national and local government level, industry, and academia. She is a Business Administrator from Universidad del Rosario, with specializations in Human Resources Management from Universidad de Los Andes and Commercial Management from Universidad de La Salle. She holds an MBA from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and a Masters in Global Business from EADA of Spain. Liliana is also a Certified International Consultant from Bureau Veritas and Universidad del Rosario. Liliana has an extensive resume as a corporate and academic leader. She has served as dean of the Business School at the Universidad del Rosario, Education Director and Corporate Manager for Compensar - a social security conglomerate - and has held management and financial directive positions in Colombian construction, real estate and hotel organizations. She has also completed extensive Transformational Leadership Studies and teaches leadership in universities in Colombia. Furthermore, she has been lead consultant for projects for the Colombian Ministry of Education and the Secretary of Education for Bogota, Colombia. Finally, she has co-authored two books on education: Tramar las Palabras (2000, SED and Compensar), Voices of the Soul (2002, Compensar).
Phone number: +57 3124524848 OR +57 3006100853
As the Interim Assistant Head, Dr. Isabel Jimenez-Useche oversees the operations of the first year engineering program: curriculum, policies, academic advising, student transitions, and well being. Isabel first joined the School of Engineering Education at Purdue in 2014 as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant, doing research for the First-Year Engineering Program. Her research focuses on studying how to better teach and learn engineering in multicultural educational environments. Before coming to Purdue, she coordinated the Chemical Engineering undergraduate program in Universidad de los Andes for three years. She holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering and a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes and a MSc and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Purdue.
María Mercedes (Mechas) Levy is a microbiologist from La Universidad de Los Andes. She developed her research expertise in molecular marker-assisted strategies for improvement of beans and cassava at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali from 1991-1998. Then, in 1998, she joined Professor Morry Levy's lab in the department of Biological Sciences at Purdue as Research Scientist and Lab Manager, where she has worked ever since. She and her now-husband Morry Levy have mentored more than 20 Colombian students to become Boilermakers and have supported and implemented numerous projects in Colombia that span several areas: climate change and sustainability in Páramo, bioprospection of anti-breast cancer therapeutics, conservation of Colombia's extraordinary biodiversity, and management of rice blast disease. María also holds a Graduate Certificate in Second Language Studies granted by Purdue University.
Phone number: 765-494-8133 OR 765-418-0108
Office: LILY G-356
Dr. Posada's interests are in social-emotional development; focusing on the study of child-parent attachment relationships and parenting. He is specifically interested in investigating the development of the secure base phenomenon, its relations to the quality of caregiving and characteristics of the family (e.g., marital conflict and support), and children's behavioral outcomes. An important emphasis of his work is the study of those issues from a cross-cultural perspective. Similarly, a characteristic of his research is the use of observational methodologies in naturalistic settings (e.g., home, hospitals, and playgrounds). Dr. Posada also uses interview and questionnaire techniques, and occasionally brings participants to a laboratory context. Dr. Posada holds a MA and a PhD from Developmental Psychology from State University of New York-Stony Brook.
Phone number: 765-494-1029
Office: Hanley Hall 248
Dr. Susan Prieto-Welch has been Director of the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) center at Purdue since 2002. Her main function is to oversee the needs of the agency so that they meet students' demand for service. "We are a multidimensional counseling center, which means that we provide therapy and related mental health services, as well as work in our campus community to provide workshops, presentations, and consultation on mental health and well-being." Susan Prieto-Welch also provides some therapy services, sometimes in Spanish for those students who might benefit, and has supervised clinicians for a very long time. Susan graduated from Kalamazoo College (MI) with an undergraduate degree and from the University of Notre Dame (IN) with her Master's and Doctorate degrees in Counseling Psychology. "What drives me in my work, and what has kept me in college counseling centers throughout my career, is my love of working with- and serving- students. I love our particular population on this campus for many reasons, including the large percentage of International students. It's wonderful to see the number of Colombian students who have come to Purdue, as well."
Phone number: 765-494-6995
Office: PUSH 234
Dr. Pujol teaches several subjects at the undergraduate and graduate level in Civil Engineering, advises and mentors students, does research, serves in university and professional committees and editorial boards, and provides ITAP with suggestions about how to help researchers at Purdue with data management and computing. His research interests include earthquake engineering, seismic vulnerability of existing structures, displacement-based seismic design, instrumentation and testing of structures, response of structures to impulsive loads, and repair and strengthening of structures. Dr. Pujol has received several honors and awards, including the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from ASCE and the Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research from the American Concrete Institute. He holds three degrees in Civil Engineering: A BSc from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and both an MSc and a PhD from Purdue.
Phone number: 765-496-8368
Office: HAMP 4118 / BOWN 1046
Dr. Ruiz' scholarly and teaching interests are in health disparities among racial, ethnic, and migrant populations with a particular emphasis on Latino youths and their families. Her current research explores both macro (i.e. migration trajectories) and micro (i.e. health behavior decision making) influences on health outcomes and behaviors among Latinos. The overarching goal of Dr. Ruiz's research program is to develop innovative mechanisms (i.e. use of community health workers, provider-parent collaborations for preventing teen risk behavior, etc.) for the delivery of empirically based targeted interventions designed to reduce health disparities among the Latino community in the United States and across Latin America and Spanish speaking Caribbean. Dr. Ruiz obtained a PhD in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from Purdue University, a MSc in Community Health Education from San Jose State University, and a BSc in Biology from the University of California Los Angeles.
Phone number: 765-494-9112
Fax: 765-496-1239
Dr. Mario A. Romero is currently a research scientist in the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue and is the Research Program Manager for the Center for Road Safety. His research interests are road safety, traffic operations and management, traffic conflict techniques, and new applications of technologies to road safety. His research has been presented and published in various journals and symposiums. Dr. Romero has an interdisciplinary education in management, civil engineering, and computer science.
Phone number: 765-496-1350
Office: PTC C2102
Dr. Sarzosa is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Purdue University. His research fields are applied microeconomics and labor economics. In particular, the estimation of the effects that both cognitive and non-cognitive skills have on social behaviors. His main research focuses on the effect skill endowments have on in-school victimization and workplace discrimination. He received his Ph.D. in 2015 from the University of Maryland - College Park.
Office: KRAN335
Claudia Suárez has over ten years of progressive experience advising students in higher education. At Purdue University, she serves as Designated School Official (DSO) and Alternative Responsible Officer (ARO) to advise students on their F/J visa, student compliance requirements, employment benefits eligibility, and other visa related concerns. She works directly with the Director of International Students and Scholars (ISS) to resolve the most difficult cases in the office and oversees SEVIS reporting requirements as per US Federal regulations.
Phone number: 765-494-5771
Dr. Vargas' main fields of expertise are labor and health economics, with research interests in the areas of health, immigration, and time use. In these areas, he addresses two broad questions from a time use perspective: the economic impact of immigrants and the assimilation of immigrants to the US. His approach has been mainly micro-econometric, usually focusing on the identification and estimation of causal effects using household survey data. Andrés holds a BSc and a MSc in Economics from Universidad de Los Andes, a MSc in Natural Resources and Agricultural Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics in France, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Phone number: 765-496-2862
Office: KRAN 401
Dr. Juan Diego Velásquez supports two strategic initiatives on behalf of the Strategic Planning and Assessment Office in the College of Engineering: the Colombia Purdue Initiative and the Purdue Systems Collaboratory. For the Colombia - Purdue Initiative, Juan Diego Velásquez fosters the creation of new connections and collaborations between Colombian organizations and Purdue. At the Purdue Systems Collaboratory, he connects and works with experts in disciplines across Purdue to develop educational programs in systems thinking and to build research agendas using strategic thinking tools & techniques to reframe and develop solution alternatives for society's most complex problems. He received his BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Industrial Engineering from Purdue.
Phone number: 765-494-5340
Dr. Vélez Rendón teaches Spanish and Foreign Language Education at Purdue Northwest. Her research interests include methodologies to teach foreign languages, issues related to Spanish heritage students, sociolinguistics, and literacy narratives. She received her B.A. from Universidad de Antioquia and both her MSc and PhD in Foreign Language Education from Purdue.
Phone number: 219-989-2647
Last modified: December 4, 2023