Julissa Nunez, M.S.

Julissa is second year Masters student in the department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering studying Contextual Engineering. Her masters research is focused on the application of place based context to drinking water system design. Specifically, she aims to identify contextual inflection points in the design process. Alongside research colleagues, Julissa will be designing a water system for the Bodaway Gap Chapter of the Navajo Nation.

In her sophomore year of undergraduate study, Julissa took part in the Honduras Water Project as a structural team member; her main focus was designing the hand washing station in the school. She traveled with the team to Llano Largo, Honduras, to survey the land and meet the community. HWP piqued Julissa’s interest in contextual engineering, which lead to developing an interest in research. In her undergrad she researched the application of international projects/campaigns and the impacts they have on the communities they serve. She travelled to Guatemala and Sierra Leone to gather ethnographic data.

Julissa is currently a Pathways Student working for the US Army Corp of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Lab in Champaign IL. On Campus, she is involved in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Students Advising on Graduate Education (SAGE), and Illini 4000. In addition, she is an Illinois Promise Mentor, SHPE Mentor, and Teaching assistant for ABE 232: Context in International Interventions and ABE 199 – International Engineering Service Project Management for Student Organizations.

Education

B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2020

Awards

2021 Graduate Student Leadership Award (Special Recognition)

2020 YMCA Bailey Travel Scholarship