Hi 👋 I'm Lisa. I'm an engineer, artist, educator, and researcher. My teaching and research draws on my nearly five years experience as an engineer, and my goals are to make a difference in the engineering classroom. 

I'm currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech (VT) after working in the aerospace industry for 4+ years with Airbus Americas Engineering. My background includes a B.S. and M.S degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in control systems and aerospace engineering from the University of South Alabama, in my hometown where I was raised on the Gulf Coast. I'm a first-generation college student and daughter of German immigrants. I have experience in project management and process improvement and automation as an engineer in airworthiness & certification and retrofit of aircraft cabins in Upgrade Services.

Currently, I am a graduate assistant at VT working with first-year engineering programs assessment in the Department of Engineering Education. I am pursuing a postdoc or tenure-track assistant professor position upon graduation. I have teaching and mentoring experience from elementary to graduate-level students. This has included introductory robotics using Lego Mindstorms with elementary students, flight dynamics and mentoring for middle-schoolers, and graduate teaching assistantships with foundations of engineering for first-year students, Global STEM Practice: Leadership and Culture with the Rising Sophomore Abroad Program (RSAP), interdisciplinary capstone (IDC@VT) with senior-level engineering students, Contemporary Pedagogy with graduate-level students and thermal science with senior-level mechanical engineering students. My research interests include team dynamics, professional skills development (such as conflict management), academia-industry alignment, global engineering, cultural awareness, and art & creativity in engineering (but my research interests continue to evolve and expand).