AIChE Faculty Advisor
Dr. Rivera-Jiménez

Dr. Rivera-Jiménez is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education and an affiliate faculty to the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida (UF). In this role, she works towards using evidence-based practices to create innovative curricula for chemical engineering design courses and for K-12 outreach activities. In previous roles, she was the assistant director of the Integrated Product and Process Design program at UF. She was also an assistant professor in Food Science and Technology at the College of Agriculture, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Her current research focuses on understanding unconscious biases and social perspectives affecting team dynamics and performance in capstone design during formal and informal experiences. She also facilitates professional development workshops for industry/academia on the topics of implicit bias and inclusive teaching strategies. Outside of academia, she likes to spend her time playing video games with her family, collecting orchids, and training for triathlons.

It is my honor to serve my student and our professional organization on a national level. I’ve been part of AIChE National since my second year in college in 1999. Since then, I owe AIChE the opportunity to network with people who became crucial for my Co-Ops, internships, summer research experiences, research awards, and current national leadership involvement. As a professional member in AIChE, I have leadership roles in the AIChE Education Division, Women in Chemical Engineering Committee, and the Societal Impact Operating Council.

This year as a faculty advisor, my goal is to keep coaching the AIChE board in creating activities that are impactful and meaningful to our student members. To take advantage of the online format, we will be bringing a webinar series on grad school, industry recruitment, and leadership.  I want to make sure that the ChemE car has the necessary support to get to Nationals again. Also, I want to see our chapter compete again in the K-12 Outreach Module competition. Finally, my dream if to have a Design Team that also competes at Nationals.