In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering recognizes women in engineering, their journey to and in the field, and how they promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive world.
Meet Vivian Vuong, a UC Davis engineering alumna and lecturer in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and learn how she inspires inclusion in engineering.
Arnab Sarkar's father studied civil engineering while working full time as a construction supervisor and it was that dedication and early exposure to the field that inspired Sarkar, Master's of Science in biological and agricultural engineering '01, Ph.D. '04 to one day study engineering and follow in his father’s footsteps.
Tyler Barzee, M. S. '16, Ph.D. '20, is expanding the possibilities of engineering renewable food and fuel sources. Some of his recent research focuses on the development of edible gourmet mushrooms growing from recycled grains in bourbon distilleries and developing future foods from fungi.
Clinical Veterinarian and Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jessica graduated from UC Davis in 2013 with a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering. After completing veterinary school at Texas A&M in 2017, and a post-doctoral fellowship (residency) in laboratory animal medicine at the University of Michigan in 2020, she recently started a position as a clinical veterinarian and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Right of Way ConsultantAssociated Right of Way Services, Inc.
Chadwick Wyler 2011 B.S., SR/WA is a UC Davis EBS Grad and Senior Right of Way Professional working as a Right of Way Consultant. He utilizes his degree on a daily basis to both understand and explain public agency infrastructure projects to commercial, residential, and agricultural property owners and tenants.
Field EngineerNatural Resources Conservation Service
My name is Bradley Soares and I graduated with a B.S. in Biological Systems Engineering from UC Davis in 2019. I found myself in BSE because I combined my two hobbies; learning how engineered systems function and ethnobotany. Currently, as a NRCS Field Engineer, I am able to work both indoors and outdoors, which was my number one job searching criterium. I work with private land owners to develop systems that target natural resource conservation (Soil, Water, Air, Plants, Animals, and Humans).
Construction Stormwater Permitting - Lead StaffCalifornia State Water Resources Control Board
Brandon joined public service as a Water Resource Control Engineer in 2018, following a 1.5 year stint as an environmental consultant in the Bay Area. In his current position, Brandon is responsible for reissuing and implementing a statewide permit that regulates the water quality of stormwater runoff from over 10,000 construction projects.
Seerat graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor's Degree in Biosystems Engineering in the Spring of 2020. After graduating, she worked as a Supply Chain Manager at PepsiCo. She currently works as an Automation Engineer at Matrix Technologies. Matrix Technologies is a premier control system integrator in the Bay Area biotech industry. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, working out, and baking/ cooking.
Chief, Synchronization and Initiatives GroupU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
"My time at UC Davis as a Biological Systems Engineering major gave me the foundation and tools to solve any problem; it doesn’t matter what the problem is.”
Cofounder, BioMilitusMechanical Engineering Designer, Dr. Greenhouse, Inc.
Lydia Palma Miner is cofounder of BioMilitus, a sustainable animal feed startup company that utilizes larvae to rapidly convert agricultural residues into protein-rich insect biomass. Lydia is passionate about recycling waste and food production and received her doctorate in Biological Systems Engineering at UC Davis. Under Dr.
Matt Paddock is a bioengineer at the NASA Ames Research Center developing biological life-support systems. He graduated UC Davis in 2017 with his bachelors and 2019 with his masters in Biological Systems Engineering. As a student he participated in SOBE and ASABE robotics clubs and worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Biotechnical Engineering laboratory.
Akshata currently works as a Scientist at Nanōmix Inc, a leading developer of mobile, affordable point-of-care diagnostics. As a Scientist, Akshata leads projects developing and characterizing point of care IVD assays. She works on driving product specifications, development, verification, performance testing, and manufacturing transfer as part of the product development team. Before working at Nanōmix, Akshata worked in Dr.
Alex Mora graduated from UC Davis in 2018 with a degree in Biological Systems Engineering. After graduation, Alex joined Accenture’s Management Consulting practice, where she currently works with global Life Science and Healthcare clients to develop Digital Health strategies around data-driven insights. As an undergraduate, Alex was involved with Post-Harvest research in the lab of Dr.
Julie graduated from UC Davis in 2018 with a Master’s in Biological Systems Engineering. After starting out as a Project Engineer at Davids Engineering, she moved to the USDA NRCS in 2020. During her time at Davids Engineering, she helped compile basin-scale water budgets to support groundwater sustainability efforts and set up, refined and calibrated hydrologic models.
