Graduate Society of Women Engineers (Grad SWE)

Liliya Chernysheva
President

Liliya is a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. Her research focuses on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater, indoor air, and soils. Liliya completed her undergraduate degree at Albion College, majoring in chemistry and mathematics. When she graduates, Liliya would like to work in solid waste management and eventually start her own recycling company. Liliya is passionate about art and drawing, and she hopes to write and illustrate a graphic novel about her childhood.

Angela Abarca Perez
Vice-President

Angela is a graduate student in Environmental Engineering, advised by Kyle Doudrick and William Phillip. Her research involves developing heterogeneous catalysts to treat emergent contaminants in drinking water. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the university UPAEP in Puebla, Mexico. She is a recipient of the Materials Science and Engineering Fellowship from Notre Dame’s Doctoral Program in Materials Science and Engineering. In her free time, Angela enjoys watercolor and digital painting, ballet, and international movies.

Mayesha Sarih Mim
Secretary

Mayesha is a Ph.D. student in the Bioengineering Program under the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, advised by Jeremiah Zartman. Her research focuses on studying the role of calcium signaling in tissue morphogenesis using optogenetics in fruit flies. She transferred from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and she received her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. In her free time, Mayesha enjoys reading fiction, hiking, and watching sports.

Fatemeh Jafarabadi
Professional Development Co-Chair

Fatemeh is a Ph.D student in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Maria Holland. Her research focuses on computational modeling of brain morphology and the influence of cerebrospinal fluid, meninges, and skull as external constraints on brain folding patterns. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology. Fatemeh enjoys playing volleyball, reading books, listening to podcasts, and painting in her free time.

Hannah Spero
Professional Development Co-Chair

Hannah is a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. Her research focuses on large-scale fluid flows such as dam failures and landslide-generated tsunamis coupling the tools of numerical modeling and field work. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geoscience from Boise State University. In her free time, Hannah enjoys climbing mountains, hiking, road biking, and coaching a local Michiana Scrappers travel softball team.  

Jialing Xu
Social Co-Chair

Jialing is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Notre Dame under the supervision of William Phillip. She is interested in the design and fabrication of structured polymer membranes and sorbents for the removal of emerging contaminants in wastewater and recovery of resources. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology in China and completed her master’s degree at Case Western Reserve University. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and photography. 

Brenda Cruz González
Social Co-Chair

Brenda is a graduate student in Bioengineering, advised by Donny Hanjaya-Putra. Her research interests are focused on targeting nanoparticles for drug delivery on cancer cells. She received her bachelor’s degree in Nanotechnology and Molecular Engineering from the university UDLAP in Puebla, Mexico. In her free time, Brenda enjoys playing drums, basketball matches, canvas painting, and coffee.