Meet the GLIDE Research Group

Kirsten A. Davis, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Dr. Kirsten Davis is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Her research explores the design and assessment of global engineering programs, student development through experiential learning, and approaches for teaching and assessing systems thinking skills. Dr. Davis's research is informed by her professional experiences working as an engineer at General Electric and as a study abroad program leader. Across her research projects, Dr. Davis seeks to connect educational research to educational practice and employs a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches. Dr. Davis holds a B.S. in Engineering & Management from Clarkson University and an M.A.Ed. in Higher Education, M.S. in Systems Engineering, and Ph.D. in Engineering Education, all from Virginia Tech.  For her leadership and research of international programs, Dr. Davis received the 2019 Harold Josephson award for professional promise in international education from the Association of International Education Administrators.

GLIDE Research Group Members

Siddhant (Sid) Joshi
PhD Candidate
​Linked In, Google Scholar
Research interests: Sid’s research focuses on areas such as systems thinking, engineering problem solving, intercultural learning, and developing competencies and skills of engineers to meet the needs of the industry and society.
Anne Wrobetz
PhD Student
Linked In
Research interests: Anne's research interests center around the experiences of working and caretaking students in engineering-for-transfer programs at community colleges, and the institutional support structures that help these students persist to careers in engineering.
Sage Maul
PhD Student
Linked In
Research Interests: Sage's research focus is on disabled student experiences in postsecondary engineering coursework, and how institutional systems interact with disabled students.
Cloris Chen
PhD Student
Linked In, Google Scholar
Research Interests: Cloris is interested in promoting employability in engineering education through interdisciplinary experiences and exploring how interdisciplinary competencies (e.g., system thinking) can be developed and assessed.
Lexy Arinze
PhD Student
Linked In, Google Scholar
Research Interests: Lexy’s research interests surround global engineering impacts, early career engineers and developing competencies to bridge the academia-industry gap.
Harry Gomez-Donato
Undergraduate Researcher
​Linked In
Research Interests: As a second-year Computer Engineering student, Harry's overarching goal focuses on the pursuit of automation, aiming to streamline and enhance processes, whether through the development of smart systems for the home or the creation of intricate embedded systems. 
Amanda Wolf
Undergraduate Researcher 
​Linked In
Research Interests: Amanda is exploring biotechnology and cellular biology in research, from space agriculture to bacteriophages.
Dr. Davis's Advising Approach
Challenge and Support – I will support you in finding the resources you need and to challenging you to grow as an educator and a researcher.
Feedback – One of the biggest ways we can challenge and support each other is through detailed and growth-focused feedback.
Growth Mindset – I view every experience as an opportunity to learn and encourage  students working with me to do this as well. As a mentor, I will work to build in opportunities for reflection.
Apprenticeship – In a Ph.D., you learn by doing, where you start with more support and gradually over time shift to having more responsibility.