We are excited to welcome Dr. Génesis Quiles-Galarza as an Assistant Professor in Residence in our department starting Fall 2025. Prof. Quiles-Galarza joins us with a strong background in machine learning for materials discovery, first-principles methods, and engineering education, bringing valuable experience in research and undergraduate teaching.
Prof. Quiles-Galarza, an alumnus from our very own program, obtained her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024, with her Doctoral Thesis titled, “Identifying Material Fingerprints of Relevance to Understand Adsorbate-Surface Interactions Using First Principles Modeling and Machine Learning.” She has since joined as a Visiting Professor, making valuable contributions to educating the chemical engineering students in the UConn community and upholding high standards of academic excellence. Prior to obtaining her PhD, she served as a Secondary Science teacher at Bulkeley High School in Hartford, CT through Teach For America, which set the foundation for her journey as an educator.
Prof. Quiles-Galarza will be contributing to our MEng Program by teaching Chemical Engineering graduate courses, as well as focusing on computational chemical engineering approaches, enhancing our Department’s and UConn College of Engineering’s commitment to student success and top-quality, cutting-edge education. We look forward to seeing the impact her work will have on our students and the broader academic community.