Engineering faculty are counted among the University of Arizona Women of Impact award winners for the third year in a row. The 2024 list breaks a record with four college awardees – Erika Eggers, Hee Jeong Kim, Kimberly Ogden and Janet Roveda.

The U of A Office of Research, Innovation and Impact launched the awards in 2022 to recognize exceptional faculty and staff who contribute significantly to the university’s research enterprise and demonstrate commitment to its purpose, mission and values.

Kathleen Melde, who was a 2023 Woman of Impact, is Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Inclusion for the College of Engineering. This year’s awardees demonstrate the diversity and power of the work engineers perform, she said.

“These four faculty members are making impressive strides in improving health outcomes and creating interdisciplinary, sustainable solutions to complex problems. I’m proud to stand among them as University of Arizona Women of Impact and as members of the profession,” said Melde, also a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Erika Eggers: uniter of medicine and engineering

Eggers is a professor of biomedical engineering with joint appointments in the College of Medicine – Tucson and the university’s BIO5 Institute. She is recognized for promoting collaboration between the fields of engineering and medicine and has earned significant funding awards. Her interdisciplinary research covers areas including neurophysiology, sensory physiology, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

“Being recognized as having a positive impact on the U of A is very motivating for the times when research difficulties present themselves, as they always do,” said Eggers.

As a woman in STEM, Eggers strives to demonstrate to students her navigation of roles as a professor and family member. These experiences enrich the perspectives women bring to the research sphere, she said.

Hee Jeong Kim: champion for sustainable materials

Kim is an assistant professor with appointments in the departments of civil and architectural engineering and mechanics, materials science and engineering and mining and geological engineering. She has made remarkable impact since joining the college in 2022, said CAEM Department Head Dominic Boccelli. Kim developed the Multiscale Advanced Materials Design Lab, secured research funds and formed partnerships with colleagues from other university units as well as industry. She is also a mentor to the university’s Women in Civil Engineering and Women in Science and Engineering student groups.

“I hope this award inspires young women in STEM,” said Kim. “It shows that dedication to your field, along with a commitment to mentoring and supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers, can lead to meaningful contributions.”

Kim teamed with Susannah Dickinson, associate professor of architecture, to research and teach a class on use of sustainable materials in architecture.

“These research collaborations beyond disciplines are imperative for our global challenges,” said Dickinson.

Kimberly Ogden: recognized researcher and leader

Ogden is department chair and professor for chemical and environmental engineering, a department with equal male and female faculty members. She is also a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering. Among other high-profile awards, she leads a research project that in 2023 was funded at $70 million to develop a new variety of natural rubber from the desert shrub guayule. In the past decade, Ogden’s total funding exceeded $182 million, and she has worked with over 50 collaborators on 90 publications and six patents.

Ogden served the university as director of the Institute for Energy Solutions and as interim vice president for research. She is also past president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Ogden frequently co-authors proposals for projects that build bridges between the university and Native American community colleges, said her nominators, and is a leader in developing solutions at the nexus of food, water and energy for Indigenous populations.

A group of CHEE staff members who supported Ogden’s nomination praised her “no-nonsense approach to problem-solving and tangible, outspoken support and appreciation.”

“She can truly see us as individuals with families and lives outside of work, and that creates an excellent environment for working as a single parent,” said a staff member.

Janet Roveda: powerful compassion

“This award motivates me to do better and work harder to build our community as the top in the nation,” said Roveda, director of the lead site for the Center to Stream Healthcare in Place. C2SHIP is part of a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Consortium with a mission to enhance chronic disease care, improve patient experiences and diagnostic accuracy, and reduce health care costs. The ECE professor is jointly appointed to BME, nursing and the BIO5 Institute.

Among other honors, Roveda was elected to the 2024 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows for her work on sleep apnea diagnosis, real-time wearable sensors for stress and sleep management, and leadership in translational research. She is known for applying scientific research to create improvement, said Jerzy Rozenblit, University Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who was department head when Roveda joined the faculty in 2003.

“That transition has great impact on the wellbeing of society; it’s very important,” he said.

Roveda is committed to increasing diversity in STEM fields, said her nominators. Her outreach activities and mentorship span from elementary school to graduate students. Remarkably compassionate and humble, she is the ideal role model for students and junior faculty, said her nominators.

“She’s always ready to step in and help without being asked,” said Rozenblit, the Raymond J. Oglethorpe Endowed Chair.