Global Design Continues to Grow with Five New Student Researchers
The Burleson Global Design Group has had a busy Fall 2025 semester! We’ve had the privilege of welcoming new students: Sophie, Julianne, Debbie, Zach, and Megan! Below we’ve summarized some of the exciting projects they’ve been working on.
Sophie Frey joined Global Design as a PhD student after spending a few years working in the energy utility industry building decarbonization models. Thus far, she has been busy with classes, writing fellowship applications, starting her literature review process, and supporting other research projects in the lab. Sophie presented her research topic proposal at the IEEE GHTC this fall, which explores how energy practitioners define and integrate broader impacts into decision-making models.
Julianne Attai has been designing workshops to teach empathy in engineering education and even travelled to the University of Minnesota this September to present her very first workshop! A recurring theme throughout her career has been her fascination and passion for interdisciplinary work, completing her bachelors in Engineering Science and conducting research in bio-inspired robotics and design collaboration. She’s excited to study how interdisciplinary engineering teams collaborate and incorporate stakeholder perspectives into design processes and decision-making.
Debbie Hodson completed her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Ohio State before joining the lab. This fall semester, she she has been exploring frameworks for technology transfer from one context to another, which she presented during IEEE GHTC’s poster session. She is excited to extend Carlota Serrano’s Contextual Product Testing protocol through an in-class study next semester. She’s enjoyed being part of a lab that examines the role of context in design and looks forward to learning more about design science.
Zach Schaad previously earned his PE License and was working towards a Professional Master's in Global Engineering from the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience. This semester, he has been conducting interviews to explore mindsets of engineers in the "Global Engineering" field, and he is really excited to continue getting to dive deeper into this research next semester. Zach has really enjoyed the lab’s positive environment full of people who are thoughtful about their work and want to use their knowledge and skillsets to try and make the world a better place.
Megan McIntosh has spent her first semester in the Burleson Global Design Group supporting Olivia Wilburn with a literature review on the topic of how students learn and transform in cross-cultural experiences. Now, she is assisting Emma Balevic with her analysis of stakeholder engagement interviews. She has really enjoyed meeting visiting professors and connecting with collaborators across disciplines. Megan looks forward to continuing to learn in the lab and applying what she’s learning to her coursework and campus involvement, including student organizations like Engineers Without Borders, while contributing to ongoing research projects.