Nonetheless, her mother, who worked as an administrative assistant, encouraged her daughter to study engineering in college as a path to financial security. It was in a statics class, which involved the design of structures such as cellphone towers, that engineering captured her imagination. Engineering was that path for me.” Dr. Nandika D’Souza, associate dean of strategic initiatives in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science“The world of shapes in structures appealed to me,” D’Souza said. As a professor of mechanical engineering, D’Souza will also teach and continue her research in sustainable high-performance products. “I seek to break down barriers that enable people to transform their economic trajectory,” D’Souza said.