Julianna Gesun International Positive Psychology Association 8th IPPA World Congress 2023

Julianna Gesun

Julianna Gesun, Ph.D., is currently a National Science Foundation/American Society for Engineering Education (NAF/ASEE) engineering postdoctoral fellow and postdoctoral diversity and innovations scholar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. Her research broadly focuses on understanding and supporting the process by which engineering programs facilitate the environments for students to learn positive psychology principles in undergraduate engineering programs. Her research interests intersect the fields of positive psychology, engineering education, and human development to understand the intrapersonal, cognitive, social, behavioral, contextual, cultural, and outcomes factors that influence thriving in engineering. In 2022, she was invited to give a TED-style talk for DiscoverE Persist Virtual Speaker Series Season 2, Episode 1 (https://youtu.be/jmC8D-3lBok?t=213). She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and the winner of Purdue's 2021 Three Minute Thesis competition for her work in developing research and courses on engineering thriving (https://youtu.be/gFy4_Q_uhDc). She also received dual bachelor's degrees in Industrial Engineering and Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her prior work experiences include product management, consulting, tutoring, marketing, and information technology.