Student Spotlight: Graduating PhD Juan Pablo Gonzalez-Pereira

Graduation is not only a time when you look forward to what’s next, but also a time of reflection. Five years ago, Juan Pablo Gonzalez-Pereira (JP) came to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering. Now as he prepares to graduate and defend his doctoral thesis, JP reflects on all he has accomplished. From researching bladder biomechanics to successfully leading the ME Grad Student Council, JP has built a reputation of dedication, leadership, hard work, and approachability. Now he looks ahead to a career in academia with gratitude for the foundation and mentorship UW-Madison has provided him.

What has your engineering journey been like? Did you ‘always’ want to be an engineer?

Since I was a kid, I had an interest in problem solving and understanding how things worked, and it all started with building Legos. Growing up, I had the chance to grow alongside technology and this curiosity of “how things work” got translated into opening computers, breaking them down and eventually building my own desktop. This was not really that common in my family as they are mostly business majors. When the time came to decide what path to take while I was in high school in Colombia, I had a big debate about going to med school or engineering, as I was also very interested in the biological sciences. I was fortunate enough to find an intersection between the two – Biomedical Engineering. That’s how my career in engineering began.

What inspired you to pursue a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering?

Throughout my undergrad, I was very fortunate of meeting amazing people in random situations, but the one that started the process of my PhD in Mechanical Engineering was meeting Professor Tim Osswald. I met Tim at the International Colloquium of Plastics and Rubber (ICIPC Colloquium 2018) where he presented his research on Non-Newtonian flow simulations using CFD. I had just taken Biofluids and Modeling & Simulation courses and CFD was a big focus of my undergrad thesis in cerebrospinal fluid simulation across the aqueduct of Sylvius in the case of obstructive hydrocephalus. After a short Q&A, Tim put me in contact with the most influential person and biggest contributor to getting my PhD, Professor Alejandro Roldán-Alzate (Alejo). In the past, I believed biofluids were only evaluated from the realm of BME but after talking to Alejo he introduced me to the MRI-based biomechanics and biofluids world from the perspective of mechanical engineering and radiology.

Can you describe your experience working with Professor Alejandro Roldán-Alzate?

Honestly, not even in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that I was going to research bladder biomechanics, but it has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. From an academic perspective, I have had the chance of studying at a prestigious university, learning from leaders in the field of fluids – where transport phenomena, as a discipline, was developed! It has been tough at times, balancing classes, TAing and doing research, but I never expected a PhD to be easy! I am very thankful to have been able to work closely with doctors, medical physicists and other engineers to grow a research line in the cardiovascular fluid dynamics lab, something that will impact people’s lives.

One of the most unexpected perks of working with Professor Roldán has been the incredible opportunity to travel around the world showcasing our research in several national and international conferences to audiences from all over the globe – from Hawai’i to England to Singapore! In addition to all of that, I’ve met amazing people, made amazing friends and surely met and interacted with people that have shaped me to the person I am today.

What has your experience as a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering been like?

In the beginning it was a little bit weird. I traveled from Medellin, Colombia to Madison in Spring 2021 during the COVID pandemic. Some classes were still virtual and meeting people during these times was hard. I also spend a good amount of my time over at the Wisconsin Institute of Medical Research (WIMR) as most of our research is done there, so meeting people from ME was tough. As my first year was finishing up and most classes were back to being in-person, I started going to the events organized by the graduate student council (ME GSAC) where I met my first few friends in the ME department.

From there on I’ve participated in almost every event and will advocate for the importance of just taking an hour out of the week to share some coffee and snacks with other graduate students. In fact, those first few events were so important to me that I have had the privilege to support ME GSAC in previous years and serve this academic year as the chair of ME GSAC. Doing a five year (closer to six) PhD in a foreign country, where you speak a language that is not native to you and you don’t really know all of the ins and outs is HARD but the Mechanical Engineering Department has really become part of my support system in many ways, and it all started with free coffee, some cookies and warm and welcoming people.

How has your PhD prepared you for your next step? 

I believe that my PhD has allowed me to experience multiple facets of the academic world and at a world-renowned institution no less. I have been able to collaborate with professionals from multiple disciplines, write and review research articles in high impact clinical and engineering journals, learn from my advisor and close collaborators in the grant and patent writing process and seen bridges between departments and research groups get built. I hope to build on this experience by becoming a postdoctoral fellow/researcher at a US institution to help another principal investigator build their lab or work in an established lab and get more involved in mentoring and grant writing. Although I’m not dead-set on staying in academia, I want to give it a shot, an opportunity to grab all I have learned from my current and past research experiences and keep building on global scientific innovation and translation. As the time for my defense draws near, the uncertainty of it all is a little daunting but I have great mentors that are really looking out for me and my future, and I am very optimistic that if I continue to work with them, I will find a great opportunity.

To close, what is a favorite memory or accomplishment you have from your time at UW-Madison?

When I came to Madison, I was extremely happy to keep doing research and being able to be independent in a new country. I had no idea that I was going to be able to experience once in a life-time opportunities, like going to Devil’s Lake in the middle of the night to experience the aurora borealis (twice) or traveling with a group of friends down to Indianapolis to see the total solar eclipse. No matter where I end up or where I work in the future, I will always look back and hold Madison close to my heart.

Featured Image: Graduate JP Gonzalez-Pereira with his family after graduation.