Lillian Rodriguez ‘21

This profile was current as of 2021, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

Lillian Rodriguez is working under the guidance of Professor Alexandros Taflanidis to conduct research with StEER (Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance).  The StEER Network travels to and collects data from sites where tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes occur around the world for the purpose of assessing how the in-place structural systems held up against the storm and creating data sets that will allow for future research.  Rodriguez works as a member of a VAST (Virtual Assessment Structural Team) logging and completing data records of damaged or destroyed houses.  Through this project, she is able to combine her interests in international development and structural engineering.

Previously, Rodriguez worked with Professor Taflanidis and the Engineering to Empower (E2E) team to research and create a housing finance program for low-income Haitian families to afford safe, disaster-resilient homes.  As part of this process, she was trained in design thinking to help develop a pilot housing program in Léogâne, Haiti.

Rodriguez was a member of the 2018-2019 NDSEED (Notre Dame Students Empowering through Engineering Development) team, a student organization which partners with Engineers In Action (EIA) to build footbridges for communities suffering from rural isolation to provide better access to education, markets, and healthcare.  In the summer of 2019, she traveled to Bolivia for eleven weeks with seven other engineering students to build a bridge with the indigenous community of Mallkuchusi.  This bridge connected the two halves of the community on either side of the river which was previously impassible during the rainy season.  Rodriguez is also a member of the piccolo section in the Notre Dame Marching Band.