Darren Lipomi, PhD
Faculty Director | ideadirector@ucsd.edu | Faculty Page | Research Page
Darren is responsible for leading and managing the IDEA Engineering Student Center team to deliver student developmental services across the entire Jacobs School of Engineering student body. He provides strategic planning and leadership to fulfill the overall goals of the IDEA Engineering Student Center, including the development, diversity, enrichment, inclusion and retention of engineering students.
Gennie Miranda
Director of Operations | gbmiranda@ucsd.edu | 858-822-2086
Gennie has overall responsibility for coordinating, developing and promoting initiatives to advance the diversity, enrichment, inclusion and retention of all engineering students at the Jacobs School of Engineering. She guides staff members in the planning, coordination, staffing, budget, and resources management for all IDEA Engineering Student Center programs.
Office Hours | ||
Monday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | Remote |
Tuesday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | Remote |
Wednesday | 8:00AM - 5:00PM | Remote |
Thursday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | On Campus |
Friday | 8:00AM - 5:00PM | On Campus |
Lisa Trahan
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Assessment | ltrahan@eng.ucsd.edu | 858-822-3780
Lisa provides expertise in evaluation and assessment to guide the development of IDEA Engineering Student Center strategic initiatives and to assess the impact of the Center's programs on student retention and success. She provides strategic and administrative leadership to develop, revise, and assess new programs within the Center.
Office Hours | ||
Monday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | Remote |
Tuesday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | Remote |
Wednesday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | On Campus |
Thursday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | On Campus |
Friday | 8:00AM - 4:30PM | Remote |
Alejandra Arguelles
Program Coordinator | marguelles@eng.ucsd.edu | 858-822-3778
Alejandra serves as an advisor for the Triton Engineering Student Council (TESC) within the IDEA Engineering Student Center. She coordinates the Jacobs Scholars Program and oversees student organization matching funds, she provides programmatic support to student development workshops, leadership development, and programs for newly admitted students.
Office Hours | Click here to schedule an appointment | |
Monday | 8:30AM - 5:00PM | Remote |
Tuesday | 8:30AM - 5:00PM | On Campus |
Wednesday | 8:30AM - 5:00PM | Remote |
Thursday | 8:30AM - 5:00PM | On Campus |
Friday | 8:30AM - 5:00PM | Remote |
Ruben D. Rodriguez
Program Coordinator | r1rodriguez@eng.ucsd.edu | 858-534-9939
Ruben serves as an advisor for student diversity organizations (NSBE, SHPE, SWE, WIC and oSTEM) within the IDEA Engineering Student Center. In addition, he oversees programs that promote inclusion, community engagement, leadership development, and academic success; through newly admitted student programs, student development workshops, commencement events, and summer transition programs.
Office Hours | ||
Monday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | Remote |
Tuesday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | On Campus |
Wednesday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | On Campus |
Thursday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | Remote |
Friday | 9:00AM - 5:30PM | Remote |
Jessica Baldis
Academic Success Coordinator | jbaldis@ucsd.edu
Jessica coordinates programs at the IDEA Engineering Student Center that foster proactive academic engagement of undergraduate engineering students to academic services that emphasize student persistence, including summer success programs, learning communities, and specialized workshops on succeeding in engineering.
Office Hours | ||
Monday | 8:00AM - 3:00PM | Remote |
Tuesday | N/A | N/A |
Wednesday | 8:00AM - 3:00PM | Remote |
Thursday | 8:30AM - 1:00PM | On Campus |
Friday | 10:00AM - 1:00PM | Remote |
Sinai Cota*
Sloan Scholars Program Assistant | sicota@eng.ucsd.edu
Sinai supports the Sloan Scholar Program with the nomination process of the awarded scholars; and organizes professional development events for the STEM scholars. She also supports graduate student life at the Jacobs School of Engineering through her work with the Jacobs Graduate Student Council, Jacobs Undergraduate Mentoring Program, Engineering Graduate & Professional Scholarly Talks, and diversity graduate student recruitment.
*location: Student Services Center #412, Remote Work 5PM - 7PM
Office Hours | ||
Monday | 5:00PM - 7:00PM | Remote |
Tuesday | 9:30AM - 3:30PM | On Campus |
Wednesday | 9:30AM - 3:30PM | On Campus |
Thursday | 5:00PM - 7:00PM | Remote |
Friday | 5:00PM - 7:00PM | Remote |
Sara Eckardt
Operations and Event Coordinator| seckardt@ucsd.edu | 858-246-1556
Sara provides administrative, logistic, and fiscal support for the IDEA Engineering Student Center's programs and activities. This includes many of the programs and events that support student success within the Jacobs School of Engineering. She oversee the Student Travel Fund and is the advisor to the Jacobs Graduate Student Council. Sara also coordinates the IDEA Center's communications, office operations and courses.
Office Hours | Click here to schedule an appointment | |
Monday | 7:00AM - 3:30PM | On Campus |
Tuesday | 7:00AM - 3:30PM | On Campus |
Wednesday | 7:00AM - 3:30PM | On Campus |
Thursday | 7:00AM - 3:30PM | Remote |
Friday | 7:00AM - 3:30PM | Remote |
Student Interns
José Santana-Sosa
Transfer Experience Intern
Kaitlyn Wong
Social Media and Graphic Intern
Rebecca Wong
Publications and Design Intern
Sky Li
Photographer and Videographer Intern
Luis Garcia
Design Intern
Cynthia Guzman
ACES/ELC Assistant Intern
Jamie Doan
ACES/ELC Assistant Intern
Emily Brown
Publications & Design Intern
Marie Shimizu
Research/Assessment Assistant
Contact Us
Campus Location: Jacobs Hall (EBU-1), Room 1400
Map and Directions »
Mailing Address:
IDEA Engineering Student Center, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0429
La Jolla, CA 92093-0429
Phone: (858) 534-6105
Email: idea@eng.ucsd.edu