Meet Our Diversity Ambassadors
Lama Abufares
Lama is a second-year Doctoral student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, focusing on Transportation Engineering. She received her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Birzeit University, Palestine in 2020. As part of the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) research team, Lama is interested in ground-penetrating radar (GPR) applications for highway and airfield pavements.
While at UIUC, she has been a member of many student and university bodies: Engineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee (EGSAC), Inclusion Diversity Equity and Access (IDEA) institute, Arab American Association of Engineers and Architects (AAAEA), ASCE Transportation Development Institute (TDI), Illini Strings Orchestra, Ballet Folklorico Mitotiani (traditional Mexican dance), and LaFuerzaFlamenca (Spanish Flamenco Dance). She helped organize the Kent Seminar Series in 2020-2023. She was also a research mentor for an underrepresented undergraduate student in Fall 2022. She hopes to be a professor after graduation.
Lama enjoys group sport activities like volleyball, frisbee, soccer and tennis. She is a foodie and likes trying new foods and restaurants. Ask Lama for restaurant recommendations around Champaign-Urbana!
Hadjer Benkraouda
Hadjer Benkraouda is a 4th year Ph.D. student in Computer Science. Her research focuses on analyzing the security of IoT devices. She graduated from United Arab Emirates University with a BSc in Electrical Engineering and then an M.Sc in Cybersecuirty from New York University.
Living in different places and being a woman in STEM have given Hadjer the opportunity to experience being in different positions. This has shaped her opinion on diversity and inclusion initiatives. In the past, she has participated in panels and mentorship programs for women in STEM.
In her free time, Hadjer likes to run, knit, go to CU Women’s boxing gym, or watch historical documentaries (or any documentary that is narrated by David Attenborough).
Sagar Regmi
Sagar Regmi is a second-year Ph.D. student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. His research focuses on developing instrumentation for measuring agricultural processes, aiming to revolutionize the field with innovative solutions that positively impact society.
Originally from Nepal, a breathtakingly beautiful country nestled in the foot of the majestic
Himalayas, Sagar's journey in engineering began at Tribhuvan University, where he completed his
bachelor's degree with a major in Mechanical Engineering. Demonstrating a commitment to
sustainable development and societal progress, he pursued double master's degrees in Energy for
Sustainable Social Development and Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, respectively from
Tribhuvan University and North Dakota State University.
Having mentored numerous undergraduate students as a Teaching Assistant and instructor following his masters, Sagar understands the power of education in nurturing talent and fostering global perspectives. He believes in the concept of the global world and cherishes his humble roots, growing up in a serene village surrounded by nature's wonders.
Beyond academia, Sagar finds joy in exploring the outdoors through hiking, cooking, and biking.
Garrett Williams
Garrett R. Williams is a fifth-year physics Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign working in experimental atomic and molecular physics. He is an NSF Graduate Research
Fellow, an Alfred P. Sloan Scholar, an Illinois Graduate Fellow, and a Mavis Future Faculty
Fellow.
Williams earned his B.S. in physics and chemistry from Baylor University with departmental honors in 2019. Under co-PIs Bryce Gadway and Brian L. DeMarco, Williams achieved a Bose-Einstein condensate apparatus and now performs experiments on symmetry breaking in Bragg-dressed optical lattices.
Williams has been recognized as an avid science communicator, winning the 2020 APS History of Physics Essay Contest and receiving honorable mention in the 2021 AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition Student Essay Competition. He’s been active in outreach and community-building, helping to organize sessions at the yearly meeting for the National Society of Black Physicists. Notably, he authored the premier article in the #BlackinPhysics Week 2021 article series, which was selected for a 2022 Gold EXCEL Award for Diversity and Inclusion.
How can we help you?
Use this form to learn more about the program, get in touch with an ambassador, ask a question about becoming an ambassador, or request an ambassador’s presence at your event.
Grainger Engineering departments can request Diversity Ambassador involvement in mentoring, onboarding, and social events. Contact us with your ideas and requests.