Lilian P. Davila received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Davila is currently a research scientist in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Merced. Dr. Davila was a recipient of highly competitive postdoctoral fellowships before joining UC Merced. She was awarded a Ford Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2008-2009, a prestigious nationwide recognition, and a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Merced and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) from 2006-2008. Dr. Davila’s current research interests include biomaterials, porous materials, materials for sustainability, and “materials by design” using experiments and simulations. Dr. Davila established major research areas that focus on the effects of structure and size of materials on properties and performance at various scales via integrative approaches. Dr. Davila has a strong record of publication, with 35 articles published in different engineering fields (materials science and engineering, applied engineering, virtual reality, drug delivery, sustainable materials), experience in teaching and academic service, and participated in several committees and as a speaker at national/international conferences. Dr. Davila has led numerous interdisciplinary research projects, pioneered the use of GPU-based 3D virtual reality environments at UC Merced, and participated in 20+ projects with teams in the US and abroad. Dr. Davila is a passionate mentor and an advocate of students and team-based experiential learning projects to foster leadership and innovation.
