Jasmine Nicole Tigiqruaq Perea
- Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Contact Info
Biography —
Tigiqruaq (Jasmine Perea) is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Water and Resource Science at the University of Kansas, where she focuses on co-designing sustainable wastewater and solid waste systems for Arctic communities. Her research bridges Indigenous Knowledge and environmental engineering, with an emphasis on wastewater technologies. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Public Health from Alaska Pacific University, where she helped co-develop the university’s first anaerobic digester. Now, her work centers on creating a psychrophilic microbial seed to enhance wastewater treatment and energy recovery in cold regions. A proud Ivalu and Sloan Scholar, and an alumna of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) Institute, she is committed to opening pathways for Indigenous students in STEM and integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into engineering practice.
Her guiding question—“Who does this serve?”—grounds her research and invites others to ensure their work meaningfully serves the communities who need it most.
Mentor: Belinda Sturm, Ph.D. Director, Kansas National Science Foundation EPSCoR Program, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research, Ross McKinney Faculty Fellow, Professor Civil, environmental, and architectural engineering.