Ann-Perry Witmer, Ph.D., P.E.

Ann-Perry Witmer is a Teaching Associate Professor at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine in the University of Illinois. After earning her undergraduate degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois, Dr. Witmer designed drinking-water systems throughout the Midwest as a professional consulting engineer for more than a decade. During that time, she also became involved in humanitarian engineering work, ultimately helping to create service organizations that designed and installed engineered infrastructure with communities in Central America and the Caribbean. 

Dr. Witmer returned to the University in 2013 as a lecturer in the Grainger of College of Engineering and continued to teach while earning her doctoral degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, focusing her studies on the effectiveness of engineering design for non-industrialized societies. She has taught courses in international engineering design and acted as faculty advisor to Engineers Without Borders-UIUC, and her project travels have taken her to Central America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, where she’s developed a deep understanding of the relationship between technical and social considerations that must be co-evaluated for under-resourced communities. 

Many of her insights were gleaned from a first career in journalism, during which time Dr. Witmer built a robust understanding of the relevance of context to applied efforts in government, industry, and the environment. Dr. Witmer also holds undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Art History from Boston University.