Ariel Urquidi Rodriguez, Ph.D

Ariel Urquidi is a tenured professor at the Private University of Bolivia, where he teaches in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, teaching Contextual Engineering alongside Dr. Ann Witmer.

Dr. Urquidi has an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, and after obtaining his master’s degree in Environmental Management, specializing in water management at the CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Barcelona, Spain, he redirected his attention to applying his expertise in soils and geotechnical engineering. He earned his doctoral degree at UNINI University in CDMX, Mexico, through a scholarship to research water collection alternatives. His current research focuses on harvesting water from the air in the highlands of La Paz, Bolivia. He is also leading a research project on water quality in Viacha, La Paz, an area polluted by heavy metals from residual water from mining companies. Dr. Urquidi has published two peer-reviewed publications and has collaborated on one book chapter.