Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Cesunica Ivey
About Dr. Cesunica Ivey
Dr. Cesunica "Sunni" Ivey (she/her) is a 2016 Sloan Scholar PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Berkeley in the department of Civil and Environmental 
Engineering and is the lead PI for the Air Quality Modeling and Exposure Laboratory. She is also the Founder and CEO of BWINSTEM, an initiative supporting marginalized identities in STEM through accessible and tailored mentorship, coaching, and support.
Prior to her current position, Sunni was an Assistant Professor at UC Riverside, a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Reno, and an intern with various environmental engineering initiatives. She has received fellowships with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and was awarded the Air Quality Research and Study Award for her graduate work. Sunni is on track for promotion in her department and looks forward to continuing to establish her presence in the field as an individual who sits at the nexus of environmental justice and equality; and blends those topics seamlessly for positive change through policy, advocacy, community sovereignty, and air quality awareness.
Education & Early Research
Sunni earned her PhD in environmental engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2016. Prior to this, Sunni earned both her Masters in environmental engineering and Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Georgia Tech in 2011 as well as her Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Fort Valley State University in 2008. Sunni went into environmental engineering wanting to apply basic math and sciences to solve major environmental grand challenges. As an undergraduate, Sunni worked as an air quality modeler where she spatially interpolated multi-year data for health epidemiology studies. This work would evolve into her graduate research regarding the use of data fusion methods to improve source apportionment models.
Sunni notes skills she learned as a graduate student through courses and professional conferences that have transferred well into her academic profession and platforms. These include professional skills (e.g., building websites, technical communication/presentations, networking) and technical skills like high performance computing, first principles of modeling in engineering, and basic engineering skills.
Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley
Sunni is now an Assistant Professor at the University of California Berkeley in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research is primarily in air pollution and “centers on atmospheric modeling, source apportionment, data assimilation, exposure monitoring, and environmental justice applications” (Berkeley). In her department, she is known as the ‘Air Quality Crusader’ that blends elements of traditional STEM research methods with advocacy and community engagement.
In her position, Sunni teaches a number of courses including her Data & Equity in Environmental Engineering course. The course is a collaborative effort she developed with colleagues to expose upper division undergraduates to python modeling, primary mediums of environmental engineering, and environmental justice. Each module focuses on a specific grand challenge in environmental engineering:
1. Air Pollution Exposure Disparities
2. Coastal Resilience
3. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and Impacts
4. Wastewater-based Epidemiology
At UC Berkeley, Sunni is also the Principal Investigator of the Air Quality Modeling and Exposure Laboratory where they are
conducting technical benchmarking in preparation for field campaigns to measure personal air pollution exposures. The lab consists of ten core students across the education spectrum (e.g., postdoc, post-bac, graduate students, undergraduate researchers) that contribute an array of knowledge and perspectives to the research. Mentorship of the lab group for their success is of one of Sunni’s highest priorities. In addition to this, Sunni also engages in department, college or university, professional, and public service with organizations like the People’s Collective For Environmental Justice. It is evident that her work heavily overlaps with community science and environmental justice efforts.
Sunni shares a wealth of knowledge for scholars wanting to pursue or starting out in an academic career! She shares how scholars should follow and trust their intuition. She notes how scholars should pay attention and weigh the evidence of success and non-success stories to use what works for them; because not everyone’s path to academia is the same. Sunni’s final knowledge share: Do not be afraid to study, research, or do what everyone else does not!
Sunni is the Founder and CEO of BWINSTEM, LLC, an online platform supporting scholars with intersecting marginalized identities in STEM through accessible and tailored mentorship, coaching, and support. Through this initiative, Sunni works to bridge knowledge gaps and barriers often experienced by underrepresented populations in STEM. She does this by “delving under the proverbial academic hood to explore the nuances of studying and building careers in STEM” (BWINSTEM) via her BWINSTEM website and Under The Hood with Dr. Sunshine platform. Both spaces offer a range of professional development and STEM resources including tutorials, podcasts, jobs/grant opportunities, and more.
Mentors
Sunni commends the women of strength that have mentored and supported her through higher education into her professional career. She is grateful to a number of mentors and champions including, but not limited to, her internship supervisor, Ms. Kim Ajy; her graduate advisor, Dr. Ted Russell; her postdoc advisor, Dr. Heather Holmes; her Berkeley mentors, Dr. Kara Nelson and Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch; and her primary recruiter to UC Riverside, Dean Sharon Walker of Drexel University! Visit Under The Hood with Dr. Sunshine to view interviews of Sunni and a few of her mentors.
Sloan Foundation
Sunni also expresses gratitude for the support the Sloan Foundation has provided her as a Sloan UCEM Scholar and SSMN alumni grantee. The Sloan University Center of Exemplary Mentorship (UCEM) Program filled many gaps (e.g., supplies, tuition, transportation) and eliminated financial stressors Sunni had encountered as a first generation graduate student with minimal familial support. She also notes the value of attending the annual SREB conference for learning varied skills and is grateful for the experience of attending her first international meeting in Montpellier, France through the support of the Sloan Foundation.
In 2018, Sunni was also awarded a seed grant through the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network’s Annual Grant Program. The grant supported the launch of Sunni’s research on the characterization of air quality disparities in inland Southern California. Although some discouraged her from the research, this work would inevitably capture the attention of her UC school system recruiters and technical organizations such as ACS Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). She was a recognized as a peer-nominated member of the C&EN Talented 12 2021 Class for her work that was launched by the seed grant.
Closing Remarks
Big thanks to Sunni for welcoming us to Berkeley for this Featured Scholar Interview! Connect with Sunni on social media and view her work with BWINSTEM:
> Under The Hood with Dr. Sunshine (YouTube)
> Under The Hood with Dr. Sunshine (Podcast on Spotify)