Biography and education
Dr. Luciana Debs, is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology at Texas State University. She received her PhD from Purdue University Main Campus, her MS from the Technical Research Institute of Sao Paulo and her B.Arch from University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Debs, Luciana (Principal). Collaborative Research: Enhancing Undergraduate STEM Learning by Mitigating Misalignment of Augmented Capability in Assistive Technology Use for Construction Education, National Science Foundation, Federal, $150210. (Submitted: January 15, 2025, Funded: October 2025 - Present). Grant.
- Chang, Soowon (Principal), Debs, Luciana (Co-Principal). SPR-5008: Strategic Expansion of Driving Simulators in INDOT Driver Training Programs, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), State, $1412695. (Funded: July 2025 - Present). Grant.
- Debs, Luciana (Principal), Chang, Soowon (Co-Principal), Chen, Yunfeng (Co-Principal), Zhang, Jiansong (Co-Principal). SPR 4836: Best Practices for Implementing Driving Simulators in INDOT Driver Training, Indiana Department of Transportation, State, $654860. (Submitted: 2023, Funded: 2023 - 2025). Grant.
- Debs, Luciana (Principal). SPR 4651: Synthesis Study on Employing Snow Plow Driving Simulators in Training, Indiana Department of Transportation, State, $147537. (Submitted: 2021, Funded: 2022 - 2023). Grant.
- Debs, Luciana (Co-Principal). Review of Three Academic Programs at Universidad Nacional San Agustin (UNSA), Universidad de San Agustin (UNSA) - Peru, Institutional (Higher Ed), $65939. (Submitted: 2020, Funded: 2020 - 2021). Grant.

Featured scholarly/creative works
- Debs, L., Besiktepe, D., Talley, K. G., & Mosier, R. (2025). Sense of Belonging of US Construction Students. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 21(3), 321–345. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/15578771.2024.2384378
- Besiktepe, D., Kumar, Y. R. M., Zheng, Y., Manuel, J. R., & Debs, L. (2025). Exploring Job Selection Influences of Construction Management Students.
- Zheng, Y., Besiktepe, D., & Debs, L. (2025). A Case Study on ChatGPT’s Potential in Construction Education Assessment Through a Lens of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
- Debs, L., & Clemente de Souza, A. S. (2025). Academic help-seeking resources for construction students: a scoping review.
- Debs, L., Besiktepe, D., & Moraes, F. R. (2025). Career support services in construction-related programs in the US.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best Paper for Construction Engineering Division, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) - Construction Engineering Division. 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Faculty in Learning, School of Construction Management Technology - Purdue University. 2023
- Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Faculty in Learning, Purdue Polytechnic Institute - Purdue University. 2023
- Award / Honor Nominee: Exceptional Early Career Teaching Award, Purdue University. 2022
- Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Faculty in Learning, School of Construction Management Technology - Purdue University. 2022

Featured service activities
- Member
Graduate College
- Secretary
Construction Engineering Division - American Society for Engineering Education
- Reviewer / Referee
Construction Economics and Building (Journal)
- Reviewer / Referee
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (Journal)
- Reviewer / Referee
CIB World Congress
- Reviewer / Referee
International Journal of Construction Education and Research