Graduate Students

PhD student talks air conditioning debate with Pueblo NBC-TV

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:10:06 +0000

PhD student talks air conditioning debate with Pueblo NBC-TV Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/08/2022 - 09:10

Aisling Pigott is featured in a news piece on air conditioning use with KOAA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Pueblo/Colorado Springs.

Pigott is co-author of a new column in The Conversation exploring an age old question -- does turning the air conditioning off when you’re not home actually save energy?

Written with her PhD advisor Dr. Kyri Baker and Jennifer Scheib, an assistant teaching professor, the article analyzed the impact of running your home air conditioning throughout the day to maintain a continuous temperature versus only using the system while people are at home.

Aisling's PhD research focuses on new control strategies for building operators and how they might positively impact the grid. Her research will be used to incorporate more renewable resources to lower the overall emissions from electricity generation. She previously interned as a buildings consultant designing lighting, HVAC, and electrical installations.

Check out the full piece at KOAA-TV...

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Advancing geotechnical engineering to support communities facing earthquakes

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 15:26:19 +0000

Advancing geotechnical engineering to support communities facing earthquakes Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/18/2022 - 09:26

Caroline Bessette

Name: Caroline Bessette
Hometown: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, Canada
Major: Geotechnical Engineering
Year: 3rd Year PhD Student

I grew up in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a small French-speaking town in Québec, Canada. In Québec, almost all the electricity (close to 97%) comes from hydroelectricity due to its extensive freshwater resources. My father used to work for one of the world's largest hydroelectric facilities, the La Grande Complex in Northern Québec, where we visited him a few times yearly.

The hydroelectrical facilities, particularly dams, amazed me every time we saw them, even at a young age. I used to wonder, how do you derive that much power from water? I was particularly fascinated by the large scale of these facilities.

I later developed a desire to learn the technical aspects of the design of concrete or embankment dams, roads, bridges, and tall buildings.

The exposure to the benefits of renewable energy was also significant to me in highlighting the fundamentals of sustainable development.

Engineering - A Natural Fit

Given the significance of civil engineering in our society, pursuing a career in this field offered a unique opportunity to contribute to its development and help convert sustainable projects into reality. I also loved math and science in school and solving problems, so enrolling in a civil engineering program was a natural fit.

I completed my bachelor's degree in civil engineering with a major in geotechnical engineering in 2017 at Polytechnique Montréal in Québec, Canada. My motivation to pursue a career in geotechnical engineering relates to coursework specialization during my undergrad and professional experience.

Working In Industry

During the last year of my undergrad, I worked part-time as an intern in the geotechnical and environmental engineering departments at the SM Group in Canada. After completing my degree, I was offered a project managing position as an engineer-in-training at the same company. During these years, I had the opportunity to work on a high-profile project in Montréal - the construction of a major electrified transportation system, REM.

My firm oversaw the subsurface investigation part of the project. I found the geotechnical considerations involved in such a vast project compelling, and seeing the level of complexity involved, realized the challenges in this career are multifold. I aimed to pursue a meaningful and fulfilling career where I could creatively engage in problem-solving, which confirmed that geotechnical engineering was the right path for me.

This experience also awakened my interest in designing complex geotechnical systems that I have always found fascinating, such as embankment dams, tunnels, or deep foundations.

Research in this field offers plenty of opportunities to do high-impact work and directly contribute to natural hazards and disaster risk reduction.

Deciding to Pursue a Masters

Given that most civil engineering programs only include a few classes in geotechnical engineering, my decision to enroll in graduate studies was driven by my desire to broaden my knowledge of geotechnical concepts and acquire the necessary skills to pursue a career in design.

I initially enrolled in a course-based master's program at Polytechnique Montréal while working part-time at the SM group. At the time, I didn't think research would be a good fit for me.

However, as I navigated the graduate coursework and discovered how much I enjoyed research, I decided to change programs for a full-time thesis-based Master's.

Throughout my program, I developed a particular interest in geotechnical earthquake engineering, geomechanics, liquefaction, and numerical modeling. I was pleased to discover that, by being industry-oriented in its applications, research in this field offers plenty of opportunities to do high-impact work and directly contribute to natural hazards and disaster risk reduction.

To gain additional research experience in conjunction with my MS program, I got support from a funded research program (Mitacs Globalink) in Canada to conduct a research project abroad. I decided to go to the United States as it was a strategic location to gain experience in my area of research, given its high seismicity.

Choosing CU Boulder

CU Boulder is among those research centers where various studies and collaborative partnerships have focused on geotechnical earthquake engineering and produced ground-breaking research. The Center for Infrastructure, Energy and Space Testing (CIEST) laboratory on campus is one of the few research facilities equipped with research- and instructional-oriented geotechnical centrifuges.

The CIEST facility includes three geotechnical centrifuges, where the largest has a 5.5m radius and an impressive 400 g-ton capacity, one of the most powerful in the world.

The 400 g-ton centrifuge in the CIEST laboratory on campus.

My decision to come to CU Boulder was solidified by my interest in working on a project involving such unique equipment that allows a hands-on opportunity to conduct laboratory research and be trained to work with centrifuges, a rare feat amongst geotechnical engineers.

I was also primarily motivated by the opportunity to work with Professor Shideh Dashti, who is renowned for her expertise in soil liquefaction, centrifuge modeling, and soil-structure interaction.

In September 2019, I joined CU Boulder as part of Prof. Dashti's research group as a visiting research scholar for a four-month internship. During this experience, I was pleased to discover the breadth of research performed in her group and its practical applications. I also found that her research interests and working methodologies align closely with mine. This enriching experience furthered my desire to pursue research in this field.

This opportunity gave me the chance to get a direct glimpse into the life of a graduate student at CU Boulder, where I learned the importance of collaborative partnerships and identified well with these dynamics existing in the lab.

I also discovered all that Colorado offers, and it started to feel like a second home. I enjoyed Boulder, the campus, the people, the food, the sun, the proximity to the mountains for skiing or hiking, and the winters (which are much more tolerable than in Canada!).

At the end of my internship, I decided to apply to CU Boulder's PhD program in geotechnical engineering as part of Prof. Dashti's group, which I began in September 2020.

I will be starting my third year in the fall and plan on graduating in May 2024.

I knew that enrolling in a PhD program here would allow me to improve my research abilities and pursue my interests in geotechnical earthquake engineering to a much greater depth.

As a broader impact and with the support of these exceptional resources, I aspired to earn a sense of achievement in making meaningful scientific contributions to society. I hope my research helps support communities against natural disasters by allowing the design of sustainable and resilient infrastructures.

I grew up in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a small French-speaking town in Québec, Canada. In Québec, almost all the electricity (close to 97%) comes from hydroelectricity due to its...

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Civil engineering student, a tsunami survivor, awarded fellowship to study disaster recovery

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2022 22:15:05 +0000

Civil engineering student, a tsunami survivor, awarded fellowship to study disaster recovery Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/02/2022 - 16:15

Jeff Zehnder

Ilham Siddiq survived the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami and is now using his firsthand disaster knowledge to evaluate the effectiveness of recovery policies.

Siddiq, a civil engineering PhD student at the 91��Ƭ��AV and native of Indonesia, has earned a prestigious United States Agency for International Development / Habitat for Humanity fellowship to investigate the effectiveness of long-term recovery initiatives, with a focus on the 2004 disaster, which took the lives of more than 200,000 people.

“This research is very important to the humanitarian shelter and settlement sector because billions of dollars were invested into the humanitarian and recovery efforts,” Siddiq said. “To go back and know what worked and what was not effective is really important. We can learn lessons so humanitarian organizations and other actors can manage their programs better.”

Siddiq is passionate about this issue as a survivor of the disaster. He has a unique viewpoint and desire for better disaster risk reduction and post-disaster reconstruction.

“My whole village was wiped clean by the tsunami,” Siddiq said. “There was nothing left to see, just flat clean ground. My mom and my grandma went away with the tsunami. I was the oldest in my family to survive, which made me the head of my family.”

His fellowship will focus on long-term recovery efforts, particularly with housing and jobs. This summer he will spend time in Indonesia to conduct field observations and meet with residents in nine villages across three municipalities. He will study areas that have had strong, moderate, and weak recoveries based on housing and livelihood indicators to determine factors that lead to the different recovery outcomes.

Growing up in a rural part of Indonesia, Siddiq never imagined he would become an engineer, much less earn a PhD in the United States. As a child, his village had no electricity and he did not begin to learn English until age 12. Today, he speaks it as well as any American.

“People say, ‘You sound like you’re from Kansas,’” Siddiq said.

Siddiq has always been interested in learning and the larger world. As a child, he was fascinated with the foreign languages on milk can labels, and when his family moved from their village to Banda Aceh, the capital of his province, he gained access to the internet for the first time.

“That was a game changer,” he said. “I had access to YouTube, Wikipedia, all kinds of stuff and I would lose myself in Wikipedia rabbit holes.”

He earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering in Indonesia and began working at a disaster research institute in Aceh. It gave him the opportunity to network with international experts who visited the center. He connected with a group of researchers from Georgia Tech and was able to earn a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Atlanta institution for his master’s degree.

A conference in Aceh shortly before he left for Atlanta also gave him his first connection to CU Boulder and his now-PhD advisor, Amy Javernick-Will, whose research focuses on global engineering, disaster recovery and resiliency.

“I met a CU Boulder PhD graduate at the conference,” Siddiq said. “I had seen his research abstract and struck up a conversation about his work. We talked for three hours until the hotel staff kicked us out. He said I needed to work with Amy Javernick-Will, his professor, and that he would put me in touch with her. Now I’m doing my PhD with her.”

Siddiq is grateful for the opportunities he has had and is eager to contribute to disaster recovery research that can help communities in the future.

“I have the combination of lived experience and theoretical knowledge,” he said. “I’m passionate about improving resilience in vulnerable communities, especially those that are low-resourced around the world. It’s a rewarding issue to work on. I think I was born to do this.”

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Home-grown community engagement sprouts in Fort Morgan, Colorado

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 17:05:53 +0000

Home-grown community engagement sprouts in Fort Morgan, Colorado Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/29/2022 - 11:05

Scooping dirt from the garden bed, Britta Bergstrom takes a handful of carrot seeds, gently places them in the dip and firms the warm earth back over top as a group of students look on with a gleam of wonder in their eyes.

Bergstrom, a graduate student in the Mortenson Center for Global Engineering Certificate Program at the 91��Ƭ��AV, radiates joy as her work at the intersection of engineering and grass-roots community engagement comes to fruition.

This spring marks the founding of Pioneer Elementary School’s Garden Club where students, teachers, and community members in Fort Morgan, Colorado come together to plant vegetables and herbs in the Morgan County School District’s second community garden.

“There's definitely a need for healthier foods and also culturally relevant herbs, fruits and vegetables if we can grow them in Colorado, and so this solution hit both of those,” says Bergstrom.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of international travel, Bergstrom pivoted her field-based practicum, an integral piece of earning a Certificate in Global Engineering, from Tanzania to an internship with the International Association for Refugees (IAFR) and a community engaged project closer to home.

“It ended up being really a blessing in disguise because I did get to get plugged in locally and do my practicum in my home state,” says Bergstrom.

The Mortenson Center’s Global Engineering program and her internship with IAFR allowed Bergstrom to research and identify a desire by Fort Morgan’s diverse migrant communities to grow their own organic produce, as well as a desire for inter-cultural community building.

“Global engineering allows for us as human beings to leverage those inter-continental networks and knowledge networks to find solutions for humanity in general,” says Bergstrom.

Deep-Seated Cooperation

A key partner for the community garden taking root just 95 miles east from Boulder was the University’s Office for Outreach and Engagement (OOE).

Bergstrom received one of 16 Community Impact Grants that OOE awarded in 2021-22, which helped foster the link between her research within the Mortenson Center and making an impact at the community-level.

“This is core to our mission, and it has shaped the evolution of our institution throughout its entire history,” says David Meens, director of the Office for Outreach and Engagement.

Though built into the university’s founding charter in 1876, the formation of OOE at the turn of the century and creation of the CU Boulder Outreach Awards catalyzed the commitment to building mutually beneficial relationships between scholars and community.

“We encourage folks to think about what is the authentic version of this public scholarship that is advancing the academic mission of the university through engagement with communities in ways that lead to mutual benefit and serve their needs,” says Meens.

Over the last 22 years, the CU Boulder Outreach Awards have provided over $6.7 million to 863 projects that have directly benefited more than 5.5 million people in Colorado.

Instilling Longevity

The Community Impact Grant not only greenlit the garden but also laid the groundwork for Renae Aguirre, a third grade teacher at Pioneer Elementary, to start a garden club.

A Fort Morgan native and teacher of seven years at Pioneer, Aguirre lights up when asked about cultivating student participation in the garden.

“I had one little boy tell me that the reason he joined the garden club was because his parents don’t know how to do it. So he wants to learn, so he can do it at home, and he’s only in first grade,” she says.

Root vegetables and leafy greens will ground the garden, and Aguirre will plant tomatoes and cucumbers after the last frost later in May. With 90 students of Pioneer’s 330 already signed up for the club, the garden will be well-tended.

And for Bergstrom, it’s just the beginning of a career at the intersection of engineering and community outreach.

“When I think about making an impact as an engineer, there’s a lot of power and real changes in these types of grassroots, community efforts,” she says.

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PhD student Kimberly Pugel Honored as 2021 New Face of Civil Engineering by ASCE

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:38:57 +0000

PhD student Kimberly Pugel Honored as 2021 New Face of Civil Engineering by ASCE Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/22/2021 - 09:38

ASCE has honored Kimberly Pugel as a 2021 New Face of Civil Engineering. Pugel’s work combines environmental engineering, planning, policymaking, and a heavy dose of communication skills, particularly as it relates to facilitating communication between stakeholders and decision-makers.

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Air Quality Inquiry project extends from rural Colorado into Mongolia

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 13:47:19 +0000

Air Quality Inquiry project extends from rural Colorado into Mongolia Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/23/2020 - 07:47

Civil engineering master's student Britta Bergstrom taught a module for Public Lab Mongolia on how to design an Air Quality Inquiry (AQIQ) research project.

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CEAE and EVEN 2020 Live-Streamed Graduation Ceremony Video

Anonymous — Tue, 19 May 2020 15:44:38 +0000

CEAE and EVEN 2020 Live-Streamed Graduation Ceremony Video Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/19/2020 - 09:44

Congratulations on your Graduation!

The Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department and the Environmental Engineering Program hosted a live-streamed graduation ceremony on May 15, 2020.

More than 350 graduating students, faculty, staff, family and friends attended the ceremony to celebrate your accomplishments.Thank you to all. Special thanks to our featured guest speaker Jonathan Jones, Chief Executive Officer at Wright Water Engineers and to our student speaker Peter Heller, who won the Outstanding Undergraduate Award from the College of Engineering and Applied Science and from the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Department.

Please find below the Program, the graduation updated slides and the video of the Ceremony.

Go Buffs!

2020 CEAE and EVEN Graduation Ceremony Slides Graduation Program

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hktsu-WEW5w]

The Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department and the Environmental Engineering Program hosted a live-streamed graduation ceremony on May 15, 2020. More than 350 graduating students, faculty, staff, family and friends attended the ceremony to celebrate your accomplishments.

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Summer fellowship will help student wrap up her sustainable concrete research

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:25:34 +0000

Summer fellowship will help student wrap up her sustainable concrete research Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/29/2020 - 13:25

PhD student Mikaela DeRousseau has received a 2020 Summer Fellowship from the CU Boulder Graduate School.

DeRousseau is in her fourth year at CU Boulder with a focus on civil systems, and expects to graduate in August. Her advisors are Joseph Kasprzyk and Wil Srubar.

DeRousseau said she is very honored to have received the award.

“I'm someone who sometimes suffers from imposter syndrome,” she said. “To receive this award is a nice reminder to keep chugging and have confidence that I am conducting valuable research. I'm also feeling very lucky in these strange times to be able to continue doing my research. The fellowship will enable me to continue conducting research and finish my dissertation this summer after my previous funding from NSF has completed.”

DeRousseau’s research aims to develop a new paradigm for designing sustainable and durable concrete mixtures using multi-objective optimization. They use a concept called “coupled simulation-optimization” in order to computationally simulate concrete properties like compressive strength and embodied carbon dioxide emissions. That allows them to minimize or maximize those properties in order to determine concrete mixture designs that are optimal for a particular application.

“Since concrete and the built environment play such a large role in contributing to global carbon dioxide emissions, I believe the field of civil engineering has a great opportunity to contribute to climate change mitigation,” DeRousseau said. “I hope my work can be used as a decision-making tool and show that we can still meet the requirements for durable building materials, while reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment.”

The Graduate School offers fellowships to doctoral students to provide support during the summer term. The fellowships are for $6,000. Each doctoral program had the opportunity to nominate one student for consideration for the award.

PhD student Mikaela DeRousseau has received a 2020 Summer Fellowship from the CU Boulder Graduate School. DeRousseau is in her fourth year at CU Boulder with a focus on civil systems, and expects to graduate in August. Her advisors are Joseph Kasprzyk and Wil Srubar.

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Student puts hydrology skills to use during NASA internship

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:58:44 +0000

Student puts hydrology skills to use during NASA internship Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/28/2019 - 10:58

Ronnie Abolafia-Rosensweig, a PhD student working with Professor Ben Livneh, is featured on NASA website and talks about the summer internship he did there.

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Environmental Engineering Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 20:30:45 +0000

Environmental Engineering Celebrates 20th Anniversary Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/25/2019 - 14:30

CU Boulder’s Environmental Engineering Program marked its 20th anniversary on Oct. 21 2019 with an evening celebration for faculty, students, staff and alumni.

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