PhD program: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Undergrad: Same

Hometown: Healdsburg, CA

Advisor: Fabian Bombardelli
 

Interview Questions:

How does it feel to earn the ARCS scholarship? I feel very honored to be recognized by such a great foundation and I look forward to meeting the expectations of an ARCS scholar.

What will this award allow you to do that you might not have done without it? This award will allow me to get advanced training in the software which I will use in my PhD project, and will provide me the technology I need to excel in my studies.

What will you research and how might it benefit the world? I will be using my funds and training to develop a hydrodynamic and water quality model for the McCormack-Williamson Tract, which is a leveed island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The model will be used alongside extensive water quality and biological monitoring during the tract's restoration to a tidal environment. The results of my work can help inform decisions on tidal habitat restoration alternatives in the Delta as well as in other Mediterranean climates. I'm really looking forward to bridging hydrodynamic modeling with their ecological implications, particularly in floodplain and tidal environments.

What sparked your interest in your research, or science in general? I've always been somewhat enamored by fluid mechanics and physics in general, but recently I went on a trip that fueled my enthusiasm for work in aquatic studies. This spring, I took UCD's ecogeomorphology graduate course, which brings graduate students from many disciplines together to collectively study the Grand Canyon by focusing on some facet that suits their academic interests. At the end of the course, all the students rafted the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, and gave science talks in-situ. Being in an environment with so many engaged and enthusiastic scientists from varying disciplines made me aware of how lucky I am to be a part of the Center for Watershed Sciences, where people of different backgrounds are allowed an environment to come together and work towards a common goal. After the trip, I was offered a spot on the McCormack-Williamson team and I was elated to accept the opportunity and see how my interests in hydrodynamics would intersect with other researchers' interests.

What advice do you have for people wanting to follow a similar path in science like yours? No matter what your interests are, there is always a way to evoke scientific curiosity in them. Find the little ways to probe the world around you. When you're in a class, don't just think about getting the best grade, think about getting the most out of the course by trying to relate what you're learning to what you happen to be interested in at that time. The more you make those small connections the more the bigger picture starts coming into focus, and that allows you to see where your strengths and curiosities come into play.