Students

International Women’s Day Spotlight on UC Davis Women in Civil and Environmental Engineering

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering recognizes women in engineering, their journey to and in the field, and how they promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive world.

Meet some remarkable women in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and learn how they inspire inclusion in engineering.

CEE undergraduate students Isabella Lera and Jessica Lee won 2024 GeoVideo competition hosted by ASCE's GeoInstitute

Laura Luna (our Ph.D. student) mentored two CEE undergrad students, Isabella Lera, and Jessica Lee, as they prepared a submission for the 2024 GeoVideo competition hosted by ASCE's GeoInstitute. 

They were invited to attend GeoCongress in Vancouver to compete in the finals and were awarded top place.

Find their video submission here: https://youtu.be/G4McCgglhCo

Prof. Amit Kanvinde and his PhD student Aditya Jhunjhunwala received 2024 Raymond C. Reese Research Prize

The American Society of Civil Engineers has awarded the 2024 Raymond C. Reese Research Prize to Amit Kanvinde, Professor at UC Davis’s Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Aditya Jhunjhunwala, his PhD student. The Raymond C. Reese Research Prize, created in 1970, is given to authors of an article that “describes a notable achievement in research related to structural engineering and which indicates how the research can be used,” according to the ASCE website.

March 2023 Graduate Student Spotlight: Mohammad Rahman

Mohammad Rahman is a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis working as a Graduate Student Researcher at the University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC). 

In this month's Graduate Student Spotlight, we'll be learning more about Mohammad and his research at UC Davis.

February 2023 Graduate Student Spotlight: Patrick Cunningham

Patrick Cunningham (he/him) has been studying at UC Davis for 5 years, first completing his MS degree and now completing his Ph.D. 

In this month's Graduate Student Spotlight, we'll learn more about Patrick and his research at UC Davis.

Tell us about yourself in a few words.

Currently, I'm doing research in Berlin, DE. I love cooking and I am fascinated by the towering role of concrete in our global society.

UC Davis Researchers Explore Environmental Benefits of Soil-Stabilizing Microbes

Naturally occurring microbes could help stabilize the ground under buildings during earthquakes due to the way they reduce the water content in soils, according to new research. One existing approach to stabilizing liquefaction-prone soils known as grouting is to inject concrete into the soil under vulnerable structures to cement the ground together.

January 2023 Graduate Student Spotlight: Samantha Sharp

Samantha Sharp (she/her) is a fifth-year Ph.D. Student in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus on Water Resource Engineering. 

In this Graduate Student Spotlight, we'll learn more about Samantha's journey and her research at UC Davis. 

December 2022 Graduate Student Spotlight: Sampat Kedarisetty

Sampat Kedarisetty (he/him) is a sixth-year Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus on Pavement Management.

In this Graduate Student Spotlight, we'll learn more about Sampat's journey and his research at UC Davis. 

Tell us about yourself.

I'm originally from India and came to UC Davis for my Ph.D. I'm also newly married to the love of my life who I met here and am a cat-dad.

Prof. Michele Barbato and PhD Student Diogo Zignago selected for Editor's Choice for the ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction

Professor Barbarto along with CEE Ph.D. Student Diogo Zignago, who co-authored the paper “Reliability-Based Calibration of New Design Procedure for Reinforced Concrete Columns under Simultaneous Confinement by Fiber-Reinforced Polymers and Steel” (https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CC.1943-5614.0001199) has been selected as Editor’s Choice for 2022’s 3rd issue of the ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction. 

CEE Graduate Student Selected for Inaugural AGU Program

Zoe Kanavas, an MSc/Ph.D. candidate in Water Resources Engineering, has been honored for her outstanding work through the American Geophysical Union. She was selected to join the first cohort of AGU's Local Science Partners program, which empowers ambassador AGU members to build sustainable partnerships with their local policymakers. Ambassadors will receive skills-building workshops and have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to visit Congress members. Congratulations, Zoe!

Awards bestowed upon Laura Hernandez-Bassal

Laura Hernandez-Bassal, PE, is a current structural and earthquake engineering Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis. Recently, she was awarded fellowships from the ACI Foundation and ASCE. 

The ACI Foundation is a non-profit subsidiary of ACI that promotes progress, innovation, and collaboration in the concrete industry through strategic investments in research, scholarship, and ideas. 

The ACI Foundation awarded Hernandez-Bassal the ACI Presidents' Fellowship. 

Student Spotlight: Ann Willis

Ann Willis, a first-year Ph.D. student in civil and environmental engineering, recently achieved a milestone typically reserved for a senior researcher or faculty member: she secured a $492,000 grant through the state of California Wildlife Conservation Board for studying reconciliation ecology.