Ph.D. candidate Julissa Larios Rodriquez set to join the University’s Graduate Assistance in Areas in National Need (GAANN) program this fall.
"I am pursuing a doctoral degree to deepen my knowledge in structural seismic design with the ultimate goal of sustainably mitigating damage and casualties in earthquake-prone areas."
"I am glad to be part of the GAANN fellowship program, which will allow me to participate in professional development activities and develop my teaching skills during the supervised teaching experience."
"Because earthquakes are unpredictable phenomena, we must exercise extreme caution while designing foundations in order to build a structure that is both safe and resilient."
"Another important goal that I have is to increase the representation of groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education in hopes that the younger generations will be inspired to pursue higher education as well."
"Coming from a poor country, I have seen how higher education can make a difference in the lives of not only the person but also for the community to which he or she belongs."
"I’m interested in providing communities with predictive tools for virus monitoring to prevent and aid in future pandemics."
The civil engineering doctoral student is also a GAANN Fellow focused on improving the earthquake-resiliency of structures to reduce their carbon footprint.
The Graduate Assistantship in Areas of National Need program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering welcomed its first cohort this fall.
"My lifelong passion for innovation and creativity has driven me to move to a new continent in the pursuit of scientific knowledge that can be practically applied to address real-life problems."
"I want to look into how to make infrastructure more energy efficient, cost effective, and capable of recharging clean water for the environment and downstream use."
"Being invited to take part in the GAANN program was an opportunity I did not see coming, but I am glad that I have this chance to become a more capable engineer by deepening my knowledge of structural engineering."