Teaching and Outreach

Teaching and outreach might occur in different settings and be geared towards different audiences, but they are both about the same thing: inspiring people and giving every individual the chance to discover and work towards reaching their full potential.

I see my interactions with learners as a space where both of us should feel comfortable being ourselves and where community is created. To this end, I am committed to apply universal design principles to these interactions, foster a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment, and to focus on learning while eliminating barriers.

Spring 2019 - Present: Skype a Scientist

I have been actively participating in the Skype a Scientist program since the spring of 2019 and will continue to do so. I hope to share my excitement for science with anyone who is interested but particularly those from Spanish speaking countries.

Growing up, I really enjoyed it when scientists visited school but the visits were sporadic. Skyping into a classroom is a great idea and I'm thrilled to take part of this initiative. Hopefully it will provide more opportunities for schools to 'host' scientists frequently.

Fall 2017 - Spring 2018: Co-Founder and Coordinator, Student-lead Interdisciplinary Research Discussion Group (Link)

Research discussion group open to students and faculty in the Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering Area of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Geology and Department of Geography and GIS at the University of Illinois. It was a 60-90 minute weekly discussion designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between students and faculty conducting research in the broader topic of fluvial geomorphology. This initiative was co-organized and led with Julia Cisneros, graduate student in the Department of Geology.

2010 - 2017: Engineering Open House - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

I volunteered every year since 2010 in the planning stages, coordination, and exhibits presentation, during this two-day event that helps promote STEM to the local schools and community.

13. Fall 2021-Present: Ellie Goodfellow, PhD researcher, Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull.

Topic: Offshore windfarm array-scale sediment transport dynamics

12. Summer 2020: Nicholas Playforth, MS student, University of Hull.

Topic: Environmental implications of pH changes on particle aggregation. Co-supervised with Dr. Christina Roggatz.

11. Fall 2019 - Present: Ellen Pollard, MSc., Visiting Academic, University of Hull.

Topic: Paleo-flow reconstruction for substrates with mixtures of cohesive and non-cohesive sediment.

10. Fall 2019 - Present: Lucrecia Álvarez, PhD researcher, Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull.
Topic: Quantifying and modeling microplastics fluxes in fluvial environments. PhD Committee member.

9. Summer 2019 - Spring 2020: Connor Burchell, MS student, University of Leicester.

Topic: Macro-plastic transport processes in fluvial environments.

8. Summer 2019: Joe Green, MS student, University of Hull.

Topic: Effect of water pH on clay flocculation.

7. Fall 2018-Present: Marijke de Vet, PhD researcher, Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull.

Topic: Turbulent-laminar transitions in environmental flows. PhD Committee Member

6. Summer 2018: Kristin Anderson, Undergraduate student, Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project: Surface velocity measurements with PTV in laboratory meandering flumes.

5. Fall 2017: Ariel Hanon, Undergraduate student, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project: Settling velocities and grain size distributions of muddy river bed sediments.

4. Summer 2018: John Berens, MS student, Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project: Surface velocity measurements with PTV in laboratory meandering flumes.

Fall 2016 - Fall 2017 (Undergraduate student)

Projects: (1) Experiments on laboratory meltwater meandering channels; (2) Development of an Automatic River Centerline Extraction Tool.

3. Spring 2015 - Spring 2016: Eduardo Hanon, Undergraduate student, Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Projects: (1) Development of a digital meandering river statistics toolbox and application to a reach of the Pilcomayo River; (2) Lake Nicaragua Basin Water Balance.

2. Fall 2014 - Summer 2015: Jaclyn Daum, Undergraduate student, Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project: Experiments on meandering channels formed by dissolution.

1. Summer 2013: Morgan Goodwin, BSc. Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project: Experiments on meandering channels formed by dissolution.

2021 - Spring Semester - Lecturer - Research Projects Module - AURA Centre for Doctoral Training, University of Hull

Prepared and delivered one third of the module focusing on experimental techniques applied to the offshore renewable energy sector. Other 2/3 were delivered by colleagues focusing on Computational Fluid Dynamics (1/3) and Machine Learning (1/3)

2020 - Fall semester - Lecturer - Principles of GIS, 2nd year course - BSc. in Geography, University of Hull

Assisted with computer-lab sessions, invloving explanation of the contents and tools needed as well as overall supervision of student's work throughout the sessions.

2013 - Instructor - Sediment Transport Short-Course, San José, Costa Rica.

Prepared and taught with Prof. Marcelo H. García, a four day course for the Hydraulics and Hydrology Departments of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Institute of Electricity). Three days were spent in the classroom and the last day was spent out in the field teaching about measurement techniques for sediment transport measurements and grain size distribution analysis.

2013 - Instructor - MatLab Pre-Conference Short Course, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Prepared and taught with José Mier, PhD, a two day MatLab pre-conference course at the III Experimental Methods Symposium in Argentina.

2008 - Teaching Assistant, River Hydrodynamics; Continuing Education Program, Universidad de Costa Rica.

Assisted in development and preparation of lecture and exercise materials for a 20 hour River Hydrodynamics course taught by Prof. Rafael Oreamuno, MSc.

2007 (I and II Terms) and 2008 (I Term) - Teaching Assistant, IC-0808 Surface Hydrology, Universidad de Costa Rica.

Served as Teaching Assistant for the Surface Hydrology class during three academic terms. One term was taught by Prof. Rafael Oreamuno, MSc and the other two by Prof. Rafael Murillo, PhD. Duties included homework solution preparation, homework and project grading, and supervision of written examinations.