As a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, I join on technical tours, social gatherings, and other events. Through this organization, I am able to connect with professionals in the field and receive mentorship from them. The organization has grown my interest in the construction industry as whole.

Throughout the program, I witnessed how interdisciplinary research comes alive. Where physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering all converge to tackle real-world challenges. Through hands-on projects and lab tours, we explored how materials are designed, synthesized, and characterized, all under the guidance of CCAM researchers and mentors.

As a civil engineering student, one of the highlights for me was the Bridge Design and Testing module. Designing a bridge in SolidWorks, seeing it 3D printed, and then performing stress tests on the final product was a surreal and rewarding experience.

As a participant of the program, we got to learn the process of creating a research proposal and defending your research paper, visit various graduate labs, and have an hands-on experience with Python coding.

We also engineered a remote-controlled (RC) car to navigate a 100-meter racecourse with 2 teammates as our final project. We focused on weight distribution, acceleration, and stability to achieve maximum performance. We conducted research on structural optimization identifying materials for strength, weight distribution and flexibility. Also investigated suspension and handling designs that would provide maximum traction and minimizing the risk of instability during sharp turns.