More than 60 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students presented at the symposium, including several PhD candidates from the University of Miami College of Engineering (UMCoE). Each presented on their research to individuals from several disciplines at the inaugural Graduate and Postdoctoral Research Symposium.
Alvaro Ruiz Emparanza, a PhD candidate in the UMCoE Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAE), and Vera Mayo, a PhD candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, conducted an individual 10-minute TED-like talk at the symposium.
Emparanza received first prize for his session entitled, “Leading the Resiliency Battle of Civil Infrastructure Using Composite Materials.” His discussion focused on making infrastructure cost-effective and durable, specifically through the use of glass fiber reinforced polymer materials.
Recently, Emparanza also was inducted into the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Emparanza is one of only four inductees from the University to enter the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. He will be inducted at the Annual Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity and Graduate Education in April. The Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.
Nima Hosseinzadeh Nanehkaran, a PhD candidate in CAE, won first place, and Yusuf Secerdin, a PhD candidate in the Department of Industrial Engineering, placed second for best posters in the engineering and physical sciences poster category.
Hosseinzadeh’s poster investigated the hydration, strength and shrinkage of cementitious materials mixed with simulated desalination brine; while Secerdin’s poster proposed a resilient humanitarian transportation network design against the disruptions caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Babak Vafaei, a PhD candidate in CAE, also took home top honors, receiving the People’s Choice award at the symposium for his research poster presentation investigating the benefits of nano-silica encapsulated in super absorbent polymers in concrete.
All four PhD candidates were awarded monetary prizes for their outstanding presentations. The graduate students who won prizes in the poster categories will be invited to present their research at the Conference of Florida of Graduate Schools on April 17-18, 2019.
For a full list of presenters and abstracts, click here.
For the full video of the keynote address and Ted-like Talk Presentations, click here.
