As a girl grew up in Beijing, China,These adolescent observations led me to realize the importance of Hydraulic Engineering. I came to Auburn University in August 2014 for my bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering. I began studies in this major with the goal of planning, designing, and operating the systems that provide the basic needs of society. I loved learning the theory and technology behind engineering infrastructure. During my education progress, I found that it is quite interesting to understand and learn theory related to Environmental Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering due to my childhood experience continual water system crashes and flooding during heavy summer rains. I worked as a laboratory assistant in the Estuarine Environments Research Program during my studies at Auburn, which continued to develop my passion for civil engineering. Studying estuarine systems is an important part of hydrological modeling for pollutant transport analysis.
I pursue not only to be an excellent assistant in the laboratory but also to be a master of problem solving. My Master’s work has continued to investigate the organic micropollutants in estuaries and response efforts in marine ecosystem. The analytical instruments I learned to use in the laboratory helped me develop a firm foundation and understanding in environmental and hydraulic analysis. The research concluded that micropollutants including endocrine, disrupting compounds and phypoestrogens do exist within Alabama estuaries. Through my research experience, I mastered experimental design work, numerical analysis, and advanced engineer software such as HEC-HMS, ArcMap and SPSS. In addition, through my coursework I developed a stronger interest in storm water management.
I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) at Iowa State University. My latest research is about determining the efficiency of sediment removal by adopting a combination of passive and semi-passive storm water treatment technologies. The use of lamella settlers and electrocoagulation were piloted by experiments conducted in a bench-scale lamella settler to determine water quality improvements throughout repeatedly four-hour observations. The case study was tested with three types of soils: loess, glacial, and kaolinite to examine the capabilities of this designed novel system. The results of EC application display dramatically increase of sediments removal compared to the original lamella settler, which provides design guidance for post-construction storm water management to eliminate contaminants, also leads towards a greater understanding on how lamella settlers and EC can be used in various water treatment applications. A future study is expected to include a pilot-scale field evaluation using a photovoltaic (PV) powered unit.
I enjoy design, singing in the church choir, volunteering, drawing, photography, yoga, and traveling. For more information about me, feel free to contact me.