A single experience in college can shape a life. As Nicole Zipp (nee Stanton, '22) earned her BS in Civil Engineering, she said yes to a chance at summer academic research. That experience ignited a passion for environmental engineering and helped develop her critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and confidence.
In Nicole's junior year, she took Dr. Kyle Shimabuku's course in environmental engineering, which led to an invitation to join his faculty-led research team.
"After a presentation I made, he took the time to reach out and tell me about research he thought I'd be interested in. Because of his efforts, I found a career I really enjoy," she said.
Although she'd been considering structural engineering, Nicole took a chance with this new opportunity.
"A big part of me getting involved in engineering in the first place is just saying yes to experiences, seeing whether you like that opportunity or not," she said.
Saying Yes to a Summer Internship and Research
She did have one hesitation before saying yes: Would research look as good on a resume as a summer engineering job? She worried that future employers would rather see 'real-world' job experience.
Today, Nicole is happy to say summer research was the right decision.
"I have no regrets! I think research allowed me to explore more of what's going on in the engineering world than I would have kind of seen just working on a wastewater treatment plant as a civil engineering intern," she said.
Gaining Hands-On Experience and Confidence
Nicole worked full-time on Dr. Shimabuku's bonechar research during the summer of 2021 and part-time during the academic year until her graduation. The multi-disciplinary project focused on using bone char to remove fluoride from groundwater in Mexico, a project that involved collaboration with the nonprofit organization Caminos de Agua.
"Bone char is just cow bones that are charred. So the mechanical engineering students, they got to take the raw cow bones and burn them in different ways to try to figure out if you can get more surface area for the fluoride molecules to attach. Then we (civil engineering students) would take it, grind it to a certain size, put it through a sieve, and then we would run different doses and see how much percent removal we would get."
The work could get intimidating, especially as the testing equipment became more complex. She credits Dr. Shimabuku with teaching through the research, helping Nicole and her colleagues understand the chemical engineering perspective.
"He did a very good job of making sure that we really understood what was going on -- the chemical reactions and the filtration. On the first day of research, he talked about this being niche, 'you're not going to understand it off the bat, and that can be stressful and confusing.' But, he said, it's shown that the more you know about something, the more interested you can become in it, and the more invested you are in your work."
Publication and Professional Growth
The group's research was published in the journal Water Research, and Nicole is listed as a co-author -- a significant achievement for an undergraduate.
"Being able to say that I'm published on something is absolutely not something that most undergraduate students can say. If you have that opportunity, it's great to put on your resume and have in your back pocket."
Currently, Nicole works as a process engineer at Black & Veatch, participating in a rotational program that allows her to explore various aspects of civil engineering.
"The skills that I gained throughout the experience did help prepare me for my career. I think our research taught me how to think through a problem critically and focus on the questions that need to be asked to solve the problem. I also believe that both 91勛圖厙 as a whole and my experience doing research taught me how to be an independent worker. Being able to problem solve through a task has been a great skill throughout my career so far," Nicole said.
Advice for Aspiring Researchers
Nicole encourages students to embrace research opportunities, even if they seem daunting.
"Don't be afraid of it. I think there's a lot of intimidating aspects, a lot of things that make it an unusual route for an undergraduate. That's mostly just because a lot don't have the opportunity."