Faculty Mentor of the Week Sebastian Bryson College of Engineering, Civil Engineering
Dr. Sebastian Bryson is the Hardin-Drnevich-Huang Associate Professor of Civil Engineering in the UK College of Engineering and the Co-Director for the College of Engineering Scholars Program in Undergraduate Research. His research interests include sustainable and humanitarian engineering, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, and civil engineering materials.
In the last year, Dr. Bryson has directly and indirectly mentored 13 undergraduate researchers. Bryson's undergraduate research opportunities range from involvment in predicting landslides using satellite data from the NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive mission and the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement mission to students using unmanned aerial systems to asses the existing landslides. His undergraduate mentees are also developing scale models of earth dams. Dr. Bryson states, "The best thing about being an undergraduate research mentor is seeing students evolve from being mildly interested in a research topic to being very enthusiastic about the topic." When considering undergraduate research students, Dr. Bryson appreciates dependable, hard working students who are self-motivated and look for solutions to problems for themselves.
Dr. Bryson's dedication and support to undergraduate research is profound and encourages undergraduate students to consider engaging in research opportunities. Dr. Bryson recommends that students keep an open mind and explore research topics outside their knowledge bubble. He explains, "Some of the most interesting research is sometimes about topics you may not have previously considered. Also, understand that some research topics will be an excellent fit for you, while some...not so much." His advice to students is to "be willing to explore!"
Thank you Dr. Bryson for being a champion of undergraduate research! We are thrilled to celebrate you as this week's Research Facutly Mentor of the Week.
Dr. Sebastian Bryson - College of Engineering, Civil Engineering