Why are seminars essential for our students?
There are multiple ways for students to acquire new knowledge. Participating in research seminars offered by faculty from other institutions or by practicing engineers is one of them. These research seminars are very valuable because they help foster curiosity and creativity, which are essential components of a college education.
First, research seminars give students an opportunity to reinforce what they learned in the classroom in a different environment that encourages participation. Second, research seminars show students that there are a few common general strategies to tackle difficult problems. Attending talks in related fields (for example a different area of civil engineering, such as water resources for transportation systems engineering students) illustrates that tools and ways of thinking learned in one area can readily be applied to other areas. Third, listening to a range of speakers from academia and industry reinforces the importance for students of becoming good presenters and it provides them with effective communication strategies (it can also show them what approaches to avoid). Fourth, by providing a safe, informal space after the seminar to talk with the speaker, faculty, and other attendees, research seminars provide students with an effective way to network.
Past CEE Seminar Events:
CEE Seminar: How Will Future Climate Change Impact Prescribed Fire Across the U.S.? | CEE Seminar: A Path Toward Systemic Equity in Engineering Applications for Transdisciplinary Effect |
Alex Jonko, Ph.D. Staff Scientist | 
Joe F. Bozeman III, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Georgia Institute of Technology |
Research seminars are therefore essential for students to grow and master the knowledge they acquired in the classroom. Unfortunately, recent financial difficulties partly caused by COVID-19 have triggered budget cutbacks in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine. These cutbacks threaten our ability to bring speakers to the campus at a time when students and faculty alike are yearning for in-person teaching. Your Giving Day gift will support our seminar series and will therefore go a long way to serve our students and support our mission of educating the creative problem-solving civil engineers of tomorrow.
