熊猫在线视频

When she graduated from high school, Kacy Grundhauser chose to pursue a B.S. in civil engineering at UAA. Speaking with characteristic humility, she said, 鈥淚 figured, hey, I鈥檓 OK at math and science, and I thought civil engineering was a way to do some good.鈥� And now that she鈥檚 wrapping up her final semester, it鈥檚 fair to say that Grundhauser is objectively better than OK at just about everything she does.

In fact, the American Society of Civil Engineers 鈥� or ASCE, a national association of professional engineers 鈥� recently recognized Grundhauser as one of the , making her the first Seawolf to receive the accolade.

But what has Grundhauser done to deserve the honor? 

A glance over her resume may help explain. Through student clubs, internships, and research opportunities, Grundhauser has maximized her time at UAA and achieved an impressive amount in four short years. 

Getting involved

To begin with, Grundhauser is president of ASCE鈥檚 UAA student chapter. She joined during her freshman year, slowly working her way into positions with greater  responsibilities. Grundhauser believes that joining ASCE changed the course of her collegiate experience, guiding her to important mentors, new friends and unexpected opportunities.   

鈥淥ne of the best parts of joining a club is getting to learn about other people 鈥� their interests, their dreams and their different perspectives,鈥� said Grundhauser. 鈥淚鈥檝e loved being in ASCE.鈥�

As Grundhauser prepares to graduate from UAA, she鈥檚 excited to watch ASCE鈥檚 student chapter continue to grow. She views the Steel Bridge Team, which travels across the country for competitions, as a promising tool for recruiting new students. The goal is to design and fabricate the strongest and lightest steel bridge as possible, and then to construct all 20-plus feet of it as quickly as possible. As extracurriculars go, it鈥檚 a real whirlwind. 

鈥淏ut the steel bridge is only one part of ASCE,鈥� said Grundhauser. 鈥淎nother great thing is that we get to grow our professional networks. And, really, that鈥檚 a big piece of our core mission, along with getting kids interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and preparing college students for jobs in the real world.鈥�

Entering the real world

Grundhauser has never shied away from opportunities to do meaningful work. That鈥檚 why for the past two years she has interned at the Anchorage location of HDR, an employee-owned engineering firm headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Grundhauser helps HDR鈥檚 full-time engineers with a variety of tasks, like designs and permitting related to drinking water, storm water, sewage, culverts and bridges. The internship has been challenging and satisfying, driving home  that she has what it takes to be an engineer. 

One of her favorite projects has been periodically inspecting the Westchester Lagoon Dam.

鈥淚n general, being in the field is a highlight because of the change in scenery, and it lets me spatially understand a project,鈥� said Grundhauser. 鈥淭he Westchester Lagoon Dam is fun to inspect because it鈥檚 a marvel in plain sight. You know that multi-use trail running on the west side of the lagoon? That鈥檚 actually a dam and most people who use it have no idea that the lagoon is man-made.鈥�

Grundhauser isn鈥檛 100 percent certain about what the future holds, but she can see herself doing more like this, because she loves the idea of making a direct and visible impact on her community. But there鈥檚 still time for UAA鈥檚 professors to convince Grundhauser that she belongs on the cutting edge of the engineering profession doing something else she loves: research.

On the cutting edge

To date, Grundhauser has served on three research projects, mostly related to water resources, and there is one more on the horizon.

The project that first introduced her to the possibility of research was a traffic study conducted for the 熊猫在线视频 Department of Transportation on the Seward Highway 鈥� one of 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 deadliest roads. The project鈥檚 goal was to determine if decreasing the speed limit for passing lanes would encourage safe drivers to slow down and enable speedy drivers to pass in the safest way possible. 

鈥淯nfortunately, the idea didn鈥檛 pan out like we expected. Everyone just wanted to be in the fast lane,鈥� said Grundhauser. 鈥淏ut it was still a really cool project. It鈥檚 also important to learn what 诲辞别蝉苍鈥檛 飞辞谤办.鈥�

The next two projects Grundhauser joined were more directly related to her area of interest.

鈥淔irst, our team was looking at water usage per capita in 熊猫在线视频鈥檚 different regions. This can help inform future research and community decisions around water,鈥� said Grundhauser. 鈥淎nd then last summer I went to Lyon, France as part of a project with the University of New Orleans. We were studying humic acid 鈥� which turns water brown but is mostly harmless.鈥�

And this coming summer, after Grundhauser walks across the stage at commencement with her diploma in hand, she will hopefully be accepted to join a research team that鈥檚 studying hydraulic modeling at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

More to come

Clearly, Grundhauser is the type of person who goes above and beyond, who says yes to opportunities, who will do whatever it takes to develop herself and make a difference in her community. From the work she鈥檚 done with student clubs, on the job, and in the lab, she is beyond deserving of the accolade given to her by ASCE 鈥� even if she鈥檚 too humble to brag about it.

But it鈥檚 also clear from talking with Grundhauser that being nationally recognized is just an added bonus. The real reward was in doing the work itself.