Ph.D. Student Lara Rios won first place in the graduate oral presentation section at the national convention of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
Rios was one of 10 students selected to give an oral presentation at the conference, which took place in Philadelphia Oct. 29 -Nov. 1.
Rios presented her research on blast simulation, focusing on a test series done on structural bolts to simulate far-field blast loading. She discussed how different variables, like velocity and programmer material, contributed to the trial.
A group of faculty members from sponsoring universities judged the presentations and selected Rios to win first place and $2,000.
“It's truly an honor to be recognized for this work,” Rios said. “This was my first time presenting as a graduate student, and it was a great experience to present in front of faculty members who are experts in various engineering fields. It's also empowering! I'm more excited than ever to be doing this work. I look forward to future opportunities to participate in this kind of exchange of knowledge.”
