Student of the Year
CESTiCC 2016 Student of the Year: Mehdi Honarvar Nazari
Mehdi Honarvar Nazari completed a Ph.D. in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering in 2010 at the University of Tehran and worked as a Research Associate and laboratory manager at the Western Transportation Institute and Washington State University (WSU). He is currently a graduate student at WSU, pursuing his 2nd Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. He has worked on CESTiCC research on the evaluation of bio-based anti-icers and DOT research pertaining to the negative effects of deicers on protection equipment and the environment. He has published and presented on a variety of transportation related topics and exhibited leadership in mentoring undergraduate students.
His thesis will demonstrate the use of microbial fuel cell (MFC) as a maintenance-free power source for treating deicer-laden stormwater runoff collected from the roadway surface. One key innovation is the applications of nanotechnology to MFC to greatly improve their power density and efficiency in harvesting bioenergy from natural waters, using biominerals naturally-replenished by native population of safe manganese oxidizing microorganisms (MOMs), which are abundant in natural waters.
CESTiCC 2015 Student of the Year: Beaux Kemp
Mr. Beaux Kemp received his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) with a minor in Mathematics. He is an E.I.T in the state of Alaska. He is currently working on his MS degree in Civil Engineering at UAF. He has been working as a research assistant on a CESTiCC project entitled “Characterization of Alaskan Hot-Mix Asphalt Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Material” since his last year of being an undergraduate. In this project, he has conducted substantial laboratory work from materials collection, sample preparation, and performance tests, but also data analysis and reporting. Beaux is a hard-worker, honest and always eager to learn new things.
Besides his research experience, Beaux has also been an excellent teaching assistant for the ‘Properties of Materials’ course and math tutor at UAF. Beaux is very active in professional societies. He is currently the President of the Chi Epsilon UAF Chapter and a student member of ASCE and the American Concrete Institute. He helped with CESTiCC’s 2015 International Symposium on Systematic Approaches to Environmental Sustainability in Transportation as a local organizing committee member and has helped host local elementary students gain a better understanding of civil engineering through the Kids2College program. He has received many awards because of his academic and leadership excellence such as the 2015 Coral Sales Scholarship, the 2015 Student Leadership and Achievement Award, the 2014 Bill Mendenhall Scholarship, the 2013 Ralf Migliaccio Scholarship, and Chancellor’s and/or Dean’s Honor List.
Congratulations to Beaux and we wish him all the best!
CESTiCC 2014 Student of the Year: Quinn Langfitt
Quinn is a Ph.D student in Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University (WSU). He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with Magna Cum Laude. He is currently working on compiling transportation related environmental life cycle assessment tools and literature for the proposed learning modules for the Center. He has published a couple of peer-reviewed publications as the leading author and made several presentations at professional meetings. He also received a number of prestigious awards including FHWA’s Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship, Harold P. Curtis Scholarship at WSU, and NASA Space Grant, etc.
Congratulations to Quinn and we wish him all the best!
