Graduate Student of the Month

There has been a growth in plastic waste over the past few decades and many studies have focused on how to utilize that plastic waste into concrete. Alkotami’s research will focus on the studies that have been done on concrete with plastic aggregates as coarse aggregates. She will mainly focus on the mechanical properties of the concrete and how the plastic aggregate affects it. She is from Saudi Arabia, her hobbies include working out and gardening, and her favorite food is sushi.

Ridder has been working on a USDA-funded project exploring the effects of vibration on swine during livestock transportation. He also is working on two other projects with industry companies involving agricultural machinery systems. Ridder is from Leoti, Kansas, and his hobbies include woodworking, 3D printing and K-State sports. His favorite food is any kind of dip, and his bucket list item is to travel to Germany and the Netherlands.

Oliveira Cabral's research is focused on development of a computational multiscale modeling framework of integrated/intensified chemical-energy systems for real-time decision-making and precise control applications. He is from Brazil and his hobbies include music production and politics. His favorite food is Brazilian cheese bread, and his bucket list includes seeing Halley's comet in 2061.

Patil’s research interests are focused on utilization of nanoindentation to characterize the aging viscoelastic properties of cement paste. She is developing the mathematical framework using solidification and time shift approaches to predict the viscoelastic macroscale responses of cement paste. Research will likely have impact in the bridge design industry as the aforementioned ageing viscoelastic properties profoundly affect long-span concrete girders. Patil is from Karnataka, India, and her hobbies include singing, dancing and reading. Her favorite food is dosa and idli (South Indian food), and her bucket list includes going scuba diving and visiting Manasa Sarovara and Amarnath in India.

Bose’s research focuses on augmenting open-source cyber threat intelligence (OSINT) to the next level using expressive feature representation learning and semi-supervised techniques to defend against upcoming cybersecurity vulnerabilities before posing threats. Bose is from Dinajpur, Bangladesh, and his hobbies include visiting scenic places, watching documentaries and gardening. His favorite foods are kacchi biriyani, mutton-leg roast and rice pudding, and his bucket list items are a solo tour of Alaska and a visit to the Egyptian pyramids with family.

Lindstrom is designing an all-digital phase locked loop (ADPLL) to generate high-speed, continuous chirps for RADAR Systems. The design will be fabricated in a deep-sub-micrometer CMOS process. He’s specifically hoping to address the issue of discontinuities in frequency chirps that currently plague all commercial PLLs with ramp-generating capabilities. Lindstrom is from Geneseo, Illinois, and his hobbies include reading, weightlifting, running and songwriting. His favorite food is chicken and rice, and his bucket list item is to read every Thomas Hardy novel.

Kauer Brazil’s research evaluates the feasibility of virtual reality technology to screen for daily life activity impairments in older adults. With VR, it’s possible to create tests that replicate real-life activities without the need of an infrastructure to conduct direct observations, making these types of tests cheaper and more accessible. This can increase quality of life and safety of people experiencing functional decline, as well as increase the peace of mind of families of older adults who live independently. Kauer Brazil is from Brazil, and her hobbies include traveling, cooking, trying different food, CrossFit and soccer. Her favorite food is ice cream and her bucket list includes a trip to Naples, Italy for pasta and pizza classes.

Stallbaumer-Cyr is investigating the mechanism of freezing propagation along wick surfaces, motivated by the use of heat pipes in space and the extreme temperatures to which they are exposed. Additionally, the Ogallala Aquifer is depleting at an unsustainable rate. The addition of surfactant to soil is investigated as a way to decrease the needed amount of irrigation. Stallbaumer-Cyr is investigating how surfactant alters spray characteristics. She is originally from Dallas, but has lived in Manhattan for eight years, and her hobbies include crocheting, Taylor Swift, reading and hiking. Her favorite food is her mom’s homemade enchiladas and her bucket list item is to give a TED Talk.