Journey from Undergraduate to Graduate Student Gabriela Perales - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Journey from Undergraduate to Graduate Student

Gabriela Perales

Outline

Research:

• Structural Health Monitoring System
• Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP)
• Research Experience for Undergraduates (UTCRS)
• Illinois Center for Transportation

Internships:

• Texas Department of Transportation

Graduate school:

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Structural Health Monitoring System

• Greatly reduces risk of catastrophic failure.
• Provides advance warning of growing

structural problems.

• Causes:
• Corrosion degradation
• Materials degradation

Micron Optics

• Temperature
• Strain

Arsenal Bridge

• Government Bridge
• Connects Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport,

Iowa

• Goal → to monitor integrity and behavior of

structure, and effects due to high traffic and heavy truck loads

7

Texas Department of Transportation

• Summer 2013
• Encino, Texas

Long Term Pavement Performance

LTPP

LTPP

University Transportation for Railway Safety (UTCRS)

• Vehicle Violations
• Sensors
• Smartsensor Advance
• Smartsensor HD
• Autoscope kit

UTCRS Research

Investigation of Relationships Between AIMS Shape Properties and VST Friction Values

• Illinois Center for Transportation
• Objective: analysis of second-generation Aggregate

Imaging System (AIMS-II) and Micro-Deval (MD) shape properties and variable speed test (VST) friction data

• Statistical analysis on aggregates to obtain threshold for

classifying aggregate angularity and texture into acceptable and non-acceptable zones

• Clusters used:
• K-means cluster analysis
• Two-step cluster analysis

Continuation

Publication

• Mahmoud, Enad, and Gabriela Perales.

Investigation of Relationships Between AIMS Shape Properties and VST Friction

• Values. Tech. no. FHWA-ICT-15-006.

Illinois Center for Transportation, Feb.

• 2015. Web. Mar. 2015.

Extracurricular Activities

• HESTEC
• Undergraduate Research Initiative

Conference

• Society of Woman Engineers, Secretary
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
• Student Think-Tank for Innovation and

Research

Why pursue a masters degree?

• Intellectual growth
• More job opportunities
• “Free” education
• Detailed course work
• Higher starting salary

Grad Student Achievements

• Mentor the new UTCRS students.
• Meet US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx

and Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer.

• Attended the International Highway Engineering

Experience Program (IHEEP) conference as a student presenter. (September 2015)

• Attended the American Railway Engineering and

Maintenance-of-Way Association(AREMA)

• conference. (October 2015)
• Currently working on my thesis
• Awards: Student of the Year

Gabriela Perales Research Assistant Phone: (956) 624-2543 Email: gperales@huskers.unl.edu