Alumna Candace Yee has been selected by ASCE's Committee on Student Members as a national finalist in the 2021 Daniel W. Mead Student Contest. Each year, the contest solicits papers from young civil engineers on a topic related to professional ethics. This year, it asked students to address the responsibilities of civil engineers in the face of a global pandemic.
In her paper, Candace outlined procedures that civil engineering institutions, such as universities, office spaces, and construction sites, should follow during an outbreak, and provided guidance on how these health procedures should change in accordance with releases of data about the disease. It also argues, most importantly, that it is the civil engineering profession's responsibility to take the lessons imparted during this past year with COVID-19 and integrate them into the design of existing and future infrastructure, making hubs such as transit centers much more resilient and prepared for future pandemics.
Candace graduated in May 2021 with a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and plans to return in the fall for a Masters degree in Systems Engineering. Throughout her time at UC Berkeley, she has been an active member in the civil engineering honor society, Chi Epsilon, and heavily involved in research. She has conducted research in ecology, fluvial geomorphology, and is currently working on a project on sustainable regional aviation on campus, and a project on biofuel production at RWTH Aachen.
Congratulations, Candace!