Alumna Sarah Rodgers ’18 wears many hats including winner of a national research award

UTSA graduate Sarah Rodgers ’18 begins life after college as a bride, new employee and Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program winner.

(Feb. 18, 2019) – UTSA civil engineering graduate Sarah Rodgers ’18 has started her life after December graduation wearing many new hats.  Not only is she recently graduated from UTSA, she is also a new bride, and now working at a local engineering firm.  But, perhaps her most exciting achievement is to win the Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program(DDETF).

The DDETF promotes students interested in research pertaining to transportation and, in the case of Rodgers, in transportation structures.  She was chosen to receive a $10,000 fellowship and to attend the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Conference in Washington D.C. where she competed in a research poster presentation competition.  Her work was about the low-cycle Fatigue Analysis of High Strength Reinforcing Bar. The project seeks to explore the fatigue behavior of newly developed high strength rebar (HSRB).  The material was placed under very large compression and tensile strains, similar to the strains the material would experience in the event of an earthquake, repeatedly until the material breaks. The number of times the material is pulled in tension and pushed in compression is defined as half cycles to fracture, and is used as a measure of the fatigue life. By understanding the performance of high strength steel, we will develop and submit a set of recommendations for code provision committees that will help engineers implement HSRB in structural gravity systems in seismic regions.

“At the conclusion of the conference all of the fellowship recipients gathered at a reception to hear encouraging words about the next steps in our academic careers and the hurdles that higher education comes with,” Rodgers said. “Next, they announced the winner of the poster competition, and to my surprise it was me. The fellowship recipients are from all levels of higher education (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) and from schools across the US. There were almost 70 presentations total.”

We sat down with Rodgers to discover more about this bright UTSA research award winner:

How did you decide your major area of study?

I have always been fascinated with the built environment, and I wanted to do something both important and humbling. The difficult part of this decision was deciding what I wanted to focus on, and whether I wanted to work in design or research- I chose both.

How did UTSA help you to achieve your goals?

UTSA gave me room to grow, and room to make mistakes. My professors are world class experts in their fields, and even better people. I had a handful of mentors within the structural department that pushed me, had the heart of a teacher in their criticisms, and were excited to celebrate my milestones. 

>> Learn more about the UTSA Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

How did Dr. Wassim Ghannoum assist you the most in your field of study?

Dr. Ghannoum taught my Mechanics of Solids class. I was in his office hours often because I took a particular liking to materials science, and had lots of questions regarding the curriculum. While in this class I was working 3 jobs part time, one of which was a co-op for a Blast Resistant design firm in San Antonio. My co-op supervisor tasked me with reading about “Structural Dynamics”- A topic way above the head of any starting junior in CE. I sought out Dr. Ghannoum’s help with this. I was not the brightest student in his class, nor was I the most technical. In all honesty I would say I’m pretty average (comparatively speaking). Instead of writing me off as a B student, Dr. Ghannoum asked me if I would be interested in academic research. I hadn’t given research much thought before my conversation with him because I felt inadequate. On the condition that I quit my many jobs, I joined Dr. Ghannoum’s research team. In a matter of months, I felt a drastic change in my attitude towards my classes. I was no longer taking classes to get an engineering job one day, I was taking classes that contributed to the way I conducted my research. I became more and more intrigued by all things relating to reinforced concrete structures. When you ask me: “How did Dr. Wassim Ghannoum assist you the most in your field of study”, what I can say is that Dr. Ghannoum was the catalyst in my academic career. He changed my perspective. He helped me realize that my drive to learn and succeed would take me so much further than my scores on a piece of paper ever would. 

>> Learn more about Wassim Ghannoum's research.

What were the biggest obstacles you faced with this project?

Failure. Research fails all the time. I had to get comfortable with adapting and problem solving early on. From the experimental challenges to the code intensive analysis, this project was very challenging to execute. I had so many failed test specimens, that I too felt broken. I remember breaking down after losing 3 rebar specimens in a row. At the time Dr. Ghannoum was in Lebanon, so I turned to Dr. Matamoros for words of encouragement. I tried again the next day, and failed another 2 before getting a successful test! The lows can drag on. I saved the successful test (it’s on my desk). I have never been so excited over a piece of rebar.

What doors does an award like this potentially open for you?

Besides helping fund my graduate degree, the DDETFP and Best Poster Presentation award gave me the ability to network with individuals across the world that I would not have met otherwise. I got to teach people about what I do, and in turn take a part in learning what others do. The fellowship gives me the opportunity to work less and focus on my studies. The networking opportunity allows me to collaborate with professionals and continue to develop relationships within my field.

Is there something important going on in your field that people are talking about?

One of the big topics at the conference was autonomous vehicles! Even though it’s not in the structures sub discipline, the thought of self -driving, safe cars were mind blowing. We even got to ride in one.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

As much as I love the academy, I ultimately want to work in industry while participating in the research world as much as I can. I would like to help bridge innovation and practice. In 10 years, I hope to have a Ph.D. and my PE license. I want to focus on rehabilitation of existing structures (particularly reinforced concrete ones), and natural disaster resistance.

What is one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I take my 2 dogs to doggie school 3 times a week, because their education is important too!

— Pamela Lutrell

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