Environmental Engineering: A Reflection

September 4, 2020 (San Francisco)

It has certainly been an eventful six weeks for both the students and instructors as the Environmental Engineering professor research programs came to an end. The program culminated with a final presentation of the students’ research topics, which included supporting posters that presented the key methodologies and results. However, getting to this point wasn’t always a walk in the park.

There were numerous growing pains for the students in formulating a relevant and insightful research topic, made no less easier with the early hurdles of trying to familiarize themselves with fellow peers. Coupled with the expectation that everyone was expected to meaningfully participate and contribute to the discussion, the early pressure was already quite daunting. To top it all off, the AGU 2020 Conference’s research abstract deadline was two weeks after the program began. If the pressure was daunting before, it now seemed downright oppressive.

One of the early concerns in the program was if there was even enough time for the students to present a substantive research topic, and then to also draft a research abstract in which students had to provide an overview of their topic, methodology, and supporting datasets. A similar concern was the extent to which Dr. Maha and Ms. Chen would provide assistance in conducting research and finding relevant data. Too much assistance would prevent students from fully learning the critical skills needed in performing a scientific research project, leading to limited research topics. Too little assistance would leave students confused and overwhelmed.

However, the students went above and beyond, surprising Dr. Maha with how quickly they were able to adapt to these new difficulties. As the AGU abstract deadline passed, all the students were able to submit their completed abstracts on time. The students continued to surprise as they maintained the pace with their research papers, as well as organizing, analyzing, and visualizing their supporting data. In no time at all, the students had made it to their final week of the program.

Through thorough and ethically mindful research, each of the students’ topics were highly insightful in its methodology and findings, leading to no questions left unanswered. If you would like to learn more about the individual research topics, click here.

At the end of the presentation, the students also reflected on their time in the program:

“I think the best part in the past few weeks was that we can actually get hands-on and do the research projects that we’re interested in. It’s also something that I have never done before, and I think that the hardest part was getting started on the project.”

— David

“My favorite part of the program finding a topic and being able to find data for it and being able to know what methods I could use to visualize what it would look like… The hardest part was initially choosing the topic. When I was first choosing the topic, there were topics that I wanted to work on, but unfortunately I couldn’t find any data for it, so it couldn’t go any further than just an idea… I think I probably still want to be able to do a little more work on [the project]. I probably need to expand on my analytical methods, so there may be more work to do.”

— E.Y.

“My favorite part of this research program was that it prevented me from wasting my summer time. The hardest part [of the program] was revising my paper when, according to the comments with Dr. Maha and Ms. Chen, sometimes I had to make really big changes in my paper and poster. In the future I will continue my research.”

— Jerry

“I think the best part was just doing the research, any part [of it]. I think throughout the program I liked every part of the process… The challenging part was when I struggled to find a doable research question, probably because my understanding of research was quite lacking at the time… I think there is a lot [more] that can be done with the data set.”

— Tracy

“For me, the best part about this program is that it was a blend between lectures and doing actual research. I liked the guidance from Dr. Maha and Ms. Chen. I think the hardest part about [the project] was the challenges when we were finding the data and analyzing the data… I think it was a great experience.”

— Nina

“I think the greatest part of this research program is that it gives me an opportunity to work with a partner, which is, I think, is kind of unique for me… The program is literature-based, so we have a lot of work to do, and it’s really nice to have a partner who can help you out when you’re having problems and challenges. I think the most difficult part was finalizing our topic.”

— Molly

Harmony Plus’ founder and CEO Bill Zhao was also present, who was thoroughly impressed with the students’ projects. He provided his glowing feedback, gave advice, and also reminded the students on the importance of the skills that the students learned from the program, not only in academia, but in life as well.

“I am, I should say, I have been jealous of you, that you guys are so young, but you’ve already learned [so much] from Dr. Maha… When you are doing research, and you are actually creating knowledge, I think this is something that really helps you stand out… You guys surprise me again and again…Congratulations on the growth you have achieved through this wonderful program. Thank you very much for everyone’s hard work and contribution. You guys created this.”

Many thanks to the students, Dr. Maha, Ms. Chen, the students’ parents, and Harmony Plus for coming together to make this program possible.