By Victoria Le
Eva-Marie Martin is a 2nd year PhD student in the UC Irvine Flood Lab and is currently engaged with LA and Miami FloodRise Projects. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Environmental Science from Brigham Young University in the spring of 2023. Her primary research interests are flood hazard mapping and urban stream restoration. She is a member of the SoCal CEERS Research Symposium planning community.
1. What is the 2025 Southern California Civil & Environmental Engineering Research Symposium (SoCal CEERS), and what sets it apart from other academic symposiums?
SoCal CEERS is a student-led symposium that aims to connect Civil and Environmental Engineering students across Southern California and catalyze collaborations. This will be the third year of the symposium and the first year UCI will be participating. It will be a two-day symposium on April 10th and 11th, 2025 (first day at USC and second day at UCI). CEERS is unique in that its primary focus is fostering student presentations and engagement at all stages. Undergraduate, graduate, and postdocs from all levels and backgrounds within CEE are welcome. It will be a great networking opportunity among students within and across campuses.
2. Can you share how you became involved in organizing this symposium? What has your experience been like collaborating with students from other universities?
Upon hearing about the symposium, I was really impressed by the amazing opportunity this would be for me and my peers. I joined the committee to help capitalize on the expansion of the symposium to our campus. It has been a great experience working with the committee members from each of the universities. Having a diverse array of perspectives across engineering disciplines and from different years of PhD students will help ensure that the symposium will appeal to all Civil and Environmental Engineering students.
3. What is the anticipated number of attendees for this year’s event? Is attendance exclusive to UC students in Civil and Environmental Engineering, or is it open to a broader audience?
We are anticipating more than 100 students will attend this year. The event is being planned by students from UCI, UCLA, and USC but we welcome all attendees (students, staff, faculty) from surrounding universities in Southern California.
4. Have you attended SoCal CEERS in previous years? If so, what stood out as the most memorable experience? If not, what aspects of this year’s event are you most excited about?
I haven’t previously attended. The symposium originated at USC and has rapidly expanded in the last three years to include UCLA and now UCI as part of the hosting team. The committee is excited about expanding the pool of attendees! As a first time attendee, I’m most looking forward to meeting the students from the other universities. At this point, early in our careers, building relationships with our peers will play a big part in our future success. I hope to meet other great researchers who I will continue to collaborate with throughout my career.
5. What key takeaways can students expect from participating in the symposium? Will there be opportunities for networking with peers or industry professionals?
One of the highlights of our symposium will be a panel of academic and industry professionals. It will be an amazing opportunity to learn about potential career pathways. Furthermore, presenting a talk or poster at a symposium like this is an amazing career development opportunity in its own right. Lastly, there will be lots of opportunities to network with peers like during the poster sessions, during the provided lunch break, and during a designated networking hour at the end of each day!
6. Are there any roles or opportunities for students to volunteer at the event? If so, how can they get involved?
We would love help setting up the symposium on day two, here at UCI. Anyone interested in helping can reach out directly to me at socalceers@gmail.com.
7. How will presentation proposals be reviewed and selected? Will there be awards or recognitions for outstanding presentations or contributions?
A subset of the committee members from UCI, USC, and UCLA will review abstracts submitted before the January 31 deadline and select the oral and poster presentations. You can indicate your preference for a poster or oral presentation when submitting your abstract. Priority for oral presentations will be given to those who have not had the opportunity to give an oral presentation previously. Awards for the best oral and poster presentation will be evaluated by faculty judges. There will even be a “people’s choice award” that attendees can vote on! There will be a small cash prize for each winner and the award will look great on a CV or resume!!
8. What steps can students take beforehand to make the most of their experience at SoCal CEERS?
First and foremost, we encourage everyone to register! Secondly, we encourage everyone to submit an abstract! Our goal is to accommodate attendees from all career stages. If you are feeling overwhelmed or underqualified, don’t fret. We have lots of resources to help you prepare. The communication hub at USC will be hosting one-on-one virtual appointments on 1/17 and 1/24 to help students prepare abstracts for the symposium. This is open to students from any school! Additionally, we will be hosting workshops leading up to the conference with tips on how to make a poster or how to give a good oral presentation. We want this to be a stress-free experience for all participating and as such we will be providing lunch, transportation, and free poster printing.
Save the Date! The SoCal CEE Research Symposium will be held at USC (4/10) and UC Irvine (4/11). Registration is now open.