Dongyu Liu's website features the standard materials of an academic researcher: a CV, published research, a list of talks. But what catches the eye on Liu's site is a page of photos: Liu and his labmates at a lake retreat and on a ski trip; Liu's supervisor handing him a slice of cake at his graduation; a lab-wide breakfast after an all-nighter to hit a deadline.
Arnab Sarkar's father studied civil engineering while working full time as a construction supervisor and it was that dedication and early exposure to the field that inspired Sarkar, Master's of Science in biological and agricultural engineering '01, Ph.D. '04 to one day study engineering and follow in his father’s footsteps.
The ultimate goal of my research is to increase the equity and accessibility of procedural knowledge for everyone. I'm fascinated by exploring how to create scaffolding tools for common users to consume knowledge by leveraging advanced techniques, such as language and image processing.
I was drawn into engineering because I’ve always loved figuring out how things work. My love for aerospace engineering blossomed during undergraduate studies at UC Davis, when I joined the Space and Satellite Systems (SSS) club and gained hands-on experience with CubeSat (small satellite) design
I decided I wanted a career where I could explore new things. Cue my decision to pursue a Ph.D.! I chose UC Davis as the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering had a great variety of professors and a great connection to Silicon Valley.
I enjoyed computer science courses in undergrad, but didn't realize that I could possibly pursue a Ph.D. until I was a senior! I had always thought that Ph.D. degrees were for geniuses, not people like me. Continuing my studies at UC Davis has been such an amazing experience, and I feel incredibly lucky to have been accepted here under such a supportive advisor.
I saw how instrumental engineering methods were to creating cost-effective, novel scientific studies and wanted to apply those methods to my own research. I had an amazing experience at UC Davis as an undergraduate anthropology major, so I knew I wanted to return to Davis for my doctoral program.
I was inspired to study engineering, specifically chemical and biomolecular engineering, after seeing how much the field related to my childhood hobby of designing and constructing structures from toy components. In my field, biomolecules like DNA and proteins are engineered to build unique biological systems for health and energy purposes (i.e., pharmaceuticals, biofuels, biomaterials and specialty chemicals).
I love being able to combine the fields of public health and transportation engineering to identify different ways that planners and policymakers can improve the health and safety of communities. I also love that I am constantly learning, and I feel so fortunate to be learning from not only my course work, professors, and adviser, but also from my colleagues.
I was quickly enticed by materials science, which I sometimes describe as a junction of physics, chemistry, math, and art, when I took the Introduction to Material Properties course at my community college and was introduced to crystallography, phase diagrams and the materials tetrahedron.
