Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are paid positions that give students the opportunity to actively participate in research and work closely with faculty.
Rohini Singh Gupta (BS 2017)
Current PhD Candidate, Cornell University
What year(s) did you participate in undergraduate research?
I participated in the REU program from my sophomore through senior year.
With which professor did you work, and what were you studying?
I worked as an undergraduate research assistant with Dr. Ashlynn S. Stillwell and graduate student Dr. Lauren H. Logan. My research project broadly focused on the energy-water nexus: a field that characterizes the relationship between the energy and water sectors. Research areas in this field include analyzing energy requirements for water systems and understanding the dependence of the energy sector on water resources. Specifically, I worked to quantify the effects of thermal effluent from open-cycle cooled coal-fired power plants on the aquatic ecosystem of the Ohio River. Using 50 years of empirical data, I generated mathematical models that predicted how the presence of different species of fish was affected by water temperature. These models were subsequently used to perform an economic assessment to quantify the tradeoffs between electricity generation and the loss in biodiversity associated with thermal pollution. We ultimately published a journal article on this work.
What were the benefits of participating in research as an undergrad?
The three years in Stillwell Research Group were pivotal in my development as an engineer and researcher. I gained expertise in programming, wrote technical documents and journal papers, and presented my work at key conferences in our field. Dr. Stillwell’s focus on providing undergraduate students the opportunity to present at conferences was an experience that, in hindsight, I now see to be incredibly unique. At these conferences, I gained exposure as a young and up-and-coming researcher and had the ability to network with top academics in my field. It was through these opportunities that I secured an internship at the prestigious National Renewable Energy Lab. Many of the researchers that I met through the REU program, conferences, and the internship at NREL are still friends, mentors and key collaborators today.
Did it influence your desire to pursue more education or the career you chose?
My positive experiences and successful collaborations within Stillwell Research Group greatly strengthened my desire to pursue a Ph.D. to continue research at a higher level. It became very clear that the experiences and skills gained through the REU program made me a competitive candidate when applying to graduate school. I ultimately decided to come to Cornell University to pursue my Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, where I have remained since 2017. I used the skills that I had learned in the group to structure well-posed research project proposals which helped me win a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Many of the communities that I am involved in (Multisector Dynamics and Integrated Multisector, Multiscale Modeling through the Department of Energy) are comprised of people who I have met through my REU experiences.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I attribute much of my success to the wealth of experiences afforded to me by Dr. Stillwell and the REU program. During my undergrad, the Stillwell Research Group became like a second family to me and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them and to continue to collaborate on multiple levels. The support that I have received from the group has helped me navigate struggles faced by all early-career researchers. I sincerely hope that the REU program remains active and thriving in order to afford the same opportunities that I have received to current CEE undergrads.