CEE Recognizes Outstanding Students

Each year, the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering recognizes its hard-working students for their achievements in the classroom and their contributions within the school.

In 2021, five juniors and seniors were selected for their strong academic performance, leadership and service.

“We are incredibly proud of the talent, drive and commitment that these students have demonstrated through their studies and participation on campus," said Karen and John Huff School Chair Don Webster.

Read on for more about this year’s outstanding civil and environmental engineering students:

Buck Stith Outstanding Junior Award in Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Buck Stith Outstanding Junior Award recognizes juniors in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering who have demonstrated both strong academic potential and a concern for the development of the School and the profession

Luisa (Lucy) Bricker

Luisa (Lucy) Bricker

  • Hometown: Decatur, GA
  • Major: Environmental Engineering

Career Aspirations: “I am currently majoring in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Biology , and I intend to apply to the BS/MS program at the end of this year. I wish to do work with cleaning and remediation of contaminated soil or groundwater. I am very interested in superfund and brownfield sites and exploring possible opportunities to restore the land for future use. I intend to focus on ecology and marine biology classes for my minor to provide a larger scope and perspective on the environment. This summer I am interning with Kemron Environmental Services, where I will be assisting with Environmental Investigation and Remediation. I am excited for the opportunity to get out into the field and lab and to apply what I am passionate about.”

Danny Nguyen

Danny Nguyen

  • Hometown: Jonesboro, GA
  • Major: Civil Engineering

Career Goals: “I hope to continue to develop my skills and experience as a civil engineer so that I can one day come back home to Clayton County, ready to get back to work. I owe so much to my community and I hope that I can pay it back in full and more. Eventually, I would also love to be able to work abroad, assisting developing countries and communities so they can grow and thrive. For now, I am excited to intern this summer at Kleinfelder, an engineering and design firm. I know that there’s so much to learn at Kleinfelder, which is involved in so many different markets and specialties. I will also be in their Atlanta office, so I hope that I can start giving back to the Atlanta community through the projects I work on!”

Buck Stith Outstanding Senior Award in Civil and Environmental Engineering

This endowed award recognizes the top graduating senior in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering who has demonstrated both strong academic performance and contributed to the development of the School and the profession

Laura Yang

Laura Yang

  • Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
  • Major: Environmental Engineering

Post-Graduation Plans: “I plan to begin my Ph.D. degree focusing on atmospheric chemistry modeling at Harvard University starting this Fall. I am extremely excited to combine the micro-scale laboratory-setting-based atmospheric chemistry I learned from Dr. Sally Ng’s lab with a macro-scale computational-based approach from Dr. Daniel Jacob’s lab. Currently, my research interest lies in using satellite-retrieved data to study air quality and employing machine learning to the GEOS-Chem model. I also took three graduate-level courses related to air pollution from Georgia Tech. This new journey will help me to expand my horizon and build on what I learned from Georgia Tech.”

 School Chair’s Outstanding Senior Award in Civil Engineering

This award recognizes a senior civil engineering student who exhibits high academic performance, strong citizenship qualities, and leadership with a special emphasis on community service.

Ellen Murphy

Ellen Murphy

  • Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
  • Major: Civil Engineering

Post-Graduation plans: “Beginning Fall 2021, I will be pursuing a doctoral degree (Psy.D.) in Psychology from Georgia Southern University. There, I hope to research evidenced-based intervention and prevention methods to alleviate mental health challenges faced by at-risk communities.”

School Chair’s Outstanding Senior Award in Environmental Engineering

This award recognizes a senior environmental engineering student who exhibits high academic performance, strong citizenship qualities, and leadership with a special emphasis on community service.

Madison Moitoso

Madison Moitoso

  • Hometown: Duxbury, MA
  • Major: Environmental Engineering

Career Goals: “While I know I have much more learning to do, my long-term goal is help design sustainable and equitable cities. I hope to return to graduate school to study environmental policy or sustainable business, and eventually work in either the government or nonprofit sector. For now, I will be moving to Nashville, TN to work as a civil analyst for Kimley-Horn.”