Lauryn Spearing
Email Address: spearing@uic.eduCollege: Engineering Department: Civil and Materials Engineering
Title: Assistant Professor
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes
Research Interest:
My research is focused on improving people’s quality of life by increasing the level of service received from infrastructure and ensuring access to critical infrastructure systems. My research interests include infrastructure system management during uncertain contexts and understanding sociotechnical infrastructure challenges. I take a systems thinking approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods, to understand complex problems at the intersection of technical, social, and natural systems.
Example research projects include: The impact of COVID-19 on water infrastructure systems; Water access in rural Alaska
Aligning Indigenous and technical knowledge in water and housing decision making. Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 5 Qualifications of a Student:
Sophomore-Senior Year
Minimum GPA: 3.5
No prior research experience needed. Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
The student is expected to help conduct literature reviews and perform statistical and qualitative analysis on data sets focused on infrastructure management.
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