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Mentor Collective

(Reeta Asmai/UC Davis) at UC Davis College of Engineering

By Rachel Steere

THE MENTOR COLLECTIVE PROGRAM CONNECTS FIRST-YEAR AND TRANSFER ENGINEERING STUDENTS

with a recent UC Davis engineering graduate to help them navigate challenges and recognize the various opportunities the College of Engineering has to offer. These alumni mentors are ready to listen, inspire and guide students when needed.

“I’m grateful that someone who has done very well for himself is willing to take time to share knowledge with me,” said Nasser Issa, computer science transfer student. “He helped me gain confidence with my coursework and helped come up with new strategies to succeed in the classroom and with personal development as a future software engineer.”

To get connected, students and alumni mentors register and complete an online survey to assess personality and experience. Students are then matched with an alumni mentor based on common interests, background, academics and professional aspirations.

Since this program began in fall 2019, 451 students have matched with a mentor and more than 2,500 conversations have been logged at the College of Engineering.

“When I was in college, I was terrified of the future. I wasn’t doing well in classes because I didn’t know how to ask for help. I struggled with balancing time between projects, classes and friends,” said Cheryl Kung, electrical engineering alumna. “At that time, I wish I had someone who I could talk to about my problems without judgement. I only learned after graduating that the future is actually not as terrifying or confusing as it may seem. I hope that I can help someone else who struggled like I did.”

Through Mentor Collective, students learn what to expect in classes and how to approach new experiences. They also gain career advice and valuable insights from alumni who are professionals and leaders in their fields.

“I was offered a student assistant position, thanks to my mentor. She encouraged me to look for an internship and prepared me for the interview. I couldn’t have done it without her,” said Amelia Nye, civil engineering transfer student.

Alumni also expand their networks and hone their management skills through Mentor Collective.

“Helping my mentee see what it’s like to have a career in her major is helpful, also my experiences in school and internships helped her see what is out there,” said Kinsey Mead, mechanical engineering alumna.

Starting college can be difficult to navigate—especially in our current situation—but the support of a mentor can help ease this transition and set up students to have a positive experience during their first year on campus.

“I feel that I had a unique college experience where I struggled with a lot and had to find myself mostly on my own. Luckily, I had the help of some friends, mentors and faculty members. Now, at 25, two years after college, I feel content and successful currently in life, despite all of my hardships,” said Ryan Chen, chemical engineering alumnus. “I want to be able to give back and be that mentor for someone who may not know how to deal with certain things, struggle with the pressure to be successful and obtain prestigious internships, or not even know what they should study and get a career in.”

Mentor Collective continues to be available this fall for first-year and transfer students.

If you are an engineering alumni interested in this program, visit http://bit.ly/MentorCollectiveCOE.

HOPEHope Bovenzi Engineered to Serve

connects young girls and women who are interested in the CAAA award ceremony because I have had mentors pursuing a career in engineering connect with women bring me to these type of events and I wanted to take the who are established in the field. opportunity to connect her with folks and shine a light on “I really believe in UC Davis’ vision for STEM. It’s a worldrenowned school and they have done so much when it comes to diversity and engaging with students that have diverse backgrounds,” said Bovenzi. the importance of mentorship – especially for women and people of color who don’t always have that role model or person in industry already to look to,” said Bovenzi. “Being a mentor has been super-rewarding because I can see the next generation of engineers that are phenomenal already Each year, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) and I can’t wait to see what they do.” recognizes alumni who have provided extraordinary service to UC Davis, their professions and communities. This year, Bovenzi was one of eight UC Davis alumni to Bovenzi has many fond memories from her time at UC Davis and is thankful for the connections she has made. receive a 2020 UC Davis Alumni Award and was honored “I am so grateful for my time in Davis and in the College of for her accomplishments thus far. Engineering,” said Bovenzi. “These relationships that you “I felt so honored. I believe in the vision and I believe in the importance of giving back, so to be recognized for make at Davis and especially in the college stick with you. I am grateful for the way those have impacted my life.” that – it was above and beyond. I love UC Davis and I think this is an example of them showing how great they are at maintaining connections with their alumni,” said Bovenzi. BOVENZI CONTINUES TO FIND WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED WITH THE COLLEGE.

Below: Hope Bovenzi (middle) and her mentee with Chancellor May at the Cal Aggie Alumni Association Awards. (Hope Bovenzi/UC Davis)

By Rachel Steere

HOPE BOVENZI RECEIVED HER B.S. DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AT THE UC DAVIS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING IN 2012.

Hope Bovenzi received her B.S. degree in electrical engineering at the UC Davis College of Engineering in 2012. Since graduating, she has been successful in the industry while continuing to give back to her community and the college. Bovenzi joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Industrial Affiliates Board in 2019. The board’s mission is to provide a platform for research and industry collaboration. With an established connection between industry and the department, students and faculty gain the opportunity to learn about industry, while affiliates are exposed to next-generation talent, new ideas and research directions.

As part of her commitment to the board, Bovenzi helped coordinate the ECExpo that the department held at Texas Instruments in February 2020.

“STEM and STEM education is a huge focus for Texas Instruments. To be able to host this event and bring in industry affiliates and connect current students to former students and those who work in the industry was a great experience,” said Bovenzi.

She is also involved in the college’s Mentor Collective program, which connects first-year and transfer engineering students with a recent UC Davis engineering graduate to help them navigate challenges and leverage various opportunities the college has to offer.

For Bovenzi, one of the most straightforward ways to give back is connecting with current students.

“I brought one of the students I mentored last year to

“Giving back is extremely important, especially being one of the few women, albeit white women, in my program, I think it is really important to recognize the amount of privilege and the amount SERVE 20 UC DAVIS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING of resources I was able to utilize while I was at Davis,” said Bovenzi. “I want to make sure that that doesn’t stop with me and that I turn around and lift up the next generation of students.” After Hope earned her degree at UC Davis, she went on to work for Texas Instruments and quickly became the youngest sector general manager for Automotive Infotainment, while earning her MBA at UCLA. In the short time since her graduation, she has earned a reputation as an expert in infotainment media interfaces. In addition to her work at Texas Instruments, Hope is dedicated to helping women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). She was instrumental in beginning a Silicon Valley chapter of High-Tech High Heels (HTHH), a non-profit organization that strives to eliminate the gender gap in STEM. HTHH hosts camps and trainings for young girls and women that create a supportive environment of learning and mentorship. Hope served as the expansion manager, is a member of the Board of Directors and leads the volunteer committee for HTHH. She also volunteers for EngineerGirl, a website that

FIRE FIREwith engineering Fighting

By Noah Pflueger-Peters

The Ranch 2 Fire burns in Southern California in August 2020. (Noah Pflueger-Peters/UC Davis) ON SEPTEMBER 9, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

residents woke up to a dark orange smoky sky that rained down ash and made it hard to breathe. Sadly, days like this are becoming our “new normal.” As climate change makes wildfires burn faster, hotter and more often, humans need to understand the effects of these disasters and how to live with them.

UC Davis engineers are rising to the challenge by finding new ways to monitor and mitigate the effects of wildfires through new technology such as fire-proof houses, chemical sensors to study smoke and drones to monitor fires in real time. These efforts aim to keep people safer as disasters become more severe.

“We need to do something both now and in the long run,” said civil and environmental engineering professor Michele Barbato. “Significant [environmental] damage has already been done and we are going to live with our current situation and even worse, so we need to be prepared and do something now so it doesn’t get really, really tough.”

STRUCTURING A WILDFIRE RESPONSE

Barbato, a structural engineer, is driven by the needs of his community. As a graduate student at UC San Diego, he studied earthquake-resistant structures and when he moved to Louisiana State University, he shifted his work toward hurricane and tornado-resistant structures.

He had been teaching at UC Davis for less than two months when the 2018 Camp Fire wreaked havoc on nearby Paradise and sent smoke billowing across the state. As he struggled to breathe the smoky air, he decided he needed to help his new community.

“I like to solve problems that have an impact,” he said, “And it seemed like a very natural extension of my previous research to learn what happens when we put [structures] in a fire.”

His goal is to design houses that can withstand fire without burning, compromising structural integrity, or destroying everything inside. His team is studying the different way houses burn, from the flames hitting a house, to embers accumulating on the roof or deck, to embers falling through vents and burning a house from the inside. They will eventually conduct tests to study the large-scale effects on the structure and the air inside.

“You need a material that protects not only the walls and everything inside the house, but also reduces a lot of the plastic being burned in the air,” he said.

Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor and chair Cristina Davis. (Greg Urquiaga/UC Davis)

Civil and environmental engineering professor Michele Barbato. (Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis)

Mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor Zhaodan Kong. (Reeta Asmai/UC Davis)

Mechanical and aerospace engineering Ph.D. student Leslie Simms. (Josh Moy/UC Davis) Smoke from the 2018 Camp Fire turned the sun orange and spread poor air quality across Northern California. (Noah Pflueger-Peters/UC Davis)

Barbato and his team are studying adobe, which is made from soil. It has been around for thousands of years and is still widely used to build houses around the world, including those he has designed in the past. He says adobe has a lot of potential because it’s non-combustible and has a very low carbon footprint.

“What we are doing is generating the engineering knowledge to take a construction technology that is more than 10,000 years old and turn it into something that is affordable, resilient, sustainable and doesn’t burn,” he said.

In addition, Barbato leads the $4.8 million project, “Assessment and Mitigation of Wildfire Induced Air Pollution,” which he formed in response to the Camp Fire. The project features collaborators from two national laboratories, a non-governmental organization and multiple UC campuses and is funded by the UC Office of the President’s Lab Fees Program.

This multidisciplinary team involves more than 20 researchers with expertise ranging from data science to physics, environmental policy, public health and human ecology who will use their diverse perspectives to understand how wildfire smoke propagates, its effects on communities and how to mitigate them. The project kicked off this spring with a virtual symposium on wildfire smoke.

“The problem is so complex that we really need to think about it in a more holistic way and develop possible solutions,” he said. “Our project is really a team effort.”

BETTER AIR QUALITY READINGS THROUGH CHEMICAL SENSING

Monitoring wildfire smoke is critical to understand how wildfires might be spreading their potential health impacts on nearby communities. Mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) professor Cristina Davis’ lab is using its novel chemical sensing technology, which uses a powder-like material called sorbent, to trap volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in the air for analysis.

MAE Ph.D. student Leslie Simms started the team on a path to wildfire sensors by collecting air VOC samples around Davis during the Camp Fire. The device worked exceptionally, and the team partnered with MAE professor Steve Robinson to deploy it on drones for further tests.

“It would be great if you could deploy many drones with many different samplers set out as a fire is in process so you can get more localized air quality readings,” said Simms.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is helpful, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Readings are based on concentrations of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and PM2.5— atmospheric particles less than 2.5 nanometers—but not other hazardous VOCs like BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) compounds that are also abundant during fires. In addition, AQI readings aren’t done in every neighborhood and may therefore not reflect the actual air quality.

Simms was surprised by the lack of forecasts and preventative measures for wildfires in California compared to what she was used to with hurricanes in her home state of Florida. More accurate and localized air quality readings that also measure VOCs, she says, can help people get a more accurate sense of how the fire is developing.

“In Florida, you know exactly where that hurricane is, the wind direction and exactly what’s happening,” she said. “With the Camp Fire, there was a little confusion in the community and if you turned on the news, it wasn’t very clear how it was developing and that was concerning to me.”

She also thinks the readings can lead to a better response time when issuing evacuation orders.

“If you’re getting localized air quality map updates every two hours, you could more easily determine when the winds change direction, when the fire gets bigger, or if it starts going in a new direction,” she said. “That might give us a little bit more time to refine evacuations and two hours in a situation like that is life-and-death—literally.”

Davis’ team has continued to develop this technology with two successful proof-of-concept tests on a drone—one in the presence of a controlled fire. The craft has to be able to carry the environmental sensing equipment necessary for accurate readings, while being able to reliably stay in the air for an extended period of time. This means designing the drone around sensor and battery weight to optimize flight time and functionality.

“There is a tradeoff between the number of batteries you can use and how long your drone can fly,” he said. “Our goal is to find the sweet spot.”

This work builds on some of the team’s preliminary tests with researchers from the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center where they equipped sensors on an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, and surveyed controlled burns of agricultural waste. If the project is successful, Kong thinks this will be the first of many for his team involving wildfires.

“The standards we use in robotics to determine whether a robot should do a job are what we call the three D’s— dirty, dangerous and dark,” he said. “Firefighting fits perfectly into this criteria. My dream is to have UAV swarms that can guard a community and work together so humans don’t need to put their lives in danger.”

Photo above: Northern California Air Quality map on September 8, 2020. Graphic: AirNow

USING DRONES TO MONITOR SMOKE

MAE associate professor Zhaodan Kong approaches the same problem from a different perspective. His group is developing a new drone specifically for collecting data on wildfire smoke. Because they can be deployed anywhere and can hover in place, drones are better than ground sensors, fixed-wing aircraft and satellites for measuring smoke propagation, air quality and chemical composition as a function of time.

“In the next 10 years, we can use a lot of the knowledge and tools we have developed in robotics to help us fight wildfires,” he said. “We want to see whether we are able to build a drone specifically for environmental monitoring.”

A drone flies near a controlled burn to conduct tests. Mechanical and aerospace engineers at UC Davis think drones are perfect for monitoing the chemical composition and propagation of wildfire smoke. (Zhaodan Kong/UC Davis)