About

I teach courses in geotechnical engineering, watershed management, the water-energy nexus, computer applications, as well as our foundations of design (first-year engineering) course series at ONU. My PhD work was on thermal pollution from thermoelectric power plants, and the impacts of thermal pollution on aquatic ecosystem. New research will focus on the economics of energy portfolios within grid management.

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I am active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Tau Beta Pi (TBP, engineering honor society). I serve on ASCE committees within the Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and I am District Director for TBP. I'm active within the KEEN community, as both a learner and disseminator of entrepreneurially-minded engineering practices. I was named a 2024 Engineering Unleashed (KEEN) Fellow for my museum exhibit project and associated research on student motivation. This summer, I will co-facilitate an environmental engineering-based faculty development workshop. 

 

On campus, I advise our Open Doors and Parks & REC clubs. I am a member of the Board of Directors for the Civil & Environmental Engineering Alumni Association for UIUC.

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In my spare time, I enjoy hiking trips with my husband Dan Newkirk, visiting amusement parks, and watching horror films. We have four pets: Gandalf (cat), Greg (cat), Aragorn (dog), and Arwen (dog). Dan and I are both nerds, and enjoy D&D, theme parties, and festivals like RenFaire. 

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Growing up in a low-income household in Appalachia, and having been the only woman in many of my engineering classes, I am passionate about the recruitment, retention, and inclusion of minoritized voices in engineering and higher education. In fact, it wasn't until my PhD that I had a woman engineering professor. #WomenInSTEM