Pratyasha Mohapatra
Pratyasha is a graduate student at Iowa State University and the FY20 International Graduate Team Lead (IGTL)
Hello everyone. Today we will be continuing with our International Graduate Student Experience series and will be in conversation with Kanika Lamba who is pursuing her PhD degree at Iowa State University in geotechnical engineering. While women represent only about 14% of civil engineers in the US, Kanika shares about how she decided to embark on this career, major setbacks, common misconceptions and the prospects for women in geotechnical engineering.
IGTL (International Graduate Team Lead, Pratyasha Mohapatra): Hello Kanika, thank you for taking time to share your experiences with us. So please tell us what degree are you pursuing and your specialization?
KL (Kanika Lamba): Hi Pratyasha. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Geotechnical engineering at Iowa State University. My research focuses on computational modelling and full scale testing of deep foundations. The application of this research will be in the optimized design of deep foundations in seismic zones, offshore structures, and wind turbines, basically wherever the foundations are subjected to any horizontal forces.
IGTL: Tell us about your prior experiences before pursuing degree abroad:
KL: Before coming to the US, I pursued my undergrad in Civil engineering in India. The courses during the undergraduate studies give a basic introduction to different specialization for example: transportation engineering, structural, water resources, environmental engineering, construction management, and geotechnical engineering to name a few. I am a multitasker and during my undergraduate program, I managed my studies, along with extracurricular activities like becoming placement and training coordinator for civil engineering students, getting involved in national cadet corps, and participating different national student technical competitions. I pursued my masters in soil mechanics and foundation engineering in India and researched in the area of soil dynamics during this program. After my masters, I worked as a design geotechnical engineer in a multinational company for four years in Mumbai. My job profile included geotechnical risk assessment of project sites, providing recommendations to mitigate geotechnical risks, design of deep foundations. The job helped me to develop my professional skills and also gave me financial stability. At the back of my mind, I had always wanted to go for doctorate studies but wanted to get some practical experience and improve my financial condition.
IGTL: Why did you choose doing a PhD abroad?
KL: PhD is a long program, you choose a university based on the research facilities available and, more importantly, you look for the professor with research interests similar to yours. My research interests were in soil dynamics, computational modelling and deep foundations. I looked for the universities having research resources related to my interests, read research papers of research groups from these universities and emailed the professors who were actively researching in similar areas as my interests. I chose my current university because it has a fully-dedicated soil dynamics laboratory with state of the art equipment, my major professor was actively researching in the same topic, he had a position open for a doctorate student to work in the area of soil dynamics and deep foundations, and, Ames city had a low-cost of living compared to other places I had applied to. My major professor read my application, and took a skype interview, communication with me via series of emails and then offered a fully-funded Ph.D. position for his research project.
IGTL: How did you choose this specialization?
KL: I had actually not given a serious thought about what I would be pursuing after my undergraduate studies. I faced a lot of dilemma about what path to take. In India, most of the time we take into consideration job security and financial prospects, and family’s opinions when it comes to choosing a career. I received varying opinions, with some advising to go for MBA program as it would secure a high paying job, while some recommended pursuing a job in the IT field. Honestly, very few suggested me to pursue graduate studies in civil engineering. My mentor Professor from my undergraduate university recommended me to go for Master’s in civil engineering based on my skills. He introduced me to graduate students and professors at the National Institute of Technology Surat. I was very fascinated by their on-going research and the labs in geotechnical engineering. Talking to them I realized that there are very few specialists in the field of geotechnical engineering. Hence, I wanted to give it a try by pursuing Masters. I really liked the courses offered from the first semester. I got the opportunity to meet and listen to many practicing geotech professionals, professors and researchers from all over the country through the visiting lecturers and geotechnical conferences held in the institute. The more I witnessed these experiences, the more my interest deepened in the field. There was so much to this field and so much scope for research. I was sure that I had made the right decision.
KL (Kanika Lamba): Hi Pratyasha. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Geotechnical engineering at Iowa State University. My research focuses on computational modelling and full scale testing of deep foundations. The application of this research will be in the optimized design of deep foundations in seismic zones, offshore structures, and wind turbines, basically wherever the foundations are subjected to any horizontal forces.
IGTL: Tell us about your prior experiences before pursuing degree abroad:
KL: Before coming to the US, I pursued my undergrad in Civil engineering in India. The courses during the undergraduate studies give a basic introduction to different specialization for example: transportation engineering, structural, water resources, environmental engineering, construction management, and geotechnical engineering to name a few. I am a multitasker and during my undergraduate program, I managed my studies, along with extracurricular activities like becoming placement and training coordinator for civil engineering students, getting involved in national cadet corps, and participating different national student technical competitions. I pursued my masters in soil mechanics and foundation engineering in India and researched in the area of soil dynamics during this program. After my masters, I worked as a design geotechnical engineer in a multinational company for four years in Mumbai. My job profile included geotechnical risk assessment of project sites, providing recommendations to mitigate geotechnical risks, design of deep foundations. The job helped me to develop my professional skills and also gave me financial stability. At the back of my mind, I had always wanted to go for doctorate studies but wanted to get some practical experience and improve my financial condition.
IGTL: Why did you choose doing a PhD abroad?
KL: PhD is a long program, you choose a university based on the research facilities available and, more importantly, you look for the professor with research interests similar to yours. My research interests were in soil dynamics, computational modelling and deep foundations. I looked for the universities having research resources related to my interests, read research papers of research groups from these universities and emailed the professors who were actively researching in similar areas as my interests. I chose my current university because it has a fully-dedicated soil dynamics laboratory with state of the art equipment, my major professor was actively researching in the same topic, he had a position open for a doctorate student to work in the area of soil dynamics and deep foundations, and, Ames city had a low-cost of living compared to other places I had applied to. My major professor read my application, and took a skype interview, communication with me via series of emails and then offered a fully-funded Ph.D. position for his research project.
IGTL: How did you choose this specialization?
KL: I had actually not given a serious thought about what I would be pursuing after my undergraduate studies. I faced a lot of dilemma about what path to take. In India, most of the time we take into consideration job security and financial prospects, and family’s opinions when it comes to choosing a career. I received varying opinions, with some advising to go for MBA program as it would secure a high paying job, while some recommended pursuing a job in the IT field. Honestly, very few suggested me to pursue graduate studies in civil engineering. My mentor Professor from my undergraduate university recommended me to go for Master’s in civil engineering based on my skills. He introduced me to graduate students and professors at the National Institute of Technology Surat. I was very fascinated by their on-going research and the labs in geotechnical engineering. Talking to them I realized that there are very few specialists in the field of geotechnical engineering. Hence, I wanted to give it a try by pursuing Masters. I really liked the courses offered from the first semester. I got the opportunity to meet and listen to many practicing geotech professionals, professors and researchers from all over the country through the visiting lecturers and geotechnical conferences held in the institute. The more I witnessed these experiences, the more my interest deepened in the field. There was so much to this field and so much scope for research. I was sure that I had made the right decision.
All geared up! Kanika (right) with her research group for on-site foundation test experiments in winter
IGTL: What are the future prospects of this field that you considered?
KL: This field is developing and new prospects are growing. The number of jobs and companies are growing. The geotechnical engineers are heavily involved in design and construction projects like pavements, deep foundations, bridges, tunnels, dams and levees, offshore structures, and the oil and gas industry. Also there are upcoming geotech jobs that require multidisciplinary skills, geotech and statistics, geotech and instrumentation, programming. The job profile of a practicing engineer can consist of 100 percent of field work where one will be overseeing the construction as per the design plan, managing construction workers and governing the overall safety of the project site. The job profile can also consist of a combination of office work, like planning and designing of geotechnical aspects of the structure, laboratory testing, and field work, like inspection of on-going construction as per the required standards.
IGTL: What are the biggest misconceptions about this area that you have encountered?
KL: One of the biggest misconceptions I have come across is that graduate school is expensive and perhaps not advantageous to work as a geotechnical engineer. Well, it’s not completely true. Graduate school is definitely advantageous, as it equips a future geotechnical engineer with knowledge of advanced-level courses like advanced slope-stability analyses, soil dynamics, deep foundations, advanced geotechnical experimental techniques, to name a few. Graduate school also teaches you latest software used in the industry and helps in gaining skills to work on state-of-the-art geotechnical equipment. The overall experience at the graduate school, gives you a direction and expertise in the field. In my experience, the learning at graduate school takes at a faster pace compared to learning on the job after undergraduate program, and, most of the employers hiring for the position of geotechnical engineer do prefer grad school experience. The second misconception about graduate school being expensive, is not true as well. In my observation, the grad students in geotechnical engineering do get financial aid in one form or the other. The financial assistance can come through research or teaching assistantships in the home department or out of the department, university and national-level scholarships and fellowships. In geotechnical engineering field, a number of scholarships are sponsored by different companies, and by professional societies like Deep Foundations Institute, and American Society of Civil Engineers.
IGTL: Have you faced any major set backs while pursuing your graduate journey and how did you overcome them?
KL: I did face a major set-back transitioning from a practicing engineer to grad school doctorate student. As a practicing engineer, I got good exposure of real-field problems, I became proficient in communication with others, and, gained project management skills. However, learning of new techniques took at a slower pace, reading of technical books was less and, was out of practice to give examinations. Besides, I came from a region with very hot and humid climate, in India. During the first semester, it took time for me to adjust with the cold weather in Iowa. Also, it took me entire semester to get accustomed to learning new material at a faster pace, reading more and taking examinations. Furthermore, I had to learn to be self-motivated, which is very much required in Ph.D. program. The encouragement from my friends and family, and, my major professor, helped me to overcome this set back.
KL: This field is developing and new prospects are growing. The number of jobs and companies are growing. The geotechnical engineers are heavily involved in design and construction projects like pavements, deep foundations, bridges, tunnels, dams and levees, offshore structures, and the oil and gas industry. Also there are upcoming geotech jobs that require multidisciplinary skills, geotech and statistics, geotech and instrumentation, programming. The job profile of a practicing engineer can consist of 100 percent of field work where one will be overseeing the construction as per the design plan, managing construction workers and governing the overall safety of the project site. The job profile can also consist of a combination of office work, like planning and designing of geotechnical aspects of the structure, laboratory testing, and field work, like inspection of on-going construction as per the required standards.
IGTL: What are the biggest misconceptions about this area that you have encountered?
KL: One of the biggest misconceptions I have come across is that graduate school is expensive and perhaps not advantageous to work as a geotechnical engineer. Well, it’s not completely true. Graduate school is definitely advantageous, as it equips a future geotechnical engineer with knowledge of advanced-level courses like advanced slope-stability analyses, soil dynamics, deep foundations, advanced geotechnical experimental techniques, to name a few. Graduate school also teaches you latest software used in the industry and helps in gaining skills to work on state-of-the-art geotechnical equipment. The overall experience at the graduate school, gives you a direction and expertise in the field. In my experience, the learning at graduate school takes at a faster pace compared to learning on the job after undergraduate program, and, most of the employers hiring for the position of geotechnical engineer do prefer grad school experience. The second misconception about graduate school being expensive, is not true as well. In my observation, the grad students in geotechnical engineering do get financial aid in one form or the other. The financial assistance can come through research or teaching assistantships in the home department or out of the department, university and national-level scholarships and fellowships. In geotechnical engineering field, a number of scholarships are sponsored by different companies, and by professional societies like Deep Foundations Institute, and American Society of Civil Engineers.
IGTL: Have you faced any major set backs while pursuing your graduate journey and how did you overcome them?
KL: I did face a major set-back transitioning from a practicing engineer to grad school doctorate student. As a practicing engineer, I got good exposure of real-field problems, I became proficient in communication with others, and, gained project management skills. However, learning of new techniques took at a slower pace, reading of technical books was less and, was out of practice to give examinations. Besides, I came from a region with very hot and humid climate, in India. During the first semester, it took time for me to adjust with the cold weather in Iowa. Also, it took me entire semester to get accustomed to learning new material at a faster pace, reading more and taking examinations. Furthermore, I had to learn to be self-motivated, which is very much required in Ph.D. program. The encouragement from my friends and family, and, my major professor, helped me to overcome this set back.
Meeting inspiring women in STEM! Kanika at WeSTEM 2019, at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
IGTL: What is your advice for any woman looking for pursuing this degree?
KL: The percentage of women in geotechnical engineering field is low. So, there will be challenges, especially when you are a practicing engineer. My advice is that, you should get involved and network in women’s group pertaining to your field, for example –Women in Deep Foundations (WiDF) and definitely Society of Women Engineers (SWE). It is also a good idea to have a woman mentor in your field, as they can guide you to overcome the challenges you face, especially when you are working in the industry.
KL: The percentage of women in geotechnical engineering field is low. So, there will be challenges, especially when you are a practicing engineer. My advice is that, you should get involved and network in women’s group pertaining to your field, for example –Women in Deep Foundations (WiDF) and definitely Society of Women Engineers (SWE). It is also a good idea to have a woman mentor in your field, as they can guide you to overcome the challenges you face, especially when you are working in the industry.
