Like Teacher, Like Student - Scholarship Spans Two Generations

One of the most coveted scholarships in civil and environmental engineering was awarded last week to a USU doctoral candidate whose major professor received the same award nine years ago.

Lourdes Polanco-Boulware is this year’s recipient of a $10,000 United States Society on Dams scholarship. She received the award April 15 at the organization’s annual meeting and conference in Louisville, Ky. Her adviser, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering John Rice, won the same scholarship in 2006.

The United States Society on Dams, or USSD, awards scholarships each year to its student members whose academic programs and graduate-level research have a potential for developing practical solutions to dam design and construction problems.

“Winning this scholarship is the result of years of dedication and commitment toward my research while balancing a family,” said Boulware. “Professionally, it’s an honor to receive such a prestigious recognition while making a contribution to the geotechnical engineering community. Personally, it empowers me to provide the best example to my kids that it doesn’t matter where you come from or the challenges that life presents as long as you work hard.”

Boulware’s research focuses on new methods for analyzing underseepage reliability in levees incorporating three-dimensional modeling of geomorphic features. Her work involves innovative methodology applicable to levee basins throughout the United States — especially in regions of central California and Mississippi.

She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, USSD and the International Academic Gold Key Society.

USU College of Engineering

Contact: John Rice: 435-797-8611, john.rice@usu.edu

Writer: Matt Jensen, 435-797-8170, matthew.jensen@usu.edu