Providing Experiences in Research for Undergraduate Students in Engineering (PERUSE)

Rachel Goldsmith, a senior double majoring in civil engineering and French, wanted research experience but had not found an opportunity. So she began working with the staff at PERUSE (Providing Experiences in Research for Undergraduate Students in Engineering) to find a research project.

Goldsmith found what she was looking for at the Geotechnical Lab. There, she could work with Dr. David White, associate professor of civil engineering and director of Earthworks Engineering Research Center at Iowa State University, and Heath Gieselman, assistant scientist for the Earthworks Engineering Research Center and Center for Transportation Research and Education.

At the Geotechnical Lab, Goldsmith researches soil properties, working with soil samples from around the United States, Canada, and China. One of the properties that she studies is compaction. This process begins in the lab by processing the sample through a sieve, mixing the sample at a certain moisture level, and compacting the sample in a mold using an automated Proctor machine.

One of the critical applications of soil compaction is building new roadbeds for pavement. Intelligent compaction, a process that was refined by White, utilizes sensors on compaction machinery to determine how well the roadbed is being compacted, reducing the need for traditional spot testing and the need to rework sections of the grading and increasing sustainability, something that Goldsmith was able to experience first-hand.

In addition to the research experience that Goldsmith was able to gain in the lab on campus, she had the opportunity during summer 2008 to conduct field-testing at construction sites with the Geotechnical Mobile Lab in Minnesota, Texas, Kansas, and Illinois. She describes the mobile lab as “a Geotechnical Lab on wheels.” While Goldsmith’s research was a continuation of the compaction research she does in the stationary lab, she has the memories of working outside for 15 hours in the Texas sun.

Goldsmith’s research experience has not only provided her with field experience, but also insight into geotechnical engineering—insight that she may apply in graduate school, which she has been considering.

Her advice to undergrads who are interested in a research experience is to figure out what classes interest them and talk to the professors to find out about any research opportunities that they or colleagues may have.

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