Graduate Student of the Week: Emily Darr

 

Hometown

Thomasville, North Carolina

Previous degrees

Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University 2013

Who is your adviser and what are you studying?

Dr. Celso Castro-Bolinaga, Studying root dendrogeomorphology as it relates sediment transport through process modeling

What first made you interested in this field?

I grew up visiting Montana and seeing the beautiful Rocky Mountain streams of the West. There I fell in love with stories like “A River Runs Through It”. As I grew older and it came time to decide on a career path, I knew I wanted to have a positive impact on the outdoors, and more specifically with streams. I have worked at a consulting firm for the past 5 years and my boss there coined the methodology I plan to continue  researching, which instantly caught my interest. With his full support, I’m getting the opportunity to “practice what I preach” research methods to evaluate stream erosion while at the same time working in the field of stream restoration.

What do you like most about BAE as a field or the department?

I love how welcoming and helpful everyone is. This place was “home” for me during my undergrad and now that I’m back it feels like I never left.

What is a little known or fun fact about you?

I am all about taking advantage of outdoor adventures. I’ve gotten into rock climbing, base jumping, hiking, kayaking, slack lining etc. you name it, I am down to give it a try. I also dapple with home brewing which pairs perfect with the outdoors.