Kimberlee Marcellus, a doctoral student in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department (CAEE) at Drexel University was recently awarded an NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) fellowship for summer 2012. Kim will work directly with researchers at Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan, working on a research project entitled: “Applying GIS to Predict and Model, Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Distribution in Urban Environments.” Kim’s host scientist and advisor for this project is Dr. Hiroki Tanikawa.
The focus of the research project is to advance a successful tracking system that will provide a uniform methodology to disclose C&D waste flows. New and existing data will be synthesized to develop a centralized approach with a geospatial component to answer the questions: “Where do these waste flows most frequently occur and in what time frame are they expected to enter secondary markets?”
The broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship are to provide fellows with a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.
Kim received both her BSCE and MSCE in Geotechnical and Construction Management from Drexel University. Prior to attending Drexel for her doctorate, she worked as a project manager for a large construction firm. Kim’s advisors are Dr. Sabrina Spatari and Dr. Patricia Gallagher, both of CAEE.