Application Essay 2:

 Describe what research area(s) interest you and which research

Answer:
For my graduate studies, my primary focus lies in bridge engineering as I mentioned
in my first essay. I am eager to explore areas such as structural analysis and design,
methods for monitoring the health and performance of bridges, advancements in
construction materials and techniques, as well as approaches to bridge
rehabilitation and repair that extend their lifespan. I aim to utilize the dedicated
research facility i.e. Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering (CIBRE) and expertise
of qualified professors at UD to broaden my horizons in this field. I am excited to
learn about advanced concepts and technologies in bridge engineering and plan to
undertake thesis-based research within this specialization. Given my background in
bridge design projects in Nepal and keen interest in this topic, I believe that
laboratory and research facilities at UD will serve as an excellent platform to
develop my skills and achieve my aspirations.
During my undergraduate studies, I developed knowledge on the core principles of
civil engineering which included mathematics, applied mechanics, material
engineering, structural engineering, geo-technical engineering, water resource
engineering, transportation engineering, construction management and
environmental engineering among others. After graduation, I have had the
opportunity to work in a variety of civil engineering projects such as bridge,
hydropower, road, building, urban planning etc. but with a primary focus on bridge
and hydropower projects among others. I have experience of working in over 10
bridge design projects in Nepal where I performed variety of tasks such as access
road and layout design, hydrological study, scour analysis, preparing detailed
design drawings, rate analysis and estimation of total construction cost. I have also
worked as a training coordinator in capacity-building training projects for engineers
and technical staffs of local government bodies on disaster risk reduction (DRR)
related topics. This offered me the chance to work with top national experts
(involved as trainers), particularly from geo-technical, water resource and structural
engineering fields. This particular experience helped me develop my
communication, management and leadership skills. Overall, the diverse spectrum of
experiences I have acquired over the last 4 years have enhanced my technical as
well as personal skills which has made me ready to pursue the graduate program
and gain specialization in structural engineering.
During one of my bridge design projects (Dogadi Jeuligad bridge in Surma Rural
Municipality, Bajhang), where there was a temporary bridge already in place, I
proposed an alternative bridge axis which was selected during a discussion meeting
with the project team. After performing hydrological study and hydraulic
computation to estimate the HFL at the bridge location, we found out that the
temporary bridge would encroach about one-third of the natural waterway and the
bridge’s deck level would be overtopped by over 2 meters, at extreme flood events.
Due to this reason, I presented in the meeting that it would be better to move the
axis slightly downstream (about 30 meters) from the existing bridge and making the
span slightly longer. This would also mean that the bridge would be located further
away from the river bend located just upstream of the existing temporary bridge.
Also, if we moved too far downstream then the bridge length would have been
longer resulting in higher cost. Additionally, we, as a team, decided that the large
boulder deposits at the left bank should be cleared and used as construction
material for protection structures for the access road. This strategy would also help
the river to reinstate its natural morphology since the left bank abutment had
encroached the waterway resulting in deposition of boulders and sediment just
upstream from it causing slight shifting of the river’s flow path. This solution would
provide safety against flood but without adding considerable cost of construction
than what was anticipated and was selected as the optimal axis for the given site
situation.
Also, very recently I proposed my firm to utilize a software commonly used for road
design (SW Road) in design of surface waterway of Madhya Chameliya Hydro-
electric Project (28.304 MW). I had used that software for road design previously
and was impressed with the dynamic user interface and its ability to produce
presentable design drawings and quantity estimate files. Since, it was designed for
handling road design, it had no in-built components applicable in case of pipeline
design. But, I was aware that some of the components could be customized by the
user from my previous experience with the software. Then, I experimented with
some of the drainage structures and customized a component replicating a circular
steel pipe. Additionally, since the topographical survey was conducted with drones,
we had high resolution images and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the project area
available with us which could be loaded to the software as external reference files.
With this application, we designed the waterway alignment, profile and cross-
sections with high level of accuracy due to the ability of the software to underlay
the drone image as reference and load high resolution DEM. This creative solution
saved us considerable time and effort in completing the design and we are
convinced that we should use it for similar applications in the future.
One key aspect I would like to highlight is my strong motivation to become a
proficient structural engineer which has been a goal of mine for a very long time.
My curiosity towards civil engineering developed during my early teenage years.
Getting the sight of large bridges spanning wide rivers during travels to various
locations in Nepal, closely seeing the construction progress of the 16-storey tall
apartment very near to my home and various other interesting infrastructures
around me, I wanted to know how these things were conceptualized, designed, and
constructed. I still vividly remember watching episodes of documentary shows like
Big Bigger Biggest, Megastructures and others on TV during my school
days which furthered my interest. Particularly, I was drawn to how engineers used
small-scale physical models to simulate large structures in conditions like
windstorms and earthquakes so as to develop clever solutions to tackle these
problems. All of these events, from my teenage days to now, have fueled my desire
to gain proficiency in this sector. So, I will provide my best effort to complete the
graduate program successfully at the University of Delaware if provided the
opportunity.