SoCEE Student Selected for NSF NHERI REU Program

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is proud to share that Priya Whitley, an undergraduate student majoring in civil engineering at the University of Connecticut, has been selected to participate in the highly competitive 2025 NSF NHERI Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Summer Program.

Priya’s selection was made possible in part by a nomination from Dr. Manish Roy, faculty member here at SoCEE, who supported her application and provided a letter of recommendation for the program. His mentorship and encouragement played an important role in helping Priya secure this nationally competitive opportunity.

This summer, Priya will join a select cohort of students from across the country to conduct cutting-edge research at the University of Florida’s Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Experimental Facility (BLWT)—one of the most advanced laboratories in the United States for studying the effects of extreme wind events on civil infrastructure. She is 1 of just 41 students chosen for the NHERI SURF-REU cohort, which spans six REU sites nationwide and runs from June 2 through August 5, 2025.

At the UF NHERI Experimental Facility, Priya will contribute to ongoing research projects focused on improving our understanding of how structures respond to wind-related hazards such as hurricanes and tornadoes. The facility supports transformative research in wind engineering by:

  • Reducing uncertainties in the wind loading chain,

  • Advancing physical and computational modeling of complex wind flow fields,

  • Enabling automation in structural testing and performance monitoring, and

  • Promoting the design of more resilient, hazard-resistant infrastructure.

This experience will provide Priya with hands-on training in experimental research methods, data analysis, and collaborative problem-solving in a team-based research environment. Her work will culminate in a formal research presentation at the NSF NHERI REU Research Symposium, held August 6–8, 2025, at Oregon State University, where she will share her findings alongside peers and leading researchers in the field.

Priya is also actively engaged in outreach through the Vergano Institute for Inclusion, where she serves as a Science Bowl Coordinator. She is passionate about combining technical innovation with inclusive practices in engineering education and research.

We congratulate Priya on this outstanding achievement and thank Dr. Roy for his continued mentorship and advocacy for student success. We look forward to the impact Priya will make through this unique research opportunity.

Click here to learn more about the NHERI Wind Research Facility.