Application deadline extended to March 5, 2022
The USSD Scholarship Award program looks to award undergraduate and graduate students with the primary objectives to (1) foster career paths for young professionals in the field of dams, levees, and water resources, and (2) provide opportunities to become involved in professional organizations
The scholarship award is given annually to students whose academic program and plans have the potential to develop practical solutions to design and construction challenges related to dams, levees and other water resources which align with program objective. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled in U.S. academic institutions.
Objective and Non-Discriminatory Criteria
The USSD Awards Committee has objective and non-discriminatory criteria by which each scholarship application is judged to determine finalists who are then evaluated by the USSD Board of Directors. The criteria are:
Scholarship finalists will be invited to present their proposal at the annual USSD Conference in April with award announcements made at the conference. Award winners will be invited to present their results at the following year’s conference (2023).
Application Procedure
The application is available for download to fill out. The application and attachments can then be uploaded.
Apply NowFour scholarships were presented during the 2022 USSD Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA:
![]() |
Lucas Rivera, MS, New Mexico State University, $10,000 – Field Scaling of Enzyme-Induced Carbonate Precipitation for Erosion Control in Sloping Ground |
![]() |
Brittany Russo, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, $8,000 – Non-invasive Levee Health Monitoring using Data Fusion and Machine Learning for Infrastructure Resiliency against Climate Change |
![]() |
Jason Poff, BS, Brigham Young University, $7,000 – Stream Slope Map to Predict Drowning Potential at Low-head Dams |
![]() |
Irene Liou, PhD, University of California, Davis, $5,000 – Decision-making framework for seismic safety of dams given large uncertainties |
![]() |
AECOM |
---|---|
![]() |
ASI Group |
![]() |
Barnard Construction |
![]() |
Bechtel |
![]() |
Black & Veatch |
![]() |
Canary Systems |
![]() |
Carpi Tech |
![]() |
CEATI |
![]() |
Flow 3D Hydro |
![]() |
Forgen |
![]() |
Freese and Nichols |
![]() |
Gannett Fleming |
![]() |
GEI Consultants |
![]() |
Geosyntec |
KC Construction | |
Kiewit | |
![]() |
Kleinschmidt |
![]() |
McMillan Jacobs |
![]() |
Terra Insights (Measurand) |
![]() |
RIZZO |
![]() |
Schnabel Engineering |
![]() |
Slate Geotechnical |
![]() |
WEST Consultants |
![]() |
Worthington Products |
Tiffany Adams | |
John France | |
Greg Paxson | |
Mike Rogers |
Four scholarships were presented during the 2021 USSD Virtual Conference:
Jingwen He, University of Texas, Austin, Ph.D. Civil Engineering, $5,000 – Development of Seismic Fragility Relationships for Earth Dams
Francisco HumireGuarachi, University of California, Davis, Ph.D. Geotechnical Engineering, $5,000 – Effect of Gradation and Grain Size on the Liquefaction Behavior of Coarse-Grained Soils
Julia Loshelder, University of Arkansas, Ph.D Civil Engineering, $5,000 – Remote Sensing Methods to Monitor the Change in Water Content in Dams
Golsa Mahdavi, University of Colorado, Boulder, Ph.D. Civil (Structural) Engineering, $5,000 – Deterioration of Concrete Dams from Alkali Aggregate Reaction
Four scholarships were presented during the 2019 USSD Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, IL:
Jack Cadigan, Louisiana State University – $5,600 Design Trends and Guidance for Substratum Pressure Relief Wells for Dams and Levees Using Computational Methods
Amy Getchell, Purdue University – $4,800 Alternative Use of Synthetic Nanoclay for Permeation Grouting in Dam and Levee Engineering
Michael Kiernan, Auburn University – $4,800 Improving Methods to Evaluate the Effect of Strain-Softening Clays on the Stability of Dams
Tyler Oathes, University of California Davis – $4,800 Implementing the Effect of Strain-Rate on Strain-Softening Clays into Nonlinear Dynamic Analyses
Four scholarships were presented during the 2018 USSD Annual Conference and Exhibition in Miami, FL:
El Hachemi Bouali, Michigan Technological University – $8,000 Numerical Analysis of Embankment and Berm Settlement based on InSAR Remote Sensing Measurements
Sean Salazar, University of Arkansas – $6,000 Satellite Based Radar Remote Sensing for Monitoring of Dams
Carolyne Bocovich, Colorado School of Mines – $4000 Investigation of Backwards Erosion by Data Driven Modeling
Johnathan Blanchard, University of Arkansas – $2,000 Relative Humidity Inhibitive Coatings for the Reduction of Degradation Caused by Active Alkali-Aggregate Reactions in Dams
Four scholarships were presented during the 2017 USSD Annual Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, California;
Two scholarships were presented during the 2016 Annual Meeting and Conference in Denver.
Ali Asghari Tabrizi, a PhD Candidate at the University of South Carolina, received a $10,000 scholarship to support his research, Collection of Perishable Data and Numerical Investigation of Earthen Embankment Failures during the 2015 South Carolina Flood.
Timothy Koch, State University of New York, received a $1,000 scholarship to support his research, Remote Detection and Characterization of Dams using LiDAR Elevation Data.
Four scholarships were presented during the 2015 Annual Meeting and Conference in Louisville during April.
Lourdes Boulware, a PhD student at Utah State University, received a $10,000 scholarship to support her research, Modeling Geomorphic Features in Levee Reliability Analyses.
Ryan Meier, University of Southern California; Alexander Sturm, University of California, Davis; and Ali Asghari Tabrizi, University of South Carolina, received $1,000 scholarships.
Four scholarships were presented during the 2014 Annual Meeting and Conference in San Francisco during April.
Beena Ajmera, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, received a $10,000 scholarship to support her research, Cyclic Shear Strength Characteristics of Cohesive Materials.
Matthew W. George, Brigham Young University; Jonathan F. Hubler, University of Michigan; and Christopher Krage, University of California, Davis, received $1,000 scholarships.
Three scholarships were awarded during February 2013.
Michael F. George, University of California, Berkeley, received a $10,000 scholarship to support his research, Scour of Discontinuous Blocky Rock.
Allison G. Danner, Oregon State University, and Minal L. Parekh, Colorado School of Mines, received $1,000 scholarships.
Three scholarships were awarded on April 25.
Mark S. Raleigh, a graduate student at the University of Washington, received a $10,000 scholarship to support his research, Improving Representation of High-Elevation Snowpack for Summer Water Supply Forecasting.
Allison G. Danner, Oregon State University, and Jack A. Montgomery, University of California, Davis, received $1,000 scholarships.
Three scholarships were awarded on April 13.
Adam J. Lobbestael, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, received a $10,000 scholarship to support his research, Using Engineered Cementitious Composites to Enhance Risk Mitigation for Levee Systems.
Clinton Carlson, University of Michigan, and Julie A. Vano, University of Washington, received $1,000 scholarships.
Three scholarships were awarded on April 14.
Tiffany E. Adams, Virginia Tech, received a $10,000 scholarship to support her research, Stability of Levees with Deep Mixed Shear Walls.
Jack Montgomery, University of California, Davis, and Ryan Van Leuven, Utah State University, received $1,000 scholarships.
Contact Us
United States Society on Dams
9975 Wadsworth Pkwy.,
Ste. K-2, 145
Westminster, CO 80021
info@ussdams.org
Phone: 303-792-8753
Fax: 303-792-8782
Copyright © 2022 USSD
Web Design by The Design Group