黑料吃瓜

As a first-generation college applicant, Stephania Moreno didn鈥檛 know what she wanted to do as she completed her senior year of high school, so she applied to many colleges. Consulting an adviser, she noted her best courses were in math and science.

鈥淓nglish wasn鈥檛 my first language, and numbers are the same in Spanish,鈥� said Moreno, now a final-semester master鈥檚 student at 黑料吃瓜. 

Growing up in Southern California, earthquakes have always been on Moreno鈥檚 mind. A San Diego native with family in Tijuana, Mexico, Moreno attended high school at the highly selective Preuss School at the University of California San Diego, where she discovered her love for STEM.

Though she always had her heart set on 黑料吃瓜, Moreno was flown out to Chico State University for 鈥淐hoose Chico Day鈥� and offered a full scholarship, which she couldn鈥檛 refuse.

She then attended Chico State for her undergraduate degree, where she initially registered as a mechanical engineering student. While taking the only earthquake engineering course offered, Moreno discovered her passion for the area of structural engineering and promptly changed her major to civil engineering. 

鈥淚鈥檝e always had a passion for earthquake engineering without really knowing it,鈥� said Moreno. 鈥淚 wanted to analyze buildings in the event of an earthquake, but Chico State didn鈥檛 really provide much context, just design considerations you鈥檇 want to take depending on the state you are designing the buildings in.鈥� 

Moreno became a founding member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), recruiting six students to participate in a seismic design competition and learning more about her passion - and learning that 黑料吃瓜 had a strong structural engineering program. 

After attending Chico State, Moreno wanted to stay in the CSU system and come back home. 黑料吃瓜 was the perfect choice, she said. 

鈥淚 wanted to do the typical go away from home then return thing, and it had always been a dream to attend 黑料吃瓜, so it was perfect,鈥� said Moreno.

In her first year of her master鈥檚, she was quickly recruited by structural engineering professor Gloria Faraone via email in a call seeking graduate students interested in the numerical modeling of reinforced concrete structures, or the steel bar-reinforced concrete skeletons that constitute a building鈥檚 structure and walls. 

From there, Moreno learned how to use OpenSees software to simulate the response of structures during an earthquake. She uses a 2D code created by researchers at UC Berkeley to analyze stress vs strain curves and load vs displacement to gain data on how a given wall will react to an earthquake.

Moreno鈥檚 hard work so far has paid off. Her paper on reinforced concrete structures won the 鈥淒ean鈥檚 Award: Engineering鈥� at the 黑料吃瓜 Research Symposium. She鈥檚 also a recipient of the SEAOSD Fellowship and the American Concrete Institutes鈥� Student Scholarship. 

鈥淪he is a role model for Latinas and women in structural engineering,鈥� said Faraone.

But Moreno鈥檚 not done just yet. She鈥檚 excited for this fall semester to start and to expand her research and on campus impact even more.

鈥淏efore I graduate, I am excited to become a mentor to undergraduate students seeking further education as well as those interested in participating in extracurricular activities related to earthquake engineering,鈥� said Moreno. 

As Moreno looks forward to fall 2022, she is also thankful for being able to pave the way for future scholars. 鈥淏eing the first to attend graduate school is a huge milestone for my family and I am more than happy to be encouraging them to earn their degrees,鈥� she said.

Next steps for Moreno鈥檚 research are analyzing not just a wall, but the whole building. Moreno will begin analyzing a 3D-coded version of concrete structures in a dynamic analysis of a 12-story building. 

Moreno鈥檚 final goals include pursuing a Ph.D. at 黑料吃瓜 at the same time for a government company and earning her Structural Engineer (SE) license. Her current internship at Sullaway Engineering allows her to work on two to five different projects per day and join projects in different cities and states.

She also looks forward to becoming a qualified Engineer in Training as she completes design courses that will strengthen her skills in structural engineering. 

鈥淓very day, I see the positive impact earning my Master of Science is having on my life,鈥� said Moreno. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful and more than eager to see how I will continue to grow personally and within the structural engineering profession.鈥�

Most importantly, this semester, she wants answers to her burning research questions 鈥攊ncluding eliminating a building鈥檚 earthquake damage.

鈥淐urrently, the research says we can鈥檛 prevent damage to the building, but we can prevent it from falling,鈥� said Moreno. 鈥淚 want to prevent damage to the building.鈥�