Education Program: Testimonials

Curt Haselton"I really liked my project. I enjoyed coming into work everyday with an ultimate goal in mind. Previous internships that I had involved completing tiny, dead-end jobs. In this internship, Nico briefed me on some of the goals for the risk map web tool in the first couple weeks and the rest of the summer was spent working toward that goal. Once I reached those goals, I added additional options to the web tool that were outside the immediate USGS goals."

Matt Zahr
2009 PEER Summer Intern
UC Berkeley undergraduate student

Kevin Mackie"This by far has been the most rewarding work experience I have had so far. I had never participated in research-based studies so everything was new to me. At Cal Poly, most of the emphasis is on undergraduate studies and not research. This summer really opened my eyes to the research side of academia and allowed me to be involved in a way I had never been and furthered my interest in earthquake engineering."

Emmett Seymour
2009 Summer Intern
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate student

Curt Haselton"The fact that my project was a complete project that involved everything from ordering the material to the construction and testing of the specimen, gave me a great opportunity to experience a bit of how real research works."

Victor Sanchez
2009 Summer Intern
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate student

Kevin MackieBryce Lloyd worked under the supervision of Jack Moehle, former PEER director and “NEES Grand Challenge Project: Mitigation of Nonductile Concrete Risk” PII, and UC Berkeley graduate student Wael Hassan.

Bryce Lloyd
2009 Summer Intern
San Jose State University undergraduate student


Curt Haselton"My PEER research gave me the opportunity to collaborate closely with many faculty, graduate students, and engineering practitioners throughout California and the Western United States. These collaborative research experiences, and the relationships developed through this, have been an invaluable asset while starting my academic career."

Curt B. Haselton, PhD, PE
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering
California State University, Chico

Kevin Mackie"As a student, PEER instilled in me the value of an inter-disciplinary and collaborative research environment. From the beginning, I was able to cultivate relationships with both students and faculty across various universities and specialties, which strengthened my foundation for future research."

Dr. Kevin R. Mackie, PhD, Assistant Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Central Florida

Ken Ellwood"I am where I am today because of PEER and all the experience and contacts it has given me. There are many young faculty members who owe PEER considerable gratitude. This collection of PEER graduates, I think, is one of the greatest legacies of the PEER Center."

Ken Ellwood
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering
University of British Columbia