New faculty member aims to inspire students
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Sarah Grajdura wants to see students succeed, and she plans to accomplish it as a new assistant professor in CME.
“I think I have the best job in the world! I am passionate about my research and student success. I would like to inspire undergrads to try doing research and pursue grad school,” she said.
Grajdura will help students by teaching Water Resources Engineering this semester and Engineering Probability and Economics starting in 2027. She also brings classroom experience teaching courses in transportation planning, traffic engineering, travel behavior, and transportation equity.
“My goal as a professor is to make students feel valued and seen while also challenging them to develop as excellent citizens. To help them build confidence in their skills while becoming future engineers,” she said.
In addition to teaching, Grajdura will be conducting research on coupled human–infrastructure systems during hazards and disruptions, with the goal of informing the design of more equitable and resilient infrastructure.
“My research examines how people experience infrastructure disruptions and how human behavior shapes responses to those disruptions. Drawing on concepts from travel behavior, environmental justice, and transportation equity, I use mixed-methods approaches combining agent-based modeling, econometrics, machine learning, qualitative inquiry, and community engagement,” she said.
She is in the process of building the Human-Infrastructure Lab, which already includes undergraduate researchers. She’s also looking to hire PhD students.
As a researcher, she was accepted to the National Science Foundation-funded Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards Researchers Program, which is designed to support early-career scholars and professionals transitioning into the interdisciplinary fields of hazards, disasters, and risk research.
“This program lets me join an active cohort of other hazards researchers across disciplines and learn from impactful mentors,” Grajdura said.