Civil Engineering Doctoral Student Receives International Fellowship

University Relations

Sean Salazar

Sean Salazar, a civil engineering doctoral student, has earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (NSF-GROW) fellowship to conduct research in Oslo, Norway, at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year.

The NSF-GROW provides Fellows of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program with an opportunity to spend up to one year conducting research at another institution in a different country.

"This is a great opportunity for Sean. During his time at the University of Arkansas, Sean has taken advantage of every opportunity offered by NSF, from conducting a Research Experience for Undergraduates at UC Davis, to being a NSF-GRFP Fellow, to this NSF-GROW," said Rick Coffman, Salazar's faculty adviser, who is currently on sabbatical at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. "He is an excellent ambassador for the College of Engineering and for the U of A"

Salazar's research is focused on remote sensing techniques for geotechnical engineering applications, which include natural hazards, such as post-wildfire debris flows and landslides. While at the NGI, Sean will work with Regula Frauenfelder, head of the Geosurveys Division, to study the impacts of natural hazards on the built environment, using cutting-edge remote-sensing techniques including ground-based real aperture radar interferometry, gigapixel photography, and aerial photogrammetry.

Salazar, having grown up internationally in Germany, England, South Africa and the United States, is looking forward to this opportunity to conduct research in Norway. He will return in the summer of 2018 to complete his third and final year of his NSF-GRFP fellowship.