Jennifer Nicks
I am currently serving as the Chair of the ISSMGE’s Young Member Presidential Group (YMPG), a position I have held since 2009 when I was a PhD candidate. I have since transitioned from a student to a young professional. My primary technical duties are as a research geotechnical engineer with the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration in the Office of Infrastructure Research and Development. As part of the Bridge and Foundation Engineering Team, my research focus has been on aggregate characterization, shallow foundations, engineered fills, numerical modeling, scour, load and resistance factor design, and the Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) Integrated Bridge System (IBS). Additionally, I serve on research project panels and technical committees for national and international organizations. Within my national society, I have also been active in younger member activities, serving on the Student Participation Committee within the Geo-Institute of ASCE. I earned my Bachelor of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University and am a licensed professional engineer (PE). The concentration for my dissertation was on the bump at the end of the railway bridge, in which I performed a parametric study using finite element modeling (LS-DYNA) and conducted field testing on a mitigation solution at a test side. On a more personal level, I enjoy music, running, and hiking. If you would like to contact me for further information, or just to chat, you can reach me at jennifernicks@gmail.com.Lucy Wu
I am currently leading the Website Taskforce within the YMPG. After graduating from MIT with a Bachelors of Science and Stanford University with a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, I started my career as a geotechnical engineer with Arup in Hong Kong. My work is primarily focused on private building developments, mainly on the design of excavations and foundations. I have been involved in the design of several excavation with large unbalanced loads as well as the design of different types of deep foundations. I have also worked on other geotechnical work such as slope stability and natural terrain hazard mitigation. I am a licensed professional engineer (PE) in the State of California. I enjoy reading, long distance running, hiking, and traveling in my free time. Feel free to contact me about anything, technical or otherwise. I can be reached at lucywu@alum.mit.edu.
Aleksandra Chepurnova
I am currently serving as the Vice-Chair of the ISSMGE’s Young Member Presidential Group (YMPG), a position I have held since 2013 when I was elected. I am a research geotechnical engineer at Research Institute of Bases and Underground Structures (NIIOSP) in the Department of Geotechnical Analysis and Numerical Methods. Also I am a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering at (NIIOSP). My research involves study of jet-grouted material using physical sample tests, analytical and numerical analysis. My technical duties focus on deep excavation, retaining wall stability, soil-structure interaction, pile foundations, underpinning solutions, numerical modeling, and the expert-advisory activities. Within my national society, I have also been active in younger member activities, serving on the Young Borough within the Russian Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. I earned my Master of Engineering degrees in Moscow University of Civil Engineering and am a licensed professional engineer. The concentration for my dissertation is on applying the non-linear Hoek-Brown failure criteria to characterize soilcrete stress-strain relationships. On a more personal level, I enjoy meeting with new people, traveling, Alp skiing, and swimming.If you would like to contact me for further information, or just to chat, you can reach me at alexa.chepurnova@gmail.com.
