Benjamin King, senior in biosystems engineering, is working on an undergraduate research fellowship project comparing the hydrology of a restored floodplain with that of an undisturbed floodplain.
“Basically, we had a stream that was restored on one half and we had a sewer line exposed, so we restored one side, but the other side was left untouched,” King said. “So, we wanted to look at the difference between the restored side and the unrestored side, putting in groundwater wells, looking at the flow of groundwater and infiltration rates. That type of thing.”
King said the goal of his project, and his degree program, is to find ways to imitate natural phenomena through man-made engineering.
“We think we know what’s best, but largely what we know is look and see how nature engineered itself, and then we try to replicate that,” King said.
King said he worked over the summer on his research project, interacting with the different bodies of water.
“With this research, basically I spent all summer digging wells, and I put some level loggers in there, which is a device that measures pressure, and from that pressure you can get the depth of water…then comparing the two sides,” King said. “So far, it looks like it infiltrates much quicker on the restored side, meaning that the soil profiles have not stratified yet.”
King said his project is not with the engineering department, but the agriculture department.
He said he got the idea for his research project during volunteer work with the college of agriculture.
“I answered an email to help…restore some vegetation, it was just a volunteer thing, and I met some professors along the way, and they said there were some research opportunities, so it seemed like something that was in my field that would help me distinguish between what an ecological engineer does and what an environmental science or horticulture type person [does],” King said. “This research project in itself is not really engineering, but it does help me understand and quantify the effects of engineering design.”
King’s mentor for the project is agricultural department professor Dr. Thorsten Knappenberger.
“I met Dr. Knappenberger, who’s in soils-a completely different college than what I’m in. So they kind of helped drive what research needed to be done,” King said. “I’ve never taken a class with Dr. Knappenberger, I just met him out on the field.”
King’s research has already helped him to find a career in his field.
“I just accepted a position at Hydro Engineering, which is a consulting civil engineering firm which has worked with Dr. Knappenberger...they don’t have a website or anything, it’s a local firm, it’s twelve or thirteen guys,” King said. “But they’re highly regarded in the industry.”
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