Experiments, data, coding systems, equations and research.
All tools of the trade for a civil engineer – and a civil engineering student like Kailey Newcome.
The Vanderbilt University graduate student, who has done three internships at IACMI since 2018 and is now completing a summer internship with AECOM’s transportation group, is using these tools for projects that will have a direct impact on Nashville-area residents.
One of them happens to be in Kailey’s backyard, which is Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood. She is helping to create a road diet on 12th Avenue South to encourage slower speeds and make it more pedestrian-friendly.
“I like this project because I live about 5 minutes from 12 South and visit there often, so it’s very exciting to see one of my projects come to fruition,” Kailey says. “Also, I enjoy the sustainable aspects of the project since it emphasizes greener modes of transportation.”
She is also working on a project to discourage people from committing suicide from the Natchez Trace Parkway’s 155-foot-tall bridge.
“The Natchez Trace Bridge Project is a suicide-prevention plan that is investigating ways in which our company can deter people from jumping off the towering bridge,” Kailey explains. “I like this project because it utilizes my civil engineering skills for a cause that I care about and know will have an important and meaningful impact.”
Kailey, who is completing an accelerated master’s program at Vanderbilt, says her internships at IACMI allowed her to get hands-on experience in the composites industry that helped her become a more confident researcher, as well as meet industry leaders.
For example, when she was paired with Local Motors in Knoxville, she investigated flaws in 3D-printed materials and how they could be detected through heat transfer. She also got to collaborate with DuPont at its headquarters Wilmington, Delaware, where she got to create and test samples herself.
“During this internship, I became a much more confident researcher – I derived my own 3D modeling equations and computer codes for modeling,” Kailey says.
The St. Paul, Minnesota native also credits IACMI’s programs for helping her be such a strong candidate for her internship at AECOM, one of the world’s premier infrastructure consulting firms.