Student Highlight: Meet Treves Li

Treves is a first-year PhD student, advised by Professor Dimitrios Zekkos. He received his MS in the Geosystems Program at UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining), from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Geosystems engineering enables him to “combine being outside and engineering, all the while contributing to society's infrastructure needs, and creating safer and more resilient geotechnical environments.” He is particularly interested in landslides and modelling because “it's a perfect mix of computer work and being outside. There is also a tangible impact on communities that are affected by landslides.”

Treves shares his thoughts…

…On research and its relevance:

My work focuses on electromagnetic induction technique as a way to image and model the subsurface for different geotechnical contexts, be it levees, landslides, or landfills. This method is exciting because it's pushing the boundary of the science in the domain. This research would be important to owners and operators of important infrastructure such as levees, as well as scientists investigating causes and predicting occurrences of landslides.

…With a few reflections:

The community is top notch. I expected rigorous academics and top-tier instructors/professors, but the peers I've met and friends I've made make the program great. The people are the things that will make my time at Berkeley memorable.

Challenges only make you grow as a person. Reframe challenges as opportunities, and understand the components that are within and out of your control. Then take the plunge into the unknown, because it can be scary but also super exciting.

Treves is also involved in the (CEE)2 program, run by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Berkeley. “This community engagement program connects graduate students from Berkeley with middle and high schoolers in the local community, in an effort to promote engineering as a potential career choice. It's super rewarding to inspire the next generation of engineers, and to showcase the technical work that we do that impacts them even if they may not be aware of it.”

Treves is open minded to what the future holds, and he feels that “Berkeley and the GeoSystems programs gives a great platform to explore different paths and options--it's a real privilege.”