Priya Kruthi Gavini

Post #1

Resume

Objective

Third year engineering student seeking learning opportunities in industrial engineering and related fields to help me grow personally and professionally, and to gain career experience. I am a motivated and accountable industrial engineering student with excellent communication and problem solving skills along with a multitude of hands-on experience in project work.

Education 

University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Engineering

Amherst, MA 

Candidate for Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering ‘24

Current GPA: 3.45

  • Relevant Coursework completed: Java, Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, General Physics II, General Chemistry, Engineering Probability and Statistics, Simulation Methods, Statics, Material Sciences, Deterministic Operations Research, Queueing Theory and Stochastic Optimization, Strength of Materials, Writing in Engineering.

Extra-Curricular Activities:  Active member of the Engineers Without Borders UMass Amherst Chapter, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Indian Classical Arts Society. 

Key Strengths

Fluent in Java, R, and Python                                     Outstanding Adaptability 

Excellent Analytical Skills         Great Collaboration Skills 

Proficient in Using SolidWorks                                     Technical Writing and Effective Communication

Work Experience

Soundarya Decorators PVT. LTD., Operations Engineer Intern, Chennai, India, June 2022 to August 2022

  • Coordinated various projects with the engineering department and procurement department to ensure all necessary materials have been acquired for production
  • Worked closely with the production team in the factory to identify machinery changes which could optimize the production cost and time using statistical analysis.
  • Aided and oversaw the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on site to ensure a more environmentally sustainable production process
  • Made frequent site visits to coordinate with site engineers and make sure manufactured products were being installed and assembled properly and with care

Validation Engineering Cooperative Internship at AbbVie, Worcester, MA, June 2021 to December 2021

  • Collaborated with project engineering departments to efficiently execute new installations and system modifications on production equipment
  • Drafted and executed change control in compliance with cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) regulations
  • Supported broader aspects of projects including developing operational procedures and reviewing new or modified product documentation to ensure compatibility with qualified equipment.
  • Worked with Environmental Health and Safety departments to evaluate wastage of resources in production processes
  • Drafted reports on annual water system performance and identified areas for improvement and optimization of water use

Projects

Independent Research Study,Sept 2022 to Present (ongoing)

  • Interdisciplinary research in renewable energy and decision science. 
  • Focusing on identifying and reducing cost of wastewater treatment processes using experience curves.
  • Developing and visualizing a set of learning curves based on assumptions from a literature review
  • Assumptions about learning rate or growth in cumulative capacity will be experimented with upon receiving results from learning curves

Engineers Without Borders-Kenya Team (Freshman Year At UMass Amherst), 2020 to Present

  • Worked with a team to supply yearlong water supplies to two villages in Kenya that are safe to drink
  • Used CAD to create a design of the pumps and wells that were being implemented in the villages

Seminar For Top Engineering Prospects at Purdue, 2019

  • Built and programmed a small robot that could sense objects around it and maneuver its way around a course
  • Used Arduino to build and program a DIY Song Player. 

SummerLab Biotechnology Program at Boston University, 2018

  • Used advanced technology to research and study diseases and the processes involved in the development of clinical trials for potential treatments.
  • Used green fluorescent protein (GFP) to visualize the processes of gene expression, lysis, and purification.

Community & Volunteer Experience

STEMBuds Elementary School Tutor, Nashua, NH, 2016 to 2020

  • Introduced children between the ages of 7 and 11 to science and math concepts 
  • Devised monthly plans for the STEMBUDs club curriculum 
  • Created innovative and out-of-the-box projects, experiments, and games to help young students learn concepts 

Kumon Math and Reading Tutoring Center, Aug 2016 to June 2018

  • Mentored children between the ages of 5 and 14 concepts in Math and Reading
  • Organized homework and classwork and created a personalized learning model for each student

Nashua Soup Kitchen, Nashua, NH, 2016-2020

  • Served tables in the family room
  • Ensured the family room space was clean and organized throughout the entire shift

References

Melissa Riley, Manager at AbbVie

Post #2

Writing Group Project

Group members were tasked with identifying Engineering failures in the past, and reporting on the incident and what could have been fixed. Our group chose to find failures specific to transportation engineering, with one group member analyzing a different incident. Below is a summarization of the incident that I was tasked with reporting on.

Bridge at the moment of collapse

Pedestrian Bridge Collapse at Florida International University, 2018

  • The cable stayed bridge was being built so that FIU students did not have to cross the busy 8-lane highway to get to and from campus.
  • On the day of the collapse, a construction crew was working on retensioning the post-tensioning rods within member 11, connecting the bridge canopy and the deck at the north end.
  • 6 people dead, 10 injured
  • A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the collapse concluded the cause

Results and Solutions

What caused this?

What we can do?

  • The immediate closure of roads running beneath structures where cracks have been identified
  • Providing enhanced training for engineers working on such projects
  • Stronger peer reviews
  • Designing concrete bridge structures with reasonable estimates for interface shear demand (see below for recommendations in full)

Research Project

As a class, we were each individually asked to choose a topic of research that interests us and explain why we chose it, what kind of message we would want to convey with this topic, an who the target audience would be. There were a few guiding questions given to us to help us analyze this. I enjoyed this activity as I found that the same line of questioning that was used by the professor in the assignment will come in very handy in the future while writing papers, projects, etc, by helping me stay focused on the end goal.

Post #3

Project Proposal

  1. Why am I invested in this topic? Why do I care? How does it matter to me?

I am invested in this topic as I am planning on doing an independent study on this topic next semester. It matters a lot to me since water quality and scarcity are imminent threats we face as a society, and I would like to be a part of the solution to these issues.

  • Summarize the nature of the conversation surrounding your topic in current academic circles in 2-3 paragraphs.

Most people are on the same page about wastewater treatment, and how important it is to innovate in this sector. In addition, in general the scientific community would want to optimize and reduce the costs of wastewater treatment, just as it would be with any other kind of expensive process. However, there is some confusion on which factors surrounding wastewater treatment can be tweaked without compromising the quality of the process. There is also certain discourse on the importance of cutting costs to create more affordable processes for economies that may not have all the resources to effectively provide clean water. Many academics argue that once “developed” countries refine more advanced and optimized processes, “developing” countries will follow in implementation in years to come. However, this is not exactly realistic and can lead to a large water inequality.

  • What is your purpose in looking into this topic? What do you want to communicate with your paper? (e.g., inform, persuade, argue, shoot down another position, propose a solution, etc.)

With my paper, I want to inform people of the different factors that make wastewater treatment so expensive, some solutions to cut costs, and how a cheaper process can make wastewater treatment more accessible to a wide range of economies.

  • Who do you want to address your paper to? Why this group given your purpose and your reading of the conversation?

I want to address my paper to anyone interested in water treatment and sustainability.

  • What do you think this audience needs to know or consider that they don’t already know?

I think the audience needs to consider the fact that it is more difficult for some countries and cities of varying economies to deal with certain costs than others, which could lead to a more inequitable future in clean water.

  • What kind of reaction do you want to get from your readers? What do you hope they’ll do as a result of reading? (e.g. take a specific action, change their opinions, get angry, etc.)

I want the reader to feel more informed and motivated to contribute to the solution for clean water. I would also like to influence the reader to rethink the way they view equity among sustainability in general in different regions of varying affluence.

  • What kinds of written sources will you need to help you accomplish your purpose?

I will need websites, journals, and informational articles to help accomplish my purpose.

  • What kinds of written sources will be most convincing or needed by your audience? Why?

Peer reviewed and published journal articles will be most convincing.

  • What other kinds of information can you draw off of in this paper (personal experience, surveys, etc.)?

I can also draw off of surveys of local wastewater treatment facilities for this paper.

  1. If you could imagine publishing this project in a public venue, where would you like it to appear?

I would want it to appear in academic circles, such as a journal

Annotated Bibliography

Post #4

Public Lecture Summaries

Over the course of the semester, I attended 4 public talks at the university that piqued my interest. I highly enjoyed attending these lectures, as I ended up learning a lot and they also motivated me to do some extra learning on my own. I attended talks of two different formats; 2 lectures and 2 panel discussions.

Will Direct Potable Reuse Make Drinking Water Safer?, October 6th:

Dr. Kara Nelson is a professor of Environmental Engineering and holds the Blum Chancellor’s Chair in Development Engineering at UC Berkeley. Throughout her career, her main focus has been on developing innovative solutions to water quality challenges while taking into account factors such as economic equity and environmental sustainability. Her lecture on October 6th was titled “Will direct potable reuse make drinking water safer?”.In this lecture, Dr. Nelson discussed innovative strategies for water quality monitoring and new perspectives she has been able to derive on the water microbiome through her research. She also illustrated how her research into more widely enabling the practice of direct potable reuse in water can have the potential to make all drinking water safer. Direct potable reuse is essentially a process in which wastewater is treated and distributed as drinking water without an environmental buffer, making the process much shorter and faster for reuse, much like a drinking water well you can directly take from. The part of the lecture that stuck out the most to me was the policy side of the Professor’s research. She showed us the gradual progression of updates in the regulatory status of direct potable drinking water, and showed the outcomes, effects, and unintended consequences of each new regulatory policy that was placed. I thought this was very interesting since policy in engineering is not often considered, but her research showed how important policy can be to drive change and spark innovation. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this talk, I did find it hard to follow at times because it did get very technical in some biology and chemistry areas that I am not familiar with. However, the speaker did a good job of taking the time to provide thorough explanations of the background knowledge needed to understand the topics.

Climate Change Solutions: Finding Common Ground When Experts and Models Disagree, Nov 9th:

Dr. Erin Baker is a distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the Faculty Director of the Energy Transition Institute at UMass Amherst. Dr. Erin Baker’s research throughout her career has been mainly focused on optimizing sustainable solutions to climate change, such as with wind turbines and wastewater treatment, while studying the effects of change in the policy sector on these technologies as well, similar to Dr. Nelson. Her lecture on November 9th was titled “Climate Change Solutions: Finding Common Ground When Experts and Models Disagree”. In her talk, Dr. Baker highlights that even though climate change is a very rapidly approaching and imminent threat, many scientists and policy makers alike are struggling with making a unanimous decision on how to move forward with solutions to the problem. Professor Baker points out that this is due to the fact that recent methods and models of the impact of climate change continually provide conflicting information, making it difficult for experts to come to a conclusion on what policies to form based on what they know so far. Professor Erin Baker highlights in her talk how she focuses on finding solutions to these discrepancies and disagreements using mathematical modeling in her research. I found this talk relatively easy to follow, and equally as informative and engaging as well. What I found most interesting in this talk was one of the mathematical models that she studied as a solution as a part of her research, called robust optimization. During the lecture, I quickly realized that that is actually a topic I am learning and practicing in one of my current classes, so it was very intriguing to see something I am actively learning about being used in the real world. 

PERI PANEL DISCUSSION: A BLUE TIDE RISING IN LATIN AMERICA?, November 9th:

In this talk, panelists Robin Broad, John Cavanagh, Manuela Picq and moderator James K. Boyce discussed how social movements and governments in many Latin American countries are rejecting the heavy emphasis on fossil fuels and mining. They covered the efforts in Latin American countries that are instead embracing paths that defend their waterways and center on indigenous communities and women. Robin Broad and John Cavanaugh are both well renowned corporate economists and professors. Manuela Picq is a French journalist with Latin-American roots. The moderator, James Boyce is a Professor of Economics at UMass Amherst. What I liked most about this talk is the discussion format it took place in. It was very conducive to understanding an issue I don’t already have much knowledge on, and it was interesting to see experts developing a conversation around the topics. In the lecture, the economists mainly focused on whether or not there is hope of pathways for a better future in Latin-American policy regarding a greener environment and water conservation. They highlighted different milestones in Latin America that have recently taken place, such as the first ban in the world on metals mining in El Salvador in hopes of saving water. They then discussed how that one change in policy set off a chain of grassroots movements all around Latin America in a fight against corruption and exploitation. They then detailed the psychology and economics behind such a chain reaction, which I found very interesting. Such conversation and research is very important to social progress, as it brings to light how change can occur in different ways.  

TECH IN THE NEWS – THEME: SOCIAL MEDIA, Tuesday December 6th:

In this talk, Professors Ethan Zuckerman and Hamed Zamani exchange perspectives on events and transitions taking place in social media, and the technological implications it can have on how news is reported. This talk, like the last one, was also in a discussion format. However, in this talk, the two panelists had differing views. I found this very beneficial to learn from, as I could hear both sides of the argument, unbiased, and form my own opinions on the topic. It also helps with understanding different perspectives. At the end of the discussion, the audience members were able to join the discussion as well, not only asking questions, but having a full on conversation with the panelists, which was also very interesting. It was helpful to hear the perspectives of students/faculty who were not experts on the subject but still had opinions as well. It was also interesting to hear their questions, doubts, and takeaways. Professor Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication, and information, as well as director of the UMass Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure. The focus of his career has mainly been on reimagining the internet as a tool for civic engagement, so he mainly detailed the benefits of social media in the news. He explained how social media is helpful for getting more people involved and spreading information more quickly. The danger, though, is when that information is misleading, or straight up incorrect. Professor Zamani is an assistant professor at the College of Computer Sciences, and his research has mainly focused on developing efficient and effective deep learning models for various foundational information retrieval tasks. His knowledge on machine learning and learning models help him understand topics such as detecting misinformation and fake news, as machine learning involves looking for certain patterns that could bring fake news and unreputable sources to light.