Congratulations to Claire (Siqi) Dong who is the recipient of the 2020 Lewis Bradford Structural Engineering Prize. This award is given each year to a 3rd Pro student who excel in academic achievement in structural engineering papers, during the 3rd and 4th year of their BE (Hons) degree.
"I believe one's limitation is one's imagination. Dream big, work hard, and leave no regrets behind"
“At the age of 14, I decided my life was a bit boring and I needed a challenge. I left my home in China arriving in New Zealand alone to start a new life. I was still at high school at that point, so I spent three years at Freyberg High School in Palmerston North and graduated as a Dux student.
In 2017 I enrolled at UC as an undergraduate in the College of Engineering. I quickly realised my passion for research during a summer scholarship project with QuakeCoRE (USER programme). This experience was an eye-opener and motivated me to pursue postgraduate study. I am currently in my final year of Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil Engineering and will start my PhD journey in 2021. My research area will be in structural engineering investigating base-isolation related topics with Professor Tim Sullivan as my supervisor. The research will seek to identify ways of improving seismic design provisions for base-isolated buildings and finding more cost-effective base-isolation approaches.
I was an intern at Holmes Consulting in the 2019 summer break. I enjoyed working as a practical engineer and seeing my designs actually being built. My motivation to continue academic research is because I like critical thinking and I am constantly seeking new challenges and finding solutions for them. My hope is that my research will make a difference and benefit the community.
Outside of my study life, I love sketching and I have been playing the piano for 15 years. Boxing is my way of staying fit and maybe one day I will actually compete in the ring.
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