23-year-old Monica
Laisun Louie from New York City has been named a New Face of Civil Engineering. Louie is a track engineer with Parsons
Brinckerhoff.
As
a track engineer, Monica designs alignments and sections of track. She balances
her busy job with a full schedule of community service and hobbies, including
being the secretary for the Engineers Without Borders New York Professional
Chapter. As a part of EWB, Monica
recently traveled to Balang, Cambodia to work on a dam project that involved
the construction of a straight weir and restoration of an earthen
embankment. The reservoir is now
providing water for irrigation to more than 9,000 residents. She also worked on
the design and construction of a clean water distribution system for a health
center in Matunda, Kenya.
A
strong advocate for engineers volunteering in developing communities, Monica
recently spoke about the technology EWB utilized in Cambodia at the Science,
Technology and Innovation Forum held during the UN General Assembly, and the
success of the project at a water resources conference in India earlier in the
year. In her spare time, Monica manages and paddles with a dragon boat team.
She also mentors high school students in as a part of the ACE mentor program.
Monica
has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, N.Y., and is currently working on her master’s degree in civil
engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.
Meet the 2011 New Faces of Civil Engineering: