Michelle Bernhardt is an assistant professor of civil engineering. In her research, she studies the behavior of granular material such as soil.
What is your research area?
My research focuses on the multi-scale characterization of particulate material response. I use laboratory and field data to validate discrete element method simulations, which can be used to examine the micro-scale response of soils and other granular materials. I am also interested in the link between soil behavior and basic soil properties and the laboratory and geophysical field methods that can be used to determine these properties.
What is your favorite thing about teaching?
My favorite part of teaching at the undergraduate level is the challenge of getting students interested in soils and the thought that I might get the chance to have some small impact on their career. The Soil Mechanics class I teach is required and the topic is not something that many students have heard of or had exposure to prior to taking the class. Very few students raise their hand on the first day of class when I ask how many want to be a geotechnical engineer, probably because most of them don’t even know what it is. In fact, the story was true even for me. I wanted to be a structural engineer until I took soil mechanics and was introduced to a material that was complex and unique and a lot more interesting than steel or concrete (sorry structures people!). My favorite part of teaching undergrads, is that I get to introduce them to a whole new area of Civil Engineering and my hope is that I can get at least a few students to become Geotechnical engineers (what the structures folks might refer to as crossing over to the “dark side”). My favorite part of teaching graduate courses is getting to dive deeper into the complexities of soil behavior and getting to explore and push the boundaries of knowledge with the students.
What is something about you that would surprise your students to know?
The summer between receiving my M.S. and starting my Ph.D., I attended culinary school in Italy. I almost ended up becoming a chef instead of a professor. Also, I live out near Beaver Lake and my life goal is to someday be able to do a back flip on a wakeboard. I have a long way to go though, and it seems to be getting harder the older I get!
What advice would you give to students?
Find something that you are good at and enjoy, and work hard at it. Also, don’t forget that we only get one shot at life, so make sure you have fun along the way.