Ryan DuChanois, a University of Arkansas Honors College student studying civil engineering, is the 2016 College of Engineering Outstanding Senior. Ryan is graduating in May and moving onto Cambridge University’s one-year Master’s in Engineering program. During his time in Fayetteville, Ryan has accomplished many things, providing him with experience and insight into his future as a professional.
After taking a self-directed class about environmental and spatial technologies his junior and senior year of high school, and having the opportunity to map stormwater drainage patterns for his hometown of Greenland, Ryan knew that he wanted to study civil engineering, focusing on water technologies.
The summer after his freshman year of college, he went to Ethiopia with Arkansas Cru as part of a mission trip. While there, they volunteered in a rural orphanage. The next summer, he went to Ethiopia with a research experience for undergraduates program sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and affiliated with the University of Virginia. There, he studied the long-term use of ceramic water filters and other technologies used in South African villages to provide safe water.
Since then, Ryan has been inspired to make his career in water treatment, helping provide people with this life-giving resource.
After hearing about the Greater Research Opportunities from a fellow member of Arkansas Engineering Abroad, Ryan applied. His junior year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted him a $23,000 stipend for an internship and undergraduate research, $22,000 for tuition, and a $5,000 expense allowance. With this opportunity, Ryan was able to research in the realm of water recycling.
Most recently, Ryan applied for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, established by Melinda and Bill Gates. Similar to the Rhodes Scholarship, this scholarship provides graduate students with tuition and a maintenance allowance for the duration of their degree, and return airfare. After graduating in May with his bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering, Ryan will head to Cambridge in October to study engineering for sustainable development.
Nearing the end of his career as an undergraduate at the University of Arkansas, Ryan is thankful for the friends and faculty that have supported and challenged him along the way.
“The faculty have been so great. My advisor, Dr. Richard Coffman, in particular is more of a mentor for life in general,” said Ryan. “He’s in geotechnical engineering and I’m more water, but even though we aren’t working in the same area, he has inspired me in a lot of ways. He’s the one that has believe in me and encouraged me to step out and do the things I never thought I was capable of.”