A civil engineering doctoral student working to develop sustainable landfill solutions was awarded for her environmental stewardship at this year’s Waste Management (WM) Symposium.
Martha Santos was one of 87 students nationwide who received the Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship. Geared toward future professionals working toward a career in the radioactive waste management and nuclear fields, the scholarship awards researchers who exemplify academic excellence and transformative leadership in bettering their communities.
Along with a $7,500 scholarship, she was invited to attend this year’s WM conference, where she had the opportunity to share her research at the opening reception’s poster session.
Santos is a researcher in the Pollutant Fate and Transport Processes and Geochemistry Laboratory, directed by Assistant Professor Jiannan “Nick” Chen. The lab focuses on environmental and geotechnical engineering in urban areas, with a focus on solid waste management, green infrastructure and local geochemical processes, or the natural chemical reactions that occur in the environment.
She says her work on sustainable radioactive waste management was one of the determining factors that helped her earn the recognition from WM.
“My project focuses on environmental protection and sustainable radioactive waste management, particularly the hydrological performance of waste containment systems,” she says. “I’ve done laboratory experiments for soil permeability, numerical simulations of the water flow, and field data analysis. This combination allows us to better understand how water moves through waste contaminant systems and how they can be designed to protect the environment over long periods of time.”
Santos says it was an honor to receive the scholarship, particularly one that shines a spotlight on graduate student work.
“It encourages me to continue contributing to research and to the civil and environmental engineering community,” she says.
Civil engineering, a field that offers the opportunity to make a lasting difference in communities, was a natural fit for Santos. She was motivated to pursue research in waste management after visiting multiple dumpsites in her native Brazil. During one of her many trips, she had the opportunity to ride in a waste compactor.
“[The visits] made me understand that how we safely manage the materials we produce can impact people’s lives and the environment,” Santos says. “It requires much more science and engineering than people usually think.”
She was drawn to UCF by Pegasus Professor Emerita Debra Reinhart’s research. Reinhart specialized in solid waste management and sustainable landfill operations, and served as UCF’s associate vice president for research and scholarship.
“The work of Dr. Debra Reinhart was inspiring, and through that I was able to learn about the work of Dr. Chen, which aligned very closely with my interests,” Santos says.
As a researcher in Chen’s lab, she studies how water interacts with radioactive waste materials in disposal facilities. Her work aims to improves the design and operation of nuclear waste disposal sites for the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP), an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
“I use a combination of laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to study how water moves through engineered barriers and waste forms over time,” she says. “The goal is to improve the design and operation of nuclear waste disposal in near-surface containment facilities. This work is important for disposal sites because the water flow is the main factor for chemical transport from the waste to the environment.”
Her commitment to make impactful changes in her community extends outside the classroom as well. Santos serves as the president of the Geotechnical Student Chapter at UCF, as well as the outreach chair for CRESP. In these roles, she helps organize student seminars and events, giving her peers the opportunity to further their research by connecting them with national laboratories and the DOE.
“I really believe that we, as researchers and engineers, rarely work in isolation. Our work requires collaboration between different groups of people,” she says. “Being part of student organizations is important for developing communication and collaboration skills that are just as important as technical expertise.”
With her future doctoral degree from UCF, Santos will be well positioned to advance environmental developments that will positively impact generations to come.
“After my Ph.D., I hope to continue working in research and engineering related to environmental protection and sustainable waste management,” she says. “I am particularly interested in roles where I can apply scientific research to real-world engineering challenges, whether in academia or research institutions.”
- Written by Bel Huston