IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting Fall 2023, all non-driver trip participant spots will be selected at random due to high demand. Links will accept sign-ups from 9PM-12AM the night of release.
Signups will go live Sunday after wave release. Before that, the buttons above will redirect you to the homepage.
Are YOU interested in environmental engineering? Have YOU ever wanted to hike with THREE professors at once? Do YOU think lakes should become a feature in more Peaks trips?
If so, you should join us for a chill 4.4-mile hike in Malibu Creek State Park. Enjoy a midday jaunt around the Rock Pools—you might even peep some climbers on the volcanic rock nearby! This is a great hike for anyone looking to get a crash course in ENE or simply escape the USC bubble for a few hours.
PACKING LIST:
H2O
Sunscreen
Lunch/snacks
Sturdy shoes
WE WILL PROVIDE:
Smiles
PROFESSOR: Adam Smith
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Engineering
FUN FACT: If you’ve ever received an email about a COVID outbreak in your dorm’s wastewater… you can thank Dr. Smith’s research team for the info.
Dr. Adam Smith is an Associate Professor in the Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Before coming to USC, he received both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. His Ph.D. research focused on anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treatment of domestic wastewater with an emphasis on the membrane biofilm’s role in treatment as a strategy to improve performance at low temperatures. Dr. Smith received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Marquette University in 2009. His research group evaluates environmental biotechnologies to improve our water infrastructure by recovering resources such as energy, nutrients, and water from waste streams. The group spans multiple research areas including wastewater-based epidemiology, antibiotic resistance, biofilms as biosensors & tools for greenhouse gas mitigation, and PFAS biotransformation.
PROFESSOR: Kelly Sanders
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Engineering
RATE MY PROFESSOR: "On top of giving awesome lectures, she genuinely cares about her students. I couldn’t recommend a class or professor more.”
Dr. Kelly Twomey Sanders is an Associate Professor in the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research aims to ease tensions between human and natural systems, with an emphasis on reducing the environmental impacts of providing energy and water services and anticipating the risks that climate extremes impose on energy systems. She has authored more than two dozen publications and has given dozens of invited talks on topics at the intersection of engineering, science, and policy. Sanders has been recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Today’s Disruptors and Tomorrow’s Brightest Stars and MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 for her contributions to the energy field. In 2019, she was granted an NSF Early CAREER award. Her research and commentary have been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American.
Definitely ask her about the couple hundred-mile hike she just completed in the Andes. She also has a dog named Joules! (10/10 pun.)
PROFESSOR: Dan McCurry
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Engineering
RATE MY PROFESSOR: "Overall an amazing professor and he explains all the concepts really well. Super charismatic and understanding.”
Dr. McCurry is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a Chemistry minor at Stanford in 2016. Before enrolling at Stanford, he earned an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Yale, a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and even worked in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development. Professor McCurry’s research focuses on protecting public health by improving the long-term safety of engineered water sources. He applies the tools of organic and analytical chemistry to water quality challenges, particularly related to chemical and ultraviolet disinfection of wastewater and drinking water. (Click here to learn more about his work!)
Besides the cool research stuff, be sure to ask him about his trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone!
PEAK: Rock Pool and Century Lake Trails
DIFFICULTY: 2/5
SCENERY: Volcanic rock AND a picturesque lake… what more could you ask for?
FUN FACT: The MASH set is right near this hike!
TRIP LEAD: Lauren