MEMBER PROFILE Yuderka Trinidad Gonzalez, Ph.D. Candidate, on a Dynamic Path Yuderka Trinidad Gonzalez is a Fulbright Scholar working on a Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering at Iowa State University under the tutelage and guidance of Vern Schaefer, Ph.D., a name familiar to DFI members and throughout the geoprofession. This first member profile of a student reflects a snapshot of her life. It falls far short from telling the story of this remarkable young native of the Dominican Republic whose career is replete with prestigious awards, scholarships, original research and published papers. Through the process of getting to know Trinidad Gonzalez a little better, I have marveled at the depth and breadth of her experience, her level of motivation, and her fascination with the subjects she has studied and continues to pursue. Perhaps most importantly, I have enjoyed getting to know her underlying sense of proportion and joy. Life Before Iowa State The title of the dissertation Trinidad Gonzalez is “in process” on is Statistical Assessment of Mobilized Shear Strength in Stiff Fissured Clays. How she has gotten to this point in her career is a delightful and inspiring story of intellect, hard work and the inspiration of her mother, Nancy Gonzalez, who was a school teacher for 15 years before her retirement due to health- related issues. As Trinidad Gonzalez recounts, “Being the daughter of a teacher, I always wanted to strive for excellence, to bring something home for her to be proud of.” It was not easy for her mom being a “I hope that my participation helps encourage more students, and specifically women, to join DFI.” single mother of four. She adds, “My mother taught me to work hard for the things I wanted to accomplish in life. ‘Once you set your mind to a goal, you go for it,’ she said.” Setting her mind to things and fulfilling goals is exactly what Trinidad Gonzalez is about. In addition to Schaefer, other important influences in her life have included her undergraduate professor, Omar Segura, under whom she studied foundation engineering at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. She completed an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, cum laude, in 2009. In 2015, she began her master’s degree at Iowa State, graduating with a 3.94 GPA in 2017. Working in the Profession So where was she between 2009 and 2015? Prior to going on with advanced academic pursuits, Gonzalez more than dipped-her- toe into the waters of private sector engineering. From 2008 to 2010, she worked with Guillen Rosa y Asociados in Santo Domingo. Her areas of responsibility included conducting geotechnical analyses for foundation construction, computer modelling of civil structures and devel- oping budgets for project proposals. The next step in her career was with Odebrecht in La Romana, Santiago province, and in Baní, also in the Dominican Republic. While at Odebrecht until 2015, she took on multiple assignments in design and construction. Her experience included everything from conducting sophisticated design analyses to being an on-site project supervisor. Those experiences provided her with a bird’s-eye view of everything that goes into developing a successful civil works project. Following her work in the Dominican Republic, she spent 2018 and 2019 in an internship with the law firm of Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, Missouri, and in AUTHOR S. Scot Litke, Hon. D.GE DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2020 • 71
