DUNEX Student Spotlight: Laura Szczyrba

Laura Szczyrba is a second year PhD student at the Queen’s University, Geological Sciences & Engineering School in Kingston, Ontario.?Her supervisors at Queen’s are Dr. Ryan Mulligan (coastal engineering) and Dr. Peir Pufahl (sedimentology). Born in Toronto, Ontario, she mainly grew up in Haymarket, Virginia, and it is her goal to be an educator.?

Szczyrba has always been interested in the physics of water motion and stated that she “rowed crew in undergrad and did research on the small-scale hydrodynamics of coral reefs”. She then worked at an engineering firm after graduation and did some flood-response missions with FEMA and credits those experiences to have motivated her to pursue coastal sciences, specifically coastal storm hazards.

Wanting to round out her research skillset with scientific field experience, she applied for the During Nearshore Event Experiment (DUNEX) at USACE FRF at Duck, NC. She worked there for two weeks with Dr. Britt Raubenheimer, Dr. Steve Elgar, and a team of PhD students and research associates.?“I learned so much from my conversations with each of them”, she stated.?“Before DUNEX, I had never deployed sensors in the ocean, although I pull information from sensors all the time to gather boundary conditions and data to validate numerical models. Since I use these sensors remotely, I wanted to become familiar with all aspects of them! I learned that the coastal environment is very challenging to work in and deploy sensors in. Heat, humidity, sand, biofouling, and strong hydrodynamic forces challenge both our abilities as well as the sensors’ abilities,” Szczyrba elaborated.

The skillset Szczyrba brings to DUNEX is her numerical modeling skills and her regulatory experience from working on FEMA flood hazard mapping and the National Flood Insurance Program projects.?“I am passionate about coastal research,” she stated, “and I enjoy translating my results in a socially relevant way so that the information we produce gets into the right hands to make a lasting impact.” At DUNEX, she helped deploy “swash sensors, pressure gauges, subtidal acoustic doppler current profilers, and groundwater current/temperature/depth sensors,” Szczyrba said.?She will use this information as well as data gathered by other DUNEX researchers as part of her dissertation, noting, “My current research focuses on analyzing nearshore surf zone wave angle variability. I use numerical models, combined with remote and in-situ sensors, to explore these processes and impacts from a new perspective.”

Laura Szczyrba tightening t-bolts on the ADCP’s deployed by 
Britt and Steve’s team during DUNEX.        

Szczyrba’s advice to someone interested in coastal science is to “read as much as you can, keep your eyes open for opportunities, and dive in. Never hesitate to apply for opportunities of interest, the application process is a valuable learning experience itself. If you are in undergrad, the best thing you can do is to identify a professor who does research in the field, read their work, take one of their classes, and ask if there are any opportunities to get involved in their research. If you are truly interested in coastal science, the goal is to find a way to turn that interest into passion and, inevitably, you will then find almost limitless amounts of motivation and joy working in the field!”

Her approach to getting future generations to be more involved in finding solutions facing our coastline is to “tap into the energy and curiosity of young water-interested scientists by validating and encouraging their questions. As scientists ourselves, we have a responsibility to share our fascinating knowledge with future generations to get them excited about coastal science and the possibilities of the future,” she said.

   Laura Szczyrba and her dog, Bodie, hiking at a provincial park in Ontario.        

When not in the field or doing scientific work, Szczyrba’s hobbies and interests include playing with her Blue Heeler dog, Bodie, long-distance running, hiking, and camping.?She also crochets a lot. “It is a hobby that my mom, sister, and I got into during COVID, and we have all become hooked!” Szczyrba said.

For more about DUNEX, visit?https://uscoastalresearch.org/dunex.