Meet our new faculty: Leena Shevade
Fall courses: Engineering Design, Statics, and Strength of Materials
About my work: “My research interests are sustainable water resources, specifically stormwater management using green infrastructure. I work on hydraulics and hydrologic design of green infrastructure and like to adopt an integrated approach of laboratory work, field monitoring, and modeling to develop new designs and to analyze the effectiveness of built infrastructure. My work has been featured in MDPI’s Water journal, Drexel’s internal college publications, and conferences such as AGU, EWRI–LID. I was awarded the Grant A. Harris Fellowship by the Meter Group, among other awards. As cities are implementing nature-based solutions to a wide range of environmental problems, including those associated with climate change, my research is of interest to practitioners as well. I am interested in working with undergraduate researchers and collaborating across departments here at Lafayette to improve green infrastructure resiliency through design to environmental stressors such as natural hazards, climate change, urbanization, and social issues.
“I have been teaching for more than six years as a teaching assistant professor, teaching fellow, and teaching assistant. My aim is to motivate the new generation of professionals that can implement innovative green technologies for the design and construction of sustainable, resilient, and integrated infrastructure to cater to future needs. I worked as a practitioner in the infrastructure business, and my experience covers the complete project life cycle from design to construction phase while working in India for six years, before entering a doctoral program at Drexel University to focus more intensively on green infrastructure for stormwater management.”
My moment of zen: “I enjoy every moment in life and see opportunities in even the difficult times. During this pandemic, I missed the interaction with strangers on public transport, but with this extra time added to my day, I could reconnect with my old colleagues, relatives, and friends. My family learned to connect with the world virtually. We quickly adapted to the new situation replacing indoor swimming with CrossFit training, started camping in the backyards, and attended virtual international summer camps! In the past, many engineering solutions resulted in response to stressful situations (e.g., improvements to sanitation and safe drinking water that resulted from cholera epidemics). While we would all prefer to be meeting face to face and cope with some barriers as we adapt to the current situation, this semester is an opportunity for both students and educators to invent and to test out new approaches in the classroom in support of effective teaching and learning.”
What I love about Lafayette: “Everyone at Lafayette is welcoming and helpful.”