Curriculum Vitae

Click here to download my CV.
Last updated: March 1, 2021

Click here to download my résumé.
Last updated: December 21, 2020

Kimberly Huynh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
202 O'Brien Hall
Berkeley, CA 94709
Contact

Education

Ph.D. (Expected 2021)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Advisor: Dr. Evan Variano

Master of Science (2014)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Course Specialization: Energy and Sustainability
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)

Bachelor of Science (2014), completed the Honors Program
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
Honors Thesis: Visualizing dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater flow using pressure sensitive paint
Advisor: Dr. Aaron Packman

Work Experience

Graduate Student Researcher (2015 - Present)
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Advisor: Dr. Evan Variano
Developed, budgeted, and executed three separate fieldwork campaigns to measure greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands in Arkansas and British Columbia, Canada. Organized travel logistics and data-sharing with collaborators at two other universities. Prototyped and deployed Raspberry Pi-based field measurement tools. Wrote machine-vision analysis routines in MATLAB to assess large environmental data sets. Trained and worked closely with five undergraduate students to complete laboratory work.

(Read an interview about my work here.)

Content Editor (2019 - Present)
GiveWell
Oakland, CA
Developed summaries of conversations between domain experts and GiveWell, a nonprofit that assesses and recommends high-impact charities. Fact-checked and edited research and intervention reports.

Summer Research Analyst (2019)
GiveWell
San Francisco, CA
Examined financial reports and public health surveys from top charities. Prepared information used for charity and grant recommendations, which exceeded $100 million in total money moved in 2019.

NSF East Asia Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship (2015)
Institute of Environmental Science and Research
Christchurch, New Zealand
Advisors: Dr. Aaron Packman, Murray Close
Initiated a research collaboration between Northwestern University and researchers in New Zealand to investigate whether pre-treating groundwater wells with sonication would improve microbial community analysis. Conducted fieldwork and microbial analysis. Presented research at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and to the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi.

Murphy Institute Scholar (2011 - 2014)
Northwestern University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Evanston, IL
Advisor: Dr. Aaron Packman
Selected for the Murphy Institute Scholar program, a four-year research initiative open to the top sixteen engineering students at Northwestern University. Completed honors thesis on visualizing oxygen concentrations in groundwater using pressure-sensitive paint. Awarded the top three honors at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium: Best Poster Presentation; Best Presentation from Northwestern University; and Best Presentation in Math, Engineering, and Physics.

Great Lakes Summer Fellowship (2014)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER)
Ann Arbor, MI
Advisors: Dr. Eric Anderson and Dr. Dimitry Beletsky
Developed data visualizations of hydrodynamic information from the Great Lakes. Rewrote legacy code from a proprietary software-based language to Python in order to reduce costs, enable mass collaboration, and improve software development practices.

Project Manager (2011 - 2014)
Engineers for a Sustainable World at Northwestern University
Evanston, IL and Santiago, Chile
Advisor: Dr. Aaron Packman
Managed a diverse team of ten students in developing and deploying a water filtration device in a Chilean village. Organized field logistics and budget for two trips to Chile. Secured approximately $20,000 in successful grant proposals. Conducted water quality analyses and qualitative research, including surveys and in-depth interviews with stakeholders.

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (2013)
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Civil/Environmental Engineering
Berkeley, CA
Advisor: Dr. Kara Nelson
Awarded a competitive NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates grant to conduct research on amending sand filters with iron to remove viruses and bacteria from drinking water.

Teaching Experience

  • Fall 2020: Graduate Student Instructor for Intro to Fluid Mechanics, University of California, Berkeley. Wrote original problems using HTML and Python to enable homework and exam questions that randomized and auto-graded themselves. Applied best practices for equity and inclusion when preparing class resources for remote instruction.

  • Fall 2017 - Spring 2018: Graduate Student Instructor for Communications for Engineering Leaders, University of California, Berkeley. Taught four discussion sections to a total of 50 graduate students, held office hours,and assisted the lead instructors in curriculum development.

  • Spring 2016: Co-instructor for Writing Fluidly about Flow, University of California, Berkeley. Devised course material, graded assignments, and occasionally lectured.

  • Fall 2015: Graduate Student Instructor for Intro to Fluid Mechanics, University of California, Berkeley. Led discussion sections, held office hours, and graded assignments.

  • Summer 2013: Summer Fellowship Coordinator, Engineers for a Sustainable World. Developed month-long curriculum on environmental sustainability for six undergraduate students. Advised student projects (e.g. constructing a campus rain garden and designing a solar-powered charging station).

Presentations

  1. Huynh K, Champenois B, Grehm M, Variano E, “Correlating gas exchange across the air-water interface to water-side velocity statistics," Oral presentation at: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2020 Dec 8.

  2. Huynh K, Runkle B, Reba M, Johnson M, Variano E, “Automated measurements of night-time stirring in diverse wetlands using a custom underwater camera," Oral presentation at: 22nd International Physical Processes in Natural Waters Workshop, 2019 Sep 11; Yichang, China.

Publications

  1. Close M, Abraham P, Humphries B, Webber J, Fenwick G, Howard S, Huynh K, Grace T, Cowey E, Dupont P-Y, Weaver L, “Use of sonication for enhanced sampling of attached microbes from groundwater systems,” Groundwater, 2020.

  2. Huynh K, Packman A, "Visualizing dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater flow using
    pressure sensitive paint (PSP)", Scientia (University of Chicago Undergraduate Research Journal),
    Abstract, 2014.

  3. Song J, Au K, Huynh K, Packman A, "Biofilm responses to smooth flow fields and chemical gradients in novel microfluidic flow cells", Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2014.

Posters

  1. Huynh K, Suvocarev K, Reavis C, Reba M, Runkle B, Variano E, ``Thermally-driven transport of dissolved methane and carbon dioxide through the water column in a subtropical rice field," Poster session presented at: 20th International Physical Processes in Natural Waters Workshop, 2017 Aug 22; Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station, Finland.

  2. Huynh K, Suvocarev K, Reavis C, Reba M, Runkle B, Variano E, "The role of surface water flow in gas fluxes from a subtropical rice field", Poster session presented at: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2016 Dec 13; San Francisco, CA USA.

  3. Huynh K, Suvocarev K, Reavis C, Reba M, Runkle B, Variano E, "Hydrodynamic transport of methane through the water column in wetlands", Poster session presented at: Graduate Climate Conference, 2016 Dec 30; Pack Forest, WA USA.

  4. Huynh K, Inglis A, Webber J, Weaver L, Abraham P, Packman A, Close M, "Influence of depth on enhancing biofilm extraction from aquifers through in-situ sonication", Poster session presented at: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2015 Dec 14; San Francisco, CA USA.

  5. Huynh K, Salus A, Xie M, Roche, K, Packman, A, "Measuring spatial and temporal heterogeneity
    of dissolved oxygen in streambed sediments using pressure sensitive paint (PSP)", Poster session presented at: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2014 Dec 17; San Francisco, CA USA.

  6. Huynh K, Packman A, "Visualizing dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater flow using pressure sensitive paint (PSP)", Oral presentation session presented at: Northwestern University Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2014 Jun 1; Evanston, IL USA.

  7. Huynh K, Packman A, "Visualizing dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater flow using pressure sensitive paint (PSP)", Poster session presented at: Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2014 Apr 5; Chicago, IL USA.

  8. Huynh K, Packman A, "Visualizing dissolved oxygen concentration in groundwater flow using pressure sensitive paint (PSP)", Poster session presented at: Illinois Section American Waterworks Association WaterCON, 2014 Mar 18; Springfield, IL USA.

  9. Huynh K, Velazquez E, Gardner A, Packman A, "Project Thirst: Bringing Safe, Clean Water to
    the Driest Place on Earth", Poster session presented at: Northwestern Global Health Symposium,
    2013 Feb 12; Evanston, IL USA.

Media Coverage

“The Grad Activist: Resources for Science Advocacy." Inside Higher Ed. 2018 Nov 20.

"Engineers for a Sustainable World Students Conduct Water Research in Chile." Northwestern University, McCormick School of Engineering News. 2011 Sep 19.

Selected Awards

Grants

Training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  • 2021: EMPOWERing Engineers for Positive Change, Currently completing a voluntary six-hour, evidence-based workshop series on creating inclusive learning environments at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • 2020: Certificate in Remote Instruction, Received 8 weeks of training on high-quality pedagogical approaches and integrating equity and inclusion effectively into remote learning environments. Created and peer-reviewed course material. Invited to serve as a Remote Instruction Leadership Fellow based on excellence.

  • 2019 - 2020: Crisis Line Volunteer, Completed a three-month training program on suicide prevention, trauma-informed care, substance abuse, cultural competency, and mental health concerns. Counseled at least fifty individual callers in distress and assessed them for risk of suicide. Collaborated and empathized with clients to de-escalate high-risk situations. Provided over 200 hours of an essential service over a year to clients primarily from marginalized communities.

  • 2018: Multicultural Education Program & Restorative Justice Inclusivity Certificate Program, Completed a 20-hour program on workplace diversity, unconscious bias, and cross-cultural communication. Applied restorative responses to conflict and microaggressions. Practiced deep listening to promote respect and celebrate differences.

Outreach Related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  • Planning Committee Member, Empowering Women of Color Conference, 2020 - Present

  • Member, Civil/Environmental Engineering for Anti-Racism, 2020 - Present

  • Graduate Volunteer, Asian Pacific American Student Development, 2017 - 2018

  • Graduate Student Volunteer, SMASH Berkeley Networking Night, 2017

  • Volunteer Mentor, YWCA High School Shadow Day, 2017

  • Volunteer Workshop Leader, Northern California Girl Scouts Engineering Fun Day, 2016

  • Programming Sub-committee, Bay Area Graduate Pathways Symposium, 2016

  • Graduate Student Mentor, Bay Area Graduate Pathways Symposium, 2015

  • Alumni Mentor, Chicago Public Schools, 2014

Science Policy

  • Vice President of External Affairs, Science Policy Group at Berkeley (2019 - 2020): Executed high-level decisions on the direction and growth of the Science Policy Group at Berkeley (SPG), a student group of approximately 30 active members. Independently fundraised more than $2,000 for outreach activities. Acted as a liaison between SPG and the National Science Policy Network. Advocated for basic science research and funding by editing op-eds published in The Daily Californian. Maintained SPG's website and social media.

  • Project Manager, Science Meets Science Speaker Series (2019 - 2020): Co-chaired a speaker series on science policy issues such as racial and gender bias in artificial intelligence. Wrote grant proposals, secured speakers, and managed a team of ten students. Planned and executed three separate talks that had at least 75 attendees each. Led follow-up discussions on ethics in science and taught students how to write policy white papers. Co-wrote a policy memo on regulating facial recognition systems.

  • Project Lead, STEMVotes (2018 - 2019): Initiated an effort to improve voter turnout among STEM students at the University of California, Berkeley. Organized voter information nights that included a turnout of approximately 100 attendees. Managed a diverse team of about ten students.

Science Communication

  • Team Leader, Bay Area Scientists in Schools, 2017 - 2018

  • Seminar Coordinator, Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology, 2016 - 2017

  • Demonstration Instructor, California Academy of Sciences NightLife, 2017

  • Demonstration Volunteer, Lawrence Hall of Science, 2017

  • Writer, Berkeley Science Review, 2016

Community Outreach

Software Proficiency

  • Data Analysis: MATLAB, Python, Excel

  • Prototyping and Design: Raspberry Pi, Arduino, NX, Solidworks

  • Image Processing: ImageJ, Adobe Lightroom

  • Communication: LaTeX, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite