The Paul Zia Memorial Lecture Series

2026 scholarship recipients

All scholarships are completely funded through the generous donations of sponsors of the Paul Zia Memorial Lecture Series.

JACKELINE APOLONIO SANTOS, MCE Student
Jackeline Campos is a Master of Civil Engineering student in Structural Engineering and Mechanics (SEM) at North Carolina State University, where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. During her time as a graduate student, she has gained hands-on experience with field engineering and structural design through internships. Outside of academics, Jackeline enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, traveling, listening to music, and diving into a good show.

LOGAN BONNER, MCE Student
Logan Bonner is a graduate student in structural engineering at NC State. This past year, he and another student won the 2026 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Big Beam Competition by designing and testing an 18-foot prestressed concrete beam. He also completed a directed study under Dr. Gregory Lucier conducting four tests studying the effects of air-entrainment on the shear capacity of concrete beams. Prior to NC State, he graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy with a BS in Civil Engineering then served four years at sea aboard Coast Guard cutters. Upon graduation, he will become a project manager in the Coast Guard’s civil engineering program.

RJ THOMAS KLEIN, MCE Student
RJ Klein is studying structural engineering as a graduate student at North Carolina State University. Before entering the graduate school, he completed his BS in Civil Engineering, where he conducted research under Dr. Abhinav Gupta focused on the automatic detection of design changes between BIM and FEA models. In addition to his academics, he has gained experience at a local consulting firm focusing on industrial steel design. Outside of academics he enjoys training for triathlons and camping.

PARKER THOMAS STONE, MCE Student
Parker Stone is a Master’s student in Structural Engineering, who previously completed his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at NC State. Parker has experience outside of academics in bridge construction, residential estimating, and structural design. After graduation Parker plans to return to the engineering firm he previously interned at in Raleigh, as a structural engineer working to design vertical structures. Outside of work and academics Parker enjoys hiking, playing golf, and spending time with friends and family.

EMAN ABDULLAH, PhD Student
Eman Abdullah is a Ph.D. student in Structural Engineering at NCSU, where her research focuses on the seismic behavior and local buckling of steel structures and on developing improved approaches to slenderness limits under cyclic loading. Her research has been recognized with the Vinnakota Award from the Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC). Eman previously earned her master's degree in Structural Engineering at NC State as a Fulbright Scholar. Beyond her research, she is passionate about supporting students and sharing opportunities, actively contributing to the Fulbright community, mentoring students in engineering education, and inspiring engineers to navigate academic and professional opportunities.

PAUL ACUÑA, PhD Student
Paul Acuña is a Ph.D. candidate in Structural Engineering at NC State University under the guidance of Dr. Rudi Seracino. His doctoral research focuses on using fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as corrosion-resistant reinforcement for concrete bridges and has included material quality-control testing, field coordination, and the design of full-scale experiments supporting the Harkers Island Bridge Replacement project. Beyond his research, Paul has mentored undergraduate researchers and served in leadership roles with the ACI and EERI student chapters and the Latin American Student Association, and he plans to pursue a career in bridge and marine structural engineering. Originally from Ecuador, Paul enjoys soccer, riding motorcycles, traveling, and outdoor adventures.

HUNTER HAYDEN BOWMAN, PhD Student
Hunter Bowman is a Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University under the supervision of Dr. Abhinav Gupta and Dr. Kevin Han. His research focuses on structural dynamics and computer visualization applications for the inspection of nuclear facilities, including nondestructive testing (NDT) of concrete for condition assessment and the automated processing of Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR) data. His research spans across experimental and analytical studies including image processing and inference. Outside of academics, he has advised and mentored the ASCE student chapter for steel and timber bridge competitions. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and catching a movie in theaters.

EUGENIA CAMPOS CARRANZA, PhD Student
Eugenia is a Ph.D. Candidate in structural and earthquake engineering advised by Dr. Mervyn Kowalsky. She previously earned her master’s degree in Disaster Management at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Japan. Her current research focuses on the dynamic behavior of bridge piers reinforced with high strength steel. She has conducted sixteen shake table tests, generating data that will support the efforts of transportation agencies, including Alaska DOT&PF and CALTRANS, to safely implement Grade 80 reinforcing steel in seismic bridge piers. Eugenia is actively involved in the earthquake engineering community as a member of the EERI Student Leadership Council and ACI Committee 341. Outside of academics, she enjoys running, exploring nature, and traveling with her husband. She is currently preparing for her greatest adventure yet: becoming a mom.

RUTH FABIOLA CLAURE SOLIZ, PhD Student
Faby Claure is a Ph.D. candidate in Structural Engineering at NC State University, advised by Dr. Mervyn Kowalsky. Her research focuses on improving the estimation of seismic displacement demands in reinforced concrete bridges by investigating the influence of damping model selection through shake table tests and nonlinear time history analyses. She also contributes to a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project focused on improving seismic design practices for bridges. Faby is serving as Secretary-in-Training and a voting member for ACI Committee 341, Performance-Based Seismic Design of Concrete Bridges, and as an associate member of ACI Committee 374, Performance-Based Seismic Design of Concrete Buildings. Originally from Bolivia, she holds a M.S. in SE from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, and a B.S. in CE from Universidad Privada Boliviana in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Faby enjoys traveling, photography, dancing, and family time.

MD. MAHMUDUL HASAN PATHIK, PhD Student
Md. Mahmudul Hasan Pathik is a Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering, specializing in mechanics and materials under the guidance of Dr. Tasnim Hassan. His research focuses on understanding how structural materials behave under the combined effects of mechanical loading and corrosion in high-temperature molten-salt environments. As part of his research, Pathik has developed a novel in-situ molten-salt mechanical testing system to evaluate material performance under these coupled conditions. His work also explores data-driven methods for predicting molten-salt corrosion and constitutive modeling approaches that account for corrosion-induced material degradation at high-temperatures. Through these efforts, he aims to advance how materials are tested and modeled for next-generation nuclear and high-temperature energy systems. In his free time, he enjoys playing cricket, volleyball, and badminton.