Lydia Birknes in braids looking up to the camera smiling

Lydia's story

Mechanical engineering major Lydia Birknes '29 dipped her toes into the world of civil engineering and had the opportunity to work with a variety of people.

"My internship research focused on sediment management of the Pozzillo Dam—Sicily's largest dam and reservoir. It has lost 20% of its storage over the past 60 years due to sediment accumulation. I worked on projections of the dam's storage under different scenarios and looked at ways to prevent erosion and thus sediment accumulation upstream of the reservoir. I created a land-use map of the water catchment using GIS and identified the best areas for implementing erosion-prevention measures. My research was almost like an engineering consultant, so it showed me a new application of engineering as well."

Image to the right: Lydia (seated second from left) and her team presenting their Pozzillo Dam research

"I learned a lot about having confidence in my choices. A lot of this was social, and learning when to be on my own and when to be with others, but this also translated to the workplace. I want to radiate the same supportive and collaborative spirit the Italians had into my everyday life in work. It not only makes everyone happier along with the environment, but also myself."

Lydia Birknes '29

MIT students in yellow helmets huddled around discussing something

	  	  Image caption
	  	  
	  	  Lydia (facing back) visiting the Pozzillo Dam with fellow MIT interns Hannah Gally and Kareena Shah

	  	  Major & Minor, Class
	  	  
	  	  Mechanical Engineering (2), Class of 2029

	  	  MISTI program
	  	  
	  	  Internship

	  	  MISTI host
	  	  
	  	  Universita di Catania

	  	  Location
	  	  
	  	  Catania, Italy

Lydia's story

Tri's story