Student Spotlight: MIke Uduebor
Mike Uduebor chose UNC Charlotte because not only was it in an ideal urban location, but it also fit his research interests. Mike met UNC Charlotte faculty member Dr. Vincent Ogunro when Dr. Ogunro visited his previous institution in Nigeria. Dr. Ogunro was instrumental in introducing Mike to his now research supervisor, Dr. John Daniels. Mike is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Geotechnical Engineering and will be graduating this semester. After he graduates, Mike plans on going into either consulting or academia. Mike loves teaching and solving problems and believes his purpose is to make life better.
Mike’s current research focuses on mitigating frost heave, a perennial problem in cold regions as well as areas with seasonal cold weather, by engineering water repellency in soils. His study is funded by the National Science Foundation and involves laboratory, field, and modeling studies. Mike’s research is supervised by Dr. John Daniels.
When Mike was growing up, he always wanted to be a doctor or a member of the clergy, but his mother realized he was more gifted with numbers, concepts, and that he had an amazing short-term memory. His mother enrolled him in engineering, but it wasn’t until after Mike completed his first internship that he decided to pursue a career in engineering. “I was able to see the immense potential and benefit an engineer could bring to society. Also, standing beside large equipment and working on the field site got me hooked on geotechnical engineering” he says,”I have gotten to love it even more since then.”
Mike has served in various roles in numerous organizations throughout his time at UNC Charlotte. Some of these include: founding the Nigerian Student Association (NSA) in 2021, being a Cultural Ambassador for the International Student and Scholar Office during the 2020-21 school year, Vice President of the Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) in 2021-22, Chair of the Graduate Research Symposium (GRS) Committee in 2021-22.
Outside of classes and his research, Mike enjoys playing sports and spending time outside doing activities such as hiking and going to the beach. When he is stuck indoors, he enjoys doing some reading, watching Sci-Fi movies, and playing video games.
Mike is a fantastic example for students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Mike successfully defended his dissertation in November of this year. Congratulations on all of your success and your upcoming graduation, we wish you all the best!