{"id":88489,"date":"2026-05-07T13:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/?p=88489"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:53:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:53:38","slug":"from-freshman-to-ph-d-student-reflects-back-on-a-decade-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/from-freshman-to-ph-d-student-reflects-back-on-a-decade-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"From freshman to Ph.D., student reflects back on a decade at URI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having spent nearly a decade advancing through all levels of his academic training at URI, Jonathan Villada is completing his Ph.D. this year. He started at the University of Rhode Island as a civil engineering <\/a>undergraduate in 2016 and then went on to obtain an accelerated M.S.<\/a> in 2021. Villada has made a significant impact throughout that time co-authoring multiple peer-reviewed publications, working closely with numerous undergraduate researchers providing guidance, sharing expertise and fostering a supportive and productive research environment in associate professor Sumanta Das<\/a>\u2019 Multiscale Multiphysics Materials Lab. \u201cJonathan embodies the qualities worth recognizing such as academic excellence, dedication to research, mentorship, and a strong connection to URI,\u201d said Das.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villada, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, also spent time performing research in the Water for the World<\/a> as an undergraduate and minored in mathematics. He also spent two weeks in India for a J-term class with Dr. Manbir Sodhi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always been determined to do my best in school, but it was URI Engineering that gave my work a greater sense of purpose by allowing me to apply what I learned in meaningful ways,\u201d said Villada. He has since had the opportunity to travel to several more countries since that trip to India, which sparked his interest in exploring new places and cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe curriculum is designed to expose you to many aspects of your major and minor,\u201d said Villada. \u201cWhile much of the work is learning the content, you are also developing soft skills to be able to think critically and, on your feet, when it comes time for your career. The research was inspiring in so many ways and allowed me to be creative in my field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villada was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE<\/a>) student organization and served as treasurer, was a part of the Graduate Student Association and outdoor club along with being an avid runner in his free time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He plans to continue his research interests as a post-doctorate at a national research lab assisting other scientists in ways to push our society forward. \u201cI think once I work in this sector for many years, I\u2019d like to become a professor in civil and environmental engineering one day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAs I prepare to leave URI, I am proud to have contributed to multiple published research papers, gain valuable experience through internships that helped shape my career interests, and build lifelong friendships that continue to be an important part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having spent nearly a decade advancing through all levels of his academic training at URI, Jonathan Villada is completing his Ph.D. this year. He started at the University of Rhode Island as a civil engineering undergraduate in 2016 and then went on to obtain an accelerated M.S. in 2021. Villada has made a significant impact […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5094,"featured_media":88490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[473,789,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civil-highlights","category-graduate-students","category-student-success"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88491,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88489\/revisions\/88491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}