Brittany Shepherd

Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 February 2010 04:33 Written by Andrew Lai Thursday, 30 July 2009 05:01

Engineering? Many students come to Australia to study our history and culture, such subjects studied can be in the arts / general education. However some students take subjects that are directly relevant to their degrees - it takes courage to study overseas and to take a full course load and also to take core subjects, it's something not often done. Find out why Brittany has chosen to study at the University of Western Australian for her Civil Engineering degree back in Nashville. 

Brittany at University of Western Australia

• U.S. University: Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN
• Why did you choose to come to Australia and study? Firstly, I felt very comfortable that Australia was an English speaking country so it would make my transition a bit easier. Secondly, I saw Australia as being a very different cultural experience for me from that of the USA.
• Why did you choose the University of Western Australia? WA is known to be among the top universities in Australia.  It is also known for its very high standards in Engineering courses. Its Engineering classes fitted in well with my course back in the USA.
  
• USA Degree: Civil Engineering
• What’s your favorite subject?  I am really enjoying the “Digital Design” course that I am taking at UWA right now.  It is very interesting and fun subject to take.

About Brittany

• Personal Interests: Scrapbooking, Soccer and Running.
• Last CD you bought?: Jet Black Angelis by Eli Young Band
• Last movie you saw? The Wedding Crashers
• Last meal you bought?: Fish and Chips in Fremantle
• What do you do to relax? Read and also running.
• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Auschwich in Germany. I would love to see the history of it but it would also be a very moving experience.
• What’s the funniest moment you have had so far? I thought that it would be a really good idea to go and dip my feet in the Indian Ocean on a sunny beautiful day here in Perth, the photos I believed would be very memorable for years to come. All was going well, the sun was shining and the water looking superb. I had my back to the ocean ready for my friend to take the photo, the next moment all I felt was a giant wave pounding down on me. Well I gather you can guess what the photo came out like. It will definitely be one that I will remember.
• Where have you previously travelled? Mexico, Spain, UK, France, Canada and Singapore.
• What will you remember about being in Australia? Warm winters and beautiful scenery.
  

Classes

Environmental Fluid Mechanics

This unit provides an introduction to fluid statics and fluid dynamics. The topics covered include fluid properties, hydrostatics, bulk equations of motion, the Bernoulli equation, dimensional analysis, experimental design, pipe flow, pipe networks, the Navier-Stokes equations and plane flow. There is also an introduction to fundamental concepts of fluid mechanics such as turbulence, waves and drag.
More information: ENVE2602

Geomechanics 

The objective of the course is to establish a framework for understanding the strength and deformation properties of soil, and to become familiar with standard laboratory testing techniques and field-based site investigation methods. The first section deals with compression and consolidation of soil. The second section deals with soil strength. The underlying framework for this section is that of critical state soil mechanics, which links the strength and stiffness of soil to the density and effective stress level. This will lead to an understanding of the stress state of soil in situ, typical strength profiles (depending on geological stress history), and stress changes that may arise due to construction, or may be imposed by a laboratory or field test. The final section of the course focuses on site investigation techniques.
More information: CIVL2122

Digital Design I

Digital media have substantially superseded traditional media in the production of technical, design and publication documents. This unit introduces students to a wide range of skills which allows and encourages multimedia experimentation in, as well as an understanding of, architectural drawing conventions. Many of these same skills form the basis necessary for competent technical drawing and visualization, though the focus of this unit is on familiarity with a range of digital tools rather than precision in the use of any particular tool. The techniques introduced include two-dimensional vector drafting, raster image manipulation, graphic layout management, file management, and paper printing.
More information: ARCT1141

Statistics A

This unit provides a solid foundation in statistical methods for students in the sciences (e.g. agricultural, biological, environmental, medical and physical) and social sciences. It covers the principles and applications of statistical reasoning, the use of a statistical software package, and applications of statistical methods. The unit may be taken as part of a major in Applied Statistics. Topics include data exploration and display, modeling univariate data, multivariate data; probability concepts and probability distributions; inference including point estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing; design of experiments; chi-squared tests, contingency tables; linear regression; and analysis of variance. A widely used statistical package is employed for calculations.

More information: STAT1510