Meet Riley Beckham ’24, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Electrical Engineering.
What is the focus of your research?
I am interested in learning more about strengthening electrical grids and making them more resilient against extreme climate events. My recent work involves co-authoring a conference paper which examines how changing/shifting the amount of electricity supplied to an electrical grid during an extreme weather event can help reduce damage to the wider electrical network.
Why did you get involved in research?
I wanted to find a way to apply what I was learning in my engineering classes and find real world examples of the concepts I was being exposed to. Research seemed like a great place to start, and it seemed to me to be a low-risk way to explore my interests. A lot of my good friends were involved in research in their chosen fields, and they seemed to be getting a lot out of it, so I figured why not give it a try? I enjoyed the idea of being able to ask questions without having any clue as to the answer: it was a liberating feeling, and one I credit with reinvigorating my passion for engineering in the latter half of my time at UConn. Continue reading