Logan Pierce Email and Phone Number

Analyze best practices to promote the deployment of electric vehicles, critically assessing the role of regulations, incentives, and charging infrastructure. Quantify energy-saving, emission-reduction, and cost implications of electric vehicle technologies. Collect data and maintain databases on vehicle technology data. Help facilitate policy and technical exchanges for policymakers.

In the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University I managed the maintenance of department facilities, assisted with multiple civil engineering research projects, adapted and retrofitted lab and departmental spaces to allow for the continuation of research despite a major on-campus construction project, and even constructed a wooden bench to beautify the department.Under the guidance of the department’s lab engineer I performed continuous inspection, upkeep, and repair of air conditioning units, electrical wiring, computer equipment, and furniture. I organized lab and research equipment and rearranged department spaces for extracurricular study and research that led to increased student use.Due to a renovation and construction project within the department, I had to transform department space not usually used for research into make-shift laboratories where that research could continue while renovations were completed. I coordinated with the Mosites construction company to stay abreast of the logistics of the construction project and to avoid any disruptions to the day-to-day functions of the department.Once the lab spaces were prepared, I helped to transport, set up, test the functionality of, and operate technical instruments and equipment used in a number of civil engineering research projects. These included sensors, amplifiers, and associated computer software to perform ultrasonic spectroscopy on materials used in wastewater treatment tanks as an alternative method to assess degradation. To retrofit the “lab” appropriately for the experiments being performed, I had to engineer a few rigs using both woodworking and 3D printing. For another project, I operated a cement mixer and electro-hydraulic compression test machine to first form and then measure the compressive strength of concrete cylinders. I had previous academic experience working with this equipment from my courses in materials testing and soil mechanics.

Being an alumnus of both the SAMS Class of 2012 and 2013, I felt compelled to rejoin the program staff in 2017 to help mentor the upcoming generation of minority leaders in STEM. My role as RA was two-fold: one was to effectively serve as a camp counselor and tutor for over 100 pre-college students, and the other was to work as an administrative assistant in the Carnegie Mellon Advising Resource Center (CMARC) the office that ran the program.SAMS provides underrepresented students with the opportunity to take collegiate courses, work on hands-on engineering projects, and to develop mastery of concepts in higher-level math and science. Structured like a traditional college experience, in addition to a world-class curriculum, the program brings with it all the academic, emotional, and social pressures of college amplified because of the age of the students. As RA and an engineering student myself, I helped tutor students after their classes reviewing concepts in calculus, differential equations, physics, and computer science and provided them with emotional support throughout the course of the program.While students were in class, I developed, planned, and organized educational trips and other social events to enhance the program experience and to give students a glimpse into life in Pittsburgh. This work included budgeting for materials, writing proposals to secure funding for trips, coordinating transportation, and managing logistics on the day-of to ensure students made it safely to and from off-campus sites.As an administrative assistant in CMARC, I managed student academic records and behavior reports in a digital database, prepared program documentation and presentations for students, and managed email and telecommunications from parents, program staff, and third-party vendors.

During my gap year, I took my first job at Smart & Final and was thrown into a fast-paced retail work environment where I had to adapt quickly and learn on the job. Over the course of about three months, I acquitted myself well, gaining progressively more responsible experience—from initial janitorial work to assisting with inventory management and logistics. My promotional path was limited only by my scheduled transition to college.I began with mundane tasks such as mopping aisles, cleaning restrooms, and organizing shopping carts in the parking lot. I soon developed an efficient work plan freeing myself up to additionally perform inspections and maintenance of store facilities and equipment. As I became more familiar with the store, I began to help stock shelves and monitor inventory, reporting back to managers when product was low and needed to be ordered. For certain products, maintaining supply and coordinating delivery logistics became my sole responsibility. On the front end I would observe and anticipate demand, ordering stock when supplies were low or in advance of upcoming sales, and on the back end I would receive and process product deliveries and assist with the transport and storage of inventory.In addition to these functional responsibilities, I strengthened my interpersonal and customer service skills through hundreds of daily customer interactions. Our client base was diverse which required me to effectively communicate in a variety of ways to answer customers’ questions or assist them with finding everything they needed. This included using my proficiency in Spanish to translate for non-English speaking clients, escorting blind patrons around the store to complete their shopping, or resolving conflicts between customers who were competing for products on sale.All in all, my role as retail clerk was an opportunity for professional growth and to develop the flexibility and resourcefulness needed in any work environment.

My role on the Lick admissions team was to promote and market Lick to prospective families and as well as oversee and manage student and parent volunteers at admissions events and open houses. As a recent alumni, I brought unique perspective that I was able to leverage to network with and draw interest from a highly motivated and diverse pool of students. With my help on the team, the Lick admissions department pulled in its largest number of applicants ever to that point. Through open house pitches and conversations with families I was able to develop strong presentation, sales, and interpersonal skills, including public speaking, storytelling, customer service, negotiation, objection handling, and problem solving. Behind the scenes, I helped to coordinate event logistics making sure volunteers were recruited and food and materials were ordered, transported, delivered, and set up on time. Outside of major events, I served as an administrative assistant within the Lick admissions office organizing files, collecting and maintaining student records in our digital database, and communicating with families to schedule visits and testing dates.