Undergraduate student Sebastian Villa has been named the inaugural winner of the Thomas Wysockey Civil Engineering Scholarship.
Villa, a former United States Marine, has conducted research on induced seismicity in energy technologies under the guidance of Associate Professor Haiying Huang. The scholarship will help pay for his final semester of study in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).
Villa said the scholarship will help him realize his lifelong goal to become a civil engineer. He plans to focus his career on deep foundations, construction or energy exploration and production.
Established by the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust, the scholarship honors Thomas J. Wysockey, chairman emeritus of Thatcher Foundations. According to DFI, Wysockey joined Thatcher in 1957, four years after he graduated from The Citadel with a B.S. in civil engineering. He was actively involved in several industry associations.
Villa will receive the award in October at the 39th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Atlanta.