Ep 31 - Engineering Greatness with Aakriti Khadka + Tara Cavalline
From Engineering Greatness by American Concrete Institute
June 10, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 31
About this episode
Aakriti Khadka and Tara Cavalline discuss their journeys in civil engineering and the importance of infrastructure resilience.
In this episode, Aakriti Khadka, a recent PhD graduate from North Carolina State University, and Tara Cavalline, PhD., P.E., of UNC Charlotte, share their journeys into civil engineering and concrete materials research. Tara reflects on her path from graduate research at Penn State to a career in structural forensics, as well as the challenges of completing a PhD while teaching, working, and raising a family. Aakriti discusses how Nepal’s devastating 2015 earthquake inspired her interest in structural safety and resilience, leading to doctoral research focused on the behavior of large-scale concrete bridges. Together, they explore the importance of infrastructure resilience, lessons learned from recent natural disasters, and the challenges of designing durable bridges in demanding environments. The conversation also highlights the role of mentorship, professional involvement, and ACI programs in supporting students and early-career engineers as they build their careers. Check out the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/53tO-eBLagU Engineering Greatness is produced by Association Briefings.
People in this episode
Guests: Aakriti Khadka, Tara Cavalline
Topics covered
- civil engineering
- concrete materials research
- infrastructure resilience
- natural disasters
- mentorship
- early-career engineers
Keywords
- civil engineering
- concrete bridges
- infrastructure resilience
- natural disasters
- mentorship
- PhD
- structural forensics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: North Carolina State University, UNC Charlotte, Penn State
Places: Nepal
More episodes of Engineering Greatness
- Ep 30 - Engineering Greatness with Héctor Montilla-Peña + Jocivan Cabrera · March 4, 2026 · 28 min
- Ep 29 - Engineering Greatness with Dr. Jialuo He + Dr. Lori Tunstall · December 17, 2025 · 35 min
- Ep 28 - Engineering Greatness with Destry Kenning + Chris Garcia · October 16, 2025 · 28 min
- Ep 27 - Engineering Greatness with Emilia Clavijo + Amanda Angelo, FACI · August 20, 2025 · 32 min
- Ep 26 - Engineering Greatness with Danny Smyl + Stephanie Paal · June 25, 2025 · 34 min
- Ep 25 - Engineering Greatness with Maria Juenger + Megan Voss-Warner · April 23, 2025 · 37 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Engineering Greatness podcast page.