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Name: Alejandro Caicedo Ramirez
Hometown: Barcelona, Spain
Advisor: Mark Hernandez

My Path to Engineering

I was born in Colombia in 1988. When I was 7 years old, my parents decided to move to Barcelona (Spain) in search for a better life. This decision opened many educational doors that could otherwise may have remained closed. Since I can remember, I have always wanted to find the reason for things, with a special emphasis in chemical reactions and biological phenomena. My curious nature lead me to pursue a university degree in chemical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. There, I came to appreciate the key role water and wastewater treatment has in our daily life and how important it is for social, environmental, and economic progress. After graduation, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology at the University of Barcelona in order to better understand microbes and microbiological processes relevant to water treatment.

In 2012, Spain was in the middle of a deep economic crisis. Having just graduated from my master’s degree, my professional options were limited. While I had the option to find a job in Europe, I also believed I could still learn and be better prepared to face wastewater treatment challenges if I decided to pursue a PhD in civil/environmental engineering. Then a “once in a lifetime” opportunity came along: the possibility to conduct graduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. This opportunity came in the form of the Balsells Fellowship, a program created between the Government of Catalonia, ���������� Boulder and the Balsells Foundation to offer students from Catalonia the opportunity to conduct graduate level studies in the engineering field. Since that moment, I have been a PhD student in civil/environmental engineering at ���������� Boulder.

Why ���������� Boulder?

The environmental engineering program at ���������� ranks among the best in the nation and worldwide. The faculty are truly concerned for the student’s success and the research topics tend to be multidisciplinary and applied, factors that I considered key for my future as a professional engineer.

Pursuing a PhD at ���������� has been the best experience in my life. Academically speaking, I love the facilities, resources available, and the productive collaboration between research groups. Also, the faculty and staff are exceptional and engaging. Personally speaking, I love the diverse international community, the outdoors and sports culture, and the strong environmental awareness of Boulder.