January 30, 2006 Vol. 77, no. 3S

WORK ETHIC: “As an undergraduate, it’s hard to know what’s out there in terms of opportunities,” says Sigrida Reinis, reflecting on her career path. “I recommend going out and working after graduation, before starting graduate school. Try not to limit yourself. The world is a bigger place than you think.” (Photo provided by Sigrida Reinis)

Real World Engineering: CEE alumna finds great value in her Ph.D.

Sigrida Reinis (B.S.’84, M.E.’89, Ph.D.’97 CEE) likes to see things done right. When the Navy dragged its feet cleaning up the decommissioned shipyard Hunters Point in south San Francisco, Reinis held those feet to the fire.

“It was ridiculous what the Navy was trying to get away with,” the senior environmental engineer says. “We worked with city officials to help them take a stand and negotiate with the Navy for the best technical solution. Now, Hunters Point is being cleaned up to meet current environmental standards. It was the right thing for the community.”

Reinis works at Treadwell & Rollo, a geotechnical-environmental engineering consulting firm with offices in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento. Among her many projects, she has also helped the Presidio Land Trust complete a closure of two landfills there.

Berkeley graduate degrees have been a key part of her success, she says. “My Ph.D. in construction engineering and management has allowed me to carve out a unique niche within environmental engineering and within this firm.”

Reinis was not Ph.D.-bound as an undergraduate. “School was brutal,” she says. “What got me through were good friends.”

And the promise of a good job. Through contacts she had made, Reinis landed at Geomatrix Consultants, another Bay Area geotechnical-environmental engineering consulting firm. After a couple of years, her managers urged her to go back for a master’s degree to help her advance her career. It was a tough decision and a tough haul; she continued to work, putting herself through school. Then, incredibly, with CEE professor Bill Ibbs’s encouragement, she stayed for a Ph.D. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve done,” she says. But worth it in the end.

Hear more from Reinis and other alumni panelists at Real World Engineering on Thursday, February 2, at 4:15 p.m. in Bechtel Engineering Center.

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