People

Josephine Voigt Carstensen

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Josephine Carstensen leads the top+ad group. She is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology. Josephine has received several awards including the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and the CEE Masheeh Excellence in Teaching Award. 

Josephine earned a PhD and a MSE in Civil Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and holds a MSc and BSc in Building Structures from the Technical University of Denmark. 

Ernest Ching

Masters of Engineering Candidate

Ernest Ching is a Master of Engineering student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at MIT. His research focuses on topology optimization in multi-material trusses, and he is interested in the application of topology optimization in real-world designs. Ernest graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with a concentration in Structural Engineering and Materials in 2019.

Grace Melcher

Masters of Engineering Candidate

Grace Melcher is a Chicago native and I went to undergrad in CEE at MIT where she graduated in 2019. During her time in undergrad she rowed for the varsity crew team and continued to assistant coach during her MEng year as well.

Grace is interested in 3D printed shells. For her M.Eng. thesis she has designed a topology-optimized dome and is investigating its ability to resist asymmetric loads.

Daniel "Camp" Seats

Masters of Engineering Candidate

Daniel Campbell Seats, goes by Camp, is a Master of Engineering student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at MIT. His research looks to produce design workflows to discover forms of truss structures made from reused structural elements by use of computational graphic statics. He is interested in how thoughtful and thorough engineering may contribute to reductions in the environmental impact, and increases in structural efficiency, and aesthetic quality. Camp graduated from Gonzaga University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in structures.

Shiyao Sun

Masters of Engineering Candidate

Shiyao Sun is a Master of Engineering student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at MIT. Shiyao is passionate about studying structural engineering in the context of design and architecture. She believes the intimate collaboration between disciplines will facilitate the evolution of structural engineers’ role in developing and defining forms. Her research focuses on how topology optimization improves the efficiency of deployable structures in applications of retractable roofs, emergency shelters, deployable bridges etc. Prior to MIT, Shiyao graduated from the University of Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a primary focus in structures.