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Research
Group: An Introduction for Prospective
Students and Postdocs
The Frey Research Group encompasses
research and educational opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate, and
postdoctoral level. The Frey Research Group is international,
including students and alumni of the group from
Undergraduate Research
Experiences. The Frey Research Group has included
numerous undergraduate research assistants, some through Research Experiences
for Undergraduates (REU) programs and some via Undergraduate Research
Awards. Undergraduate students have been
involved closely in field work, analysis of data, and development of models and
software. For undergraduate students
interested in doing research in the Frey group,
NC State University offers undergraduate research awards which provide
financial support for qualified undergraduates on a competitive basis. Anyone interested in applying for such an
award in conjunction with research that could be carried out in the Frey
Research Group is encouraged to contact Dr. Frey early in the Fall of each
academic year. Applications for
undergraduate research awards are typically due early in the fall.
At the
Graduate level, the activities of the Frey
Research Group are exemplified by the final product of scholarly work, which is
the master’s thesis or PhD dissertation.
These are listed below. Nearly
all of the graduate research assistants have produced or contributed to
technical reports as well as conference and journal papers. The research methods range from
computer-based modeling and simulation of process technologies or environmental
systems to field-work involving measurement of real-world vehicle activity,
fuel use, and emissions.
Prospective graduate students who are interested in joining the
Frey Research Group should apply for admission
to the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, and
indicate a preference for the Water Resources and Environmental Engineering
program. In the statement of purpose, it
is helpful to specifically indicate interest in joining Dr. Frey’s group and to
explain relevant background, interests, and examples of ideas for research that
is likely to be of mutual interest.
Financial aid is available in the form of stipend, health insurance, and
tuition but is often highly competitive.
Those seeking financial aid should clearly indicate their interest in a
research assistantship, a teaching assistantship, or either.
The research
program is supported by relevant courses
at both the undergraduate and graduate level. For example, Dr. Frey teaches CE 476/576 Air
Pollution Control, CE 479/579 Air Quality, and CE/NE 772 Environmental Exposure
and Risk Assessment. Graduate students
in Dr. Frey’s group typically take these courses, as well as other courses in
environmental engineering, other engineering disciplines (most typically
chemical engineering), physical and mathematical sciences (e.g., marine, earth,
and atmospheric sciences; statistics), natural resources (e.g., geographic
information systems), and elsewhere within NC State’s 10 schools and
colleges. Students at NC State may
register for classes at
There have
been numerous post-doctoral research
associates (“postdocs”) who have been part of the Frey Research Group. These postdocs have been successful not only
in conducting high quality research and producing contributions to knowledge
via conference presentations, conference papers, journal papers, and technical
reports, but many have been active in developing new research areas and
continue to do so throughout their careers.
Many of the
projects conducted by the Frey group are collaborative with other faculty and
involve teams of faculty and students and possibly postdocs. Some projects involve collaboration between
undergraduate and graduate research assistants.
Some projects might be conducted independently by one research
assistant, working closely with Dr. Frey.
At any given time, there are typically multiple research projects being
conducted concurrently in related areas.
Thus, even for students who are working independently on a topic area,
there is still comraderie with other students who may be using similar methods
in related areas. For all students and
postdocs in the group, there is regular contact with Dr. Frey.
Graduates of
the Frey Group have taken positions most typically at universities, consulting
firms, engineering products companies, government agencies, and nonprofit
research institutes, representing a variety of interests ranging from highly
applied engineering or science to policy-oriented implementation or
planning.
The titles of
the theses and dissertations given below provide an indication of the variety
of research topics that have been the focus of work by undergraduate research
assistants, graduate research assistants, and postdocs in the Frey group.