Graduate Research Assistant
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Grainger College of Engineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
lauracg2@illinois.edu
Biography
Laura Gray is a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy-Water-Environment Sustainability program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research is centered on utilizing Earth system models (ESMs) to represent green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) in urban environments. She has a particular focus on the hydroclimatic benefits associated with GSI, in addition to how GSI can be represented in ESMs to understand its performance across a wide variety of locations. Laura recently was selected as a 2026 NOAA Knauss Fellowship finalist, where she will work on water resource policy issues in Washington D.C. following the completion of her Ph.D.
Laura received her M.S. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021, and her B.S. in Biological Engineering at the University of Arkansas in 2019 with minors in Sustainability and Mathematics. Laura loves rock climbing, gaming, reading, and traveling when she can, and can be frequently found haunting local coffee shops.
Research Topics
- Green stormwater infrastructure
- Urban hydrology
- Urban climate
- Earth system modeling
Publications
- L.C. Gray, L. Zhao, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “Impacts of climate change on global total and urban runoff.” Journal of Hydrology, 620, 129352.
Education
- M.S. in Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2021
- B.S. in Biological Engineering, Sustainability and Mathematics minors, University of Arkansas, 2019
Awards
- Society of Women Engineers Outstanding Graduate Student Member Award
- Grainger Engineering SURGE Fellow
- Razorback Classic, University of Arkansas
- Outstanding Senior, Arkansas ASABE