Education

Academic Degrees

• Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Employment History

• University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Graduate Research Assistant, August/2023 – present.
• University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Graduate Teaching Assistant, January/2022 – May/2023.
• University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Research Assistant, January/2021 –December/2021
• University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Supplementary Instructor, August/2019 – December/2020

Area of Research and Professional Interest

• Water Resources
• Hydrological Modeling
• Urban Resilience
• Sociohydrology

Research Experience 

• Hydrologic outcomes of CRP in water-stressed High Plains watersheds, Farm Service Agency, August/2023 – present.
• Georeferencing Analysis of Emergency Evacuation Traffic Capacity Impacted by International Border Crossing, David Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, US Department of Transportation August/2022 – May/2023
• Flooding Severity Forecasting Based on Hurricane and Water Runoff in the Coastal Areas of South Texas to Denote Possible Affected Highways, David Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, US Department of Transportation, August/2021 – May/2022

Teaching Experience 

• Graduate Teaching Assistants for CIVE 3315 (Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics)
• Graduate Teaching Assistants for CIVE 3345 (Transportation Engineering)
• Graduate Teaching Assistants for CIVE 4348 (Highway Engineering) 
• Supplementary Instruction for HIST 1301 and 1302 (US History I and II) 

Publications and Presentations

• Layda B. Spor Leal, Tirthankar Roy, Daniel R. Uden, Karina Schoengold. (2024). Hydrological impacts of the conservation reserve program—a mini review, Frontiers in Water, 6.
• Layda B. Spor Leal, Jungseok Ho, Sara Davila. (2023). Geospatial analysis of impact on evacuation routes and urban areas in South Texas due to flood events, Urban Resilience and Sustainability, 1, 20-36.

Honors and Awards

• David Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Award 2023
• Terracon Graduate Engineering Scholarship 2022
• Engineer in Training (EIT) - Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) passed August 2022
• David Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Award 2022
• David Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Best Poster Award 2022 (Undergraduate)
• GIS Poster Competition - 1st Place (Undergraduate)
• UTRGV’s Profiles in Excellence 2020