Geoffrey Vander Veen, a third-year civil engineering major and ITS-Irvine student intern, is making inspiring contributions both in transportation research and through his philanthropic work with Engineers Without Borders (EWB). We are proud to highlight Geoffrey and the impact he is making!
Geoffrey first became involved with ITS-Irvine during his freshman year when his interest in transportation engineering and research led him to reach out to ITS faculty member Dr. Michael Hyland. Seeking to learn more about the field, he connected with Dr. Hyland, who offered him a position in his research lab, one that he has held ever since.
Since then, Geoffrey has continued to expand his research experience, including his participation in the ITS-Irvine Transportation Research Immersion Program (TRIP) this past summer. His research interests surround the planning and modeling side of transportation engineering, representing the intersection of math, computer science, and civil engineering. “I feel like the intersection of all those is a really interesting problem space where you just get to work on cool things and see what your computer outputs.”
Beyond transportation research, Geoffrey has played a pivotal role in reviving Engineers Without Borders at UCI, a student-led organization that uses engineering skills for humanitarian efforts. The club had become inactive during the pandemic, but Geoffrey and a group of friends saw an opportunity to bring it back to life.
Starting as secretary and now serving as co-president, Geoffrey has helped transform the organization from nonexistent to a thriving club. Since its revival, they have built or contributed to the construction of four houses in Mexico, partnered with Engineers Without Borders Orange County to implement a water filtration system in Ecuador, and begun working on a stormwater management project for an affordable housing development in Dallas, Texas.
EWB’s most recent project took Geoffrey and his team to Tijuana, Mexico, where they partnered with Corazón, a nonprofit community development organization, to build homes for families in need. These projects give students hands-on experience in construction while making an immediate impact in underserved communities. Explaining the process, Geoffrey describes how students work together to construct homes from the foundation to near completion in just one day:
“We meet up somewhere in San Diego and then take a bus across the border, and then we’ll spend the day learning construction skills, painting, cutting boards, nailing together the structure of the house, putting a roof together, building trusses for that. And then, usually by the end of the day, you have at least a pretty much functional small house. Which is pretty cool—like in one day you can go from just having a cement foundation to having a full house that’s ready for plumbing hookups and electrical hookups.”
For Geoffrey, the experience is about more than just building—it’s about connecting with communities and witnessing the real impact of his work.
“It is a really cool experience because you get to see a world and a culture that is very, very different from California, despite being less than 2 hours away. It’s a really rewarding and really enriching experience just to both go out and build something, which is satisfying in its own way, but also to build it for someone who genuinely needs it and will use it to its fullest capability.”
To read more about EWB’s most recent project in Tijuana, check out this article from UC Irvine News.
While research with ITS-Irvine and Engineers Without Borders may seem distinct, Geoffrey explains how his two passions complement each other. His work in transportation modeling aligns with the problem-solving approach he applies to EWB’s infrastructure projects.
“I think part of me really likes the idea of just kind of playing around with the future and building something cool in my brain and seeing how well it actually works. Which is a lot similar to a lot of what we do at EWB—like building water infrastructure usually or some sort of infrastructure for people in need. And then, seeing how well it works, and doing a lot of back and forth with people who actually live there and see what they want, what they need, and what they can maintain.”
As he looks ahead, Geoffrey is interested in pursuing a career in transportation engineering, with aspirations to work for a major railroad company like BNSF or Union Pacific or for a metropolitan planning organization like the Southern California Association of Governments. He also hopes to return to UCI to pursue a graduate program in the future.
His experiences with ITS and EWB have provided him with a strong foundation to tackle real-world engineering challenges. Reflecting on what he has learned, Geoffrey highlights both the technical skills and leadership experience he has gained.
“Definitely for starters, the hard skills of learning engineering projects, learning how to use a saw and a hammer—sort of like just knowing how to build things with my hands as well as build things with my brain. So like, Engineers Without Borders covers a lot of the hands-on, and the TRIP program covered a lot of how to conceptualize a problem, break it down, and then attack it from different angles.”
Beyond technical skills, Geoffrey has also developed leadership and project management abilities, learning how to organize teams and ensure that projects are completed successfully.
“Through TRIP, I was able to learn a lot about how I work and how to establish a good workflow for myself. And then Engineers Without Borders—I’ve also learned how to establish a good workflow with everyone, from a management or leadership position, such as how to get my team to do what we need to do to accomplish the things that we’ve set out to.”
Diverse and unique experiences, such as transportation modeling research and building homes for others from the ground up, cultivate the well-rounded skills essential for impactful changemakers. With the strong research foundation instilled by ITS-Irvine, combined with the real-world, hands-on experience gained through Engineers Without Borders, we are confident that this rising transportation engineer will achieve great things.
We can’t wait to see all that you continue to accomplish, Geoffrey!