Discovery Learning Apprenticeships
The Mortenson Center provides financial support to undergraduate engineering students in the Discovery Learning Apprenticeship (DLA) program. These students are paid for hourly research with faculty whose work aligns with our mission. See what the 2025-26 Mortenson Center DLA's are doing:
Mary Dowd
Mary Dowd is working with Mortenson Center Faculty Fellow Amy Javernick-Will examining risk management performance across five Ontario drinking water utilities operating under the province's unique regulatory framework. Over two decades ago, E. coli contamination in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada caused seven deaths and spurred comprehensive regulatory reform. Mary has helped to analyze water quality data, reported incidents from 2019-2024 and in-depth interviews with utility operators which has led to the exploration of the interplay of government regulations, utility resources, organizational culture and norms, existing infrastructure and technology, and utility processes within Ontario's regulatory context. By uncovering how various factors combine to support or hinder risk management effectiveness, Mary and Amy’s findings offer pathways for utilities to strengthen their practices while working within Ontario's regulatory framework and their environmental constraints.
Cayden Stratford
Cayden is working with Gillian Gallagher and Mortenson Center Affiliate Faculty Ben Livneh as an apprentice in the Livneh Lab in order to gain insight into the distribution of snow in the mountainous western U.S. They are using climate models and meteorology to identify (and maybe forecast) the seasonal location of the snowline. This is useful to determine habitat regions for species like the Canadian lynx. Cayden is responsible for analysing observations from the SNOTEL (SNOw TELemetry) network to find the temperature threshold at which precipitation falls as snow in different regions. Cayden is new to research and is grateful for the guidance of his graduate mentor, Gillian, and her patience in helping him navigate the world of snow hydrology. Cayden notes that this experience will serve him well as he continues on in his climate change studies.