CIRI Summer Research Team Member Spotlight: Carlos Benavides

This summer, the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) is hosting research teams as part of the DHS Summer Research Teams (SRT) Program for Minority Serving Institutions. This ten-week program is a collaboration between three different universities and UIUC. Three groups of faculty and students will conduct research projects throughout the summer and host a virtual research workshop on August 3. Meet this week's team member spotlight, Carlos Benavides!

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Michigan and moved down to Texas in 2010. I worked as a first responder for about ten years before returning to school.

What is your major and why are you interested studying/working in your field of study?

I am a senior in electrical engineering. I’m interested in this field because of its difficulty and the wide range of topics one can specialize in. For example, I would like to become much more proficient in the biomedical and medical equipment aspect, whereas some of my classmates want to specialize in power distribution for example.

What are you wanting to gain from your experience?

I want to gain knowledge and apply it to my future endeavors such as my senior project or someday a master's thesis.

What kind of work would you like to do in the future?

I believe I would enjoy working with Stryker or GE as an electrical engineer. Eventually, I would like to try to get a masters in biomedical engineering, but right now I’m solely focused on graduating first. I still have a year to go so we’ll see where the path leads me.

What other plans do you have for the future?

I plan to continue to help people with my work as I have for years now, and maybe help update a commonly used medical device or create a new one. I’d like to get a nice job while working from home. I’d also like to explore Alaska to see the Northern Lights, and Germany for Oktoberfest would be fun too!

Do you have any hobbies? Does this activity relate to your studies or influence what you want to do with your future?

Reading, figure drawing, and cooking recipes from my favorite Youtubers, but school has taken away most time for hobbies, unfortunately.