From the mines of Ghana to the beaches of Florida, Stephen Adusei journeyed a long way to follow his dream of becoming a geotechnical engineer. Driven by a strong interest in soil and rock mechanics and geospatial data analysis, Adusei’s passion led to a career in research with frequent field work and use of some of the discipline’s most advanced and emerging technologies. As a first year Ph.D. student in the University of Florida’s Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, Adusei is studying the geotechnical characterization of coastal sediments using remote sensing under the supervision of Nina Stark, Ph.D., in the coastal and marine geotechnics lab. 

“I love what I’m doing,” said Adusei. “The University of Florida and my advisor, Dr. Stark, gave me an opportunity. Coming all the way from Ghana and getting into a Ph.D. program and into the research lab that I wanted makes me excited.”   

Adusei’s research is focused on assessing the trafficability of coastal sediments, or how easily vehicles can move along the beach, using satellite imagery. Specifically, he examines the geomorphological features on the beach, their geotechnical properties and how they affect beach trafficability. This work, which is funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), is critical for different naval applications as well as rescue and evacuation missions as it guides responders to safe access routes.  

Though it is only Adusei’s second semester at the University of Florida, he’s already made memories with his lab mates, as well as strong professional connections. Three months after he began his Ph.D., he traveled to Duck, North Carolina, for a field data collection exercise where he met and collaborated with experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as students from Virginia Tech, the University of Delaware and Villanova University. Alongside the learning environment, Adusei enjoys life in the Sunshine State because he feels safe in Florida and the people are friendly.   

Despite having to face challenging circumstances at times, Adusei says this has not dampened his ambitious dreams and he attributes his success to the grace of God, persistence and hard work.  

“Whoever will be reading this, I want to add that whatever place they find themselves, they should not give up on their dreams,” said Adusei. “There may be people who might read and want to do something, maybe in the field of academics and research, who feel like they can’t do it. It’ll be worth it. It’s not easy, but when you get where you want to be, you become happy and excited — just like I am, doing my research.”