Aidan Bosman

Aidan Bosman, a civil engineering graduate research assistant from Centennial, Colorado, has built his academic path around water. After earning his undergraduate degree at Iowa State, he’s now applying that expertise at Auburn’s Stormwater Research Facility, contributing to the Hickory Dickory Park restoration project.

Why Auburn

“My sister went to Auburn for undergrad for organismal biology before me. She loved the South and Auburn. I entered my name into the ENGINE program because I was interested in pursuing graduate school, and Michael Perez (the Brasfield and Gorrie associate professor and director of the Auburn University Stormwater Research Facility) reached out to me. It stood out because it was a personal invitation to go into stormwater research, which is what really sold me. It’s been so cool to work in the research facility.

Why Engineering

“I always loved figuring things out and solving problems — taking things apart and putting them together again. When it comes to stormwater specifically, I’ve always loved water. Growing up in Colorado, we faced drought and water pollution, which piqued my interest in water research. Stormwater research here at Auburn was perfect.”

Hickory Dickory Park Project

“The goal was to do community outreach. At Hickory Dickory Park, we’ve worked on creek restoration, making the banks safer and preventing erosion. We have also implemented several stormwater control measures, including bioretention cells and swales. Getting hands-on experience with a project of this size was amazing. It gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to do work with a real-life impact. Coming to Auburn and the Stormwater Research Facility offered me the opportunity to get hands-on experience and work on projects like this one that will have lasting impacts on the community.”

Future Plans

“My goal is to do research. I did an internship with the Bureau of Reclamation, where they were researching water on the West Coast and trying to better manage drought. I also have another project I’m working on, which is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and focused on removing nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater. The goal of the project is to recover phosphorus and reuse it as fertilizer. Overall, I want to stick with water and pollutant research.”