Graduate Profile: Utsav Neupane, G’24

Even from the beginning of his educational career, Utsav Neupane, G’24, knew he wanted to work in civil engineering. Starting at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus in Nepal in 2014, Neupane’s world was changed when a 7.8Mw earthquake struck during his freshman year.

“Nepal as a country is in a seismic prone region,” said Neupane. “The devastating earthquake reinforced my desire to pursue further studies on seismic engineering.”

After working for nearly two years at NEA Engineering Co. Ltd. following his graduation, Neupane set his sights on further education in the United States. That’s when he came across Dr. Rémy Lequesne and his research. He arrived on KU’s campus in 2021 as a Ph.D. candidate under Lequesne’s advisement.

Initially, a master’s degree wasn’t in Neupane’s plans, but his desire to further research opened new opportunities that earned him multiple degrees.

“I came in with the intent to complete a Ph.D.,” said Neupane. “But along the way, I wanted to continue to do research and write papers that reflected the work I was doing. In my desire to do research, I got a master’s degree as well.”

While his love for research inspired him to complete two degrees, there are other aspects of his time within the Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering (CEAE) that Neupane cherishes.

“Just having the time to pick the brains of my advising committee – Dr. Lequesne, Dr. Lepage and Dr. Darwin – was great, because they have so much knowledge and experience,” said Neupane with a smile “Most of it flew over my head in the beginning, but as time progressed, I started understanding what they were saying.”

He also appreciated the time spent with other grad students, for both the successes and setbacks.

“We had a group of graduate students who were really helpful to one another,” he said. “We tried to help each other in our research, classes or any other part. I just enjoyed spending time with them outside of classes or on holidays.”

Now, with his degrees in hand, Neupane is looking towards his future in consulting, but he has big dreams of leading a large-scale infrastructure project.

“I enjoy working with engineers in different fields and working together for the completion of large projects,” he said. “I want to be in a position to manage large infrastructure, like a stadium or high-rise building, and bring it to fruition.”

This goal isn’t anything new to Neupane. In his previous career in Nepal, he was part of the team that designed the Jagdulla Hydroelectric project in the Dolpa district. Working alongside mechanical engineers, geotechnical engineers and civil engineers gave Neupane his first taste for project management and jumpstarted his journey to where he is now.

“It’s really exciting seeing the engineering work we do,” he said. “You can see different examples of large-scale infrastructure projects and the new problems each project encounters along the way. The engineers navigate through them and work together to come up with a solution. That is the essence of engineering.”

For now, Neupane is focused on finding consulting work in Canada, where he now lives with his wife. Nevertheless, he remains open to unique career paths, including returning to Nepal – or maybe even teaching.

“I have spent so much time learning about the civil and structural engineering fields and how we can make those fields better,” he said. “So maybe one day I’ll come back to the academic field to continue research, but for now, I think I’ll try to do something in the consulting field.”

For students considering a master’s or Ph.D. in engineering, Neupane has some advice:

“You really need to love it,” he said. “You need to love the process of doing research, experiencing failure, learning from them and repeating the cycle. Keeping your main goal in mind will help you push through the setbacks.”