Senior Spotlight: How Sarah Willmann Found Her Rhythm in Research

Sarah Willmann’s had a packed semester. It’s crazy enough that she’s wrapping up her coursework as civil and environmental engineering (CEE) senior. But until last month, she had also been touring with the Duke Band as part of March Madness; and the moment she returned to campus, she had to prepare for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student conference and her final Wind Symphony performance —  both of which were on the same weekend. 

“I’m like, wearing a dozen different hats at once,” Willmann said with a laugh. 

Willmann’s knack for navigating shifting territory has served her well as an undergrad. She joined CEE wanting to solve tangible problems — something that mixed math, science and sustainability — but she wasn’t sure what that might look like as a career. So, she gave herself room to explore different civil engineering pathways. 

During her first summer at Duke, Willman did a transportation internship. While she enjoyed learning things on the job, she also found that the day-to-day felt a bit constrained. “Yes, there’s room for some creativity, but it does kind of feel like you’re put in a box,” she said. In an environment shaped by deadlines, budgets and standards she found herself thinking: “What if I did something else?” 

She ended up discovering that “something else” during her second summer, when she joined a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Through her REU project on self-healing concrete, Willmann realized that the creativity and flexibility she sought could be found in a lab setting. “It taught me that I really like the hands-on and open-ended nature of research,” she said.  

Back at Duke, Willmann was able to continue this line of research in the lab of Laura Dalton, a CEE professor and rising star in the field of next-generation cement. There, she investigated the chemistry underlying sustainable cement replacements. Altogether these positive experiences inspired her to pursue graduate school, which was a path she hadn’t considered before.  

“You would not believe how much research there is to do in the realm of concrete and cement, and there’s a small but vibrant community of people who make it happen,” she said. “We all just want to advance knowledge together, and I really appreciate that collaborative aspect of the field.” 

Community-building has also been key to Willmann’s Duke experience outside the lab. As co-president of the university’s ASCE student chapter, she helps organize professional development events, site visits and social opportunities to bolster bonds between civil engineering students.  

One of her proudest achievements with ASCE happened this year: reviving Duke’s participation in the Concrete Canoe Competition, an annual ASCE conference event where — as the name suggests — teams build and race canoes made of concrete. It had been almost a decade since Duke had last competed in the race. “Reviving the tradition definitely felt like a fulfillment of one of the chapter’s long-standing dreams,” Willmann said. 

Willmann’s leadership also shines through in her work as a teaching assistant for several classes, which helped her discover her passion for mentoring. “I actually enjoy teaching more than I thought I would,” she said, recalling the satisfying moments during office hours when a concept would visibly “click” for students. “Between this and my love of research, I can easily see myself becoming a professor.” 

Outside of engineering, Willmann is also a drumline captain in the Duke Marching Band and a percussionist in the Duke Wind Symphony. It turns out that percussion works surprisingly well with her engineering brain, tickling both her technical and creative tendencies at once. 

“Rhythms are just another kind of math,” she explained. “They require analytical thinking similar to engineering work, but with a different outcome. I think that’s why I like music so much.” 

Willmann is heading to Princeton next fall to pursue her CEE PhD. She also recently received a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award that will support her research in the coming years. 

Ultimately, Willmann hopes her work in the lab can have real-world impact. “I’ve met many professors who not only do fundamental research but also inform global manufacturing standards or create their own startup,” she said. “It’s probably a tough balance to maintain, but I hope to someday be in a position to make change on that scale.”