Coral Rubble at Moore Reef after MARRS star installation. Courtesy of Mars Incorporated and GBR Biology.
The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 Structural Engineering Fellowship. Rebecca Henig, a spring 2025 graduate of the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, will receive $20,000 to conduct original research related to her proposal, “Reef Resilience: Designing Modular Solutions for Coastal Protection.”
During her fellowship, Henig will scuba dive at seven reef sites worldwide to research and reimagine structural solutions for threatened coral reefs, with a goal of enhancing coastal protection while protecting marine ecosystem vitality.
In 2024–2025, the SOM Foundation is supporting research that addresses the complex relationship between water, people, and the built environment through its annual research topic “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.”
Rebecca Henig graduated in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC) with an emphasis in Building Science through a cross-disciplinary program between the Viterbi School of Engineering and the School of Architecture. In her time at USC, she held leadership positions in the university’s chapter of EERI-SEAOSC, during which her team placed in the annual international Seismic Design Competition her senior year. Henig also has professional experience in BIM, construction management, and sea level rise research. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Henig developed an ongoing passion for the ocean, which she continues to explore through scuba diving, surfing, and swimming. As an Advanced Open Water Diver, she has gained a deeper understanding of the human-built environment by observing the complexities of the natural underwater world.
“Driven by a lifelong fascination with the ocean, sustainable design, and engineering, I see the Structural Engineering Fellowship as an opportunity to synthesize these passions by experiencing firsthand the complexity of coastal resilience and degradation,” says Henig. “I am eager to contribute to the ongoing movement toward design solutions that address the growing impacts of climate change on vulnerable marine ecosystems and coastal communities.”
The jury for the 2025 Structural Engineering Fellowship was led by Yunlu Shen (Associate Principal at SOM, New York) and included Christopher Cerino (Vice President and National Technical Director of Structural Engineering, Urbanism, and Planning, STV, New York), Negar Elhami-Khorasani (Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University at Buffalo, NY), and Alexis Taylor (Vice President of Climate Resilience, NYC Economic Development Corporation, New York).
Jury chair Yunlu Shen states, “Rebecca’s proposal stood out for its unique fusion of her engineering training and passion for diving. Her exploration will provide a valuable synthesis of modular solutions for reef restoration and coastal protection. I look forward to seeing the insights she brings back from the depths of the ocean!”