Selma Smith Kvalvaag

Global Challenge: Data Science/AI/Robotics, Urban, and Emerging Media

GLASS offers places for me to engage with different perspectives and opinions, which will be essential for further goals where active listening and participation, and engagement will be needed on how to involve the whole neighborhood from all social economic dynamics. The idea of co-production in engineering will be needed to empower voices and navigate through differences to find optimal research solutions.

Bio:

I am a sophomore at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, majoring in Sustainable Urban Environments and a minoring in Integrated Design and Media. I have lived most of my younger years in Oslo, Norway, and Cape Town in South Africa. I however took my last years of high school at the international boarding school, Lester. B. Pearson United World Colleges, located in Vancouver Island, Canada. I have always wanted to explore different cultures and see new perspectives which is something I have had the opportunity to do while moving between places.

Currently, I hold a job at the Norwegian mountaineering and skiing retail store in SoHo, Norrøna, where I enjoy helping customers with expertise while also keeping a close bond to my own Norwegian roots.

Last year I conducted a research paper on Prospect Park South West, where my partner and I reimagined the landscape and proposed solutions on sustainable transportation methods. Being a part of this research was very interesting and let me understand the endless possibilities engineering and design can offer.

I am also a member of the NYU Urban Design and Architecture Club, where I get to engage with likeminded people exploring the built environment and all that New York City has to offer. Participating on tours and workshops have really opened my mind to the field and how engineering intertwines with so many different arenas.

While studying takes up a lot of my spare time, skiing, dancing, and being creative through sewing and drawing is always something I am drawn to. Exploring the city and its people is also something that I learn a lot from and enjoy.