PhD student Eirini Christoforidou has been awarded a Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) fellowship for the academic year 2020-2021 for her research proposal "Improved understanding of load- and displacement-transfer mechanisms between geocell and fill in flexible pavements." The GSI fellowship is given every year since 2008 to graduate students conducting research which furthers the mission and goal of the Geosynthetic Institute and the related geosynthetic industry.

Eirini was born in Volos, Greece, and received her Diploma in Civil Engineering from the University of Thessaly, Volos in 2019. She is a graduate student in geotechnical engineering at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering. and holds a position as a Graduate Research Assistant at Purdue University under the supervision of Professor Antonio Bobet. She is currently conducting research to improve the understanding of the load- and displacement-transfer mechanisms between geosynthetics and soil. The aim of her research is to increase the use of geosynthetics by the Indiana Department of Transportation; more precisely, for subgrade improvement, subgrade foundation, embankment foundation, and construction of fill on poor or wet soils.