Hometown: Beijing, China

Current year: Senior

Tianlong Sun is a senior at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering.

Why I chose Civil Engineering

I chose civil engineering because I wanted to make a difference and help create a more sustainable world. In my hometown of Beijing, the air quality is very bad and I knew I wanted to one day work on fixing the problem. Civil engineers are consistently researching how to create a more sustainable society and I knew Purdue's School of Civil Engineering was one of the best in the world.

Currently, my plan after graduation is to attend graduate school for my Master's degree and potentially my PhD. I hope to use my degrees to help me research how to build sustainable structures of the future and possibly teach younger engineers as well.

Emphasis area

I chose structural engineering because I have always been fascinated with tall structures and bridges and loved the idea of building such things ever since I was a child. It is my dream to research and create better structures and teach others who wish to do the same.

Tianlong has participated in undergraduate research, conducted at Bowen Lab.

Bass player

I am a bass player on the Purdue Jazz Guitar Ensemble. It's been a great experience for me and it helped me make friends on campus right away when I came here. At first, I planned to play the clarinet, but our band director encouraged me to play bass instead. I was more practiced on the clarinet and only started learning the bass guitar in high school, but I am happy with how everything turned out. I love playing the bass.

Experience as an international student

Coming to Purdue as an international student wasn't too difficult for me, actually. Purdue does a very good job in working with and supporting us to make sure we are keeping up in our studies and having social lives. The faculty, students, and staff here at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering have also been very welcoming and supportive to me as well. It sort of feels more like a family environment here than a school.

Tianlong plays bass guitar in the Purdue Jazz Guitar Ensemble.