For the second consecutive year, an Illinois State University master’s degree candidate in mathematics has been named Research Assistant of the Year by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL).
With this award, Bob Skudnig ’24, a graduate student in the accelerated pure and applied mathematics program, follows in the footsteps of Joseph Wittrock ’24, who was honored by CERL a year ago. Both Skudnig and Wittrock are expected to complete their master’s degrees in math at Illinois State in the spring of 2025.
ERDC-CERL, based in Champaign, is part of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Its mission is to discover, develop, deliver, and sustain innovative engineering and scientific solutions to address the toughest challenges faced by the military and the nation.
The organization is made up of more than 300 engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel working together to take groundbreaking research projects from start to finish. ERDC-CERL also develops technologies that help maintain Department of Defense (DoD) facilities in the U.S. and around the world. The DoD has over 200,000 buildings, so it’s a big job.
Skudnig began interning for CERL in June 2023 as an undergraduate student research mathematician in the Sustainment Management System Technical Center of Expertise branch. He now works as a part-time, remote CERL employee. He’s using the skills he developed at Illinois State in machine learning and artificial intelligence applications to become a resource expert with his colleagues and the agency’s partners.
One recent research project that Skudnig worked on involved the U.S. Army’s implementation of a facility importance metric called the Mission Dependency Index (MDI). The MDI measures the efficiency and quality of a building. He presented the preliminary results of his MDI research at the Society of American Military Engineers Joint Engineer Training Conference over the summer. He later presented his research on the main stage in the National Academies of Science Auditorium.
“I work on the data science side of real-world, engineering-related problems, developing machine learning models to measure the degradation of buildings and the systems within them,” he said.
Skudnig said that CERL leadership and the team he works with are very smart and always willing to collaborate on projects.
“I’m learning a lot,” he said. “I get to do something, data science, that I really enjoy.”
Skudnig, 22, is a native of Evergreen Park. His opportunity with CERL was a result of his participation in the University Research Symposium. His group was presenting a poster for a project for the Provost’s Office that used machine learning models.
“Some engineers from CERL came to look at the topics that people were presenting, and they thought our machine learning project aligned well with their research,” he said. “I talked to them that day, and that’s how this came about.”
Dr. Buddy Bartels is a senior research engineer at CERL. He’s worked with Skudnig and likes what he’s seen.
“Bob is a brilliant ISU mathematics student who performs at a level way above a research assistant,” Bartels said. “He has researched and developed solutions to real-world Army facility investment problems using statistical, machine learning, and neural network methods. The product of Bob’s research is actively being used by the Army, which is a testament to his work.”
Dr. Craig C. McLauchlan, associate vice president for Research and Graduate Studies at Illinois State, was impressed that another Redbird had been named Research Assistant of the Year.
“When our colleagues at CERL shared the news about Bob, I was thrilled,” McLauchlan said. “Our formal ISU-CERL partnership has only been in effect for two years, and we’ve had one of our students be named Research Assistant of the Year in both of them.
“The opportunity for our students to be engaged in real-world research with partners like CERL allows them to make a difference in the world today while preparing themselves for their lives after their time at ISU. It’s a win-win situation.”
Skudnig feels fortunate to have been well-prepared by his teachers, including Dr. Gail Yamskulna, professor of mathematics at Illinois State. He’s had independent study classes with her, and she’s supervised some of his projects.
“Bob exemplifies the kind of student who lets curiosity and passion guide his work, making him a true inspiration to those around him.”
Dr. Gail Yamskulna
“She’s my thesis advisor and an exceptional mentor,” he said. “She’s incredibly smart and very helpful to her students. She’s always a great resource and always excited to help with new content.”
Yamskulna said she is beyond proud to see her student receive this “well-deserved” award.
“It is gratifying for me to have an opportunity to witness his growth as a researcher over the years, and it’s been a privilege to mentor Bob,” she said. “He exemplifies the kind of student who lets curiosity and passion guide his work, making him a true inspiration to those around him.”
This recognition, she added, pays tribute to his hard work, intelligence, and dedication.
Dr. Mehdi Karimi, a professor of mathematics at Illinois State, has had Skudnig in class and oversaw the group project that got the attention of the CERL staffers at the symposium.
“Bob stood out as one of the most productive members of the team, taking on a leadership role and managing hundreds of lines of code to implement advanced machine learning methods,” Karimi said. “I believe the key to Bob’s success is his hard work and passion for learning.
“His successful journey as a research assistant at CERL is a testament to his ability to combine strong theoretical knowledge with practical skills.”
Yamskulna said Skudnig has had to manage a lot of demands on his time, but he’s met the challenge.
“Hard work does pay off,” Yamskulna said. “Balancing a part-time job at CERL, course work, and his master’s thesis is no easy task, yet Bob handles it with remarkable resilience and dedication. It has been a privilege to mentor Bob as his academic advisor and master’s thesis supervisor, and I could not be happier for him.”
Next up for Skudnig is finishing his master’s degree and getting his working life started. CERL tops his wish list for employers.
“I love working at CERL,” he said. “My co-workers are great, and the work we do is very personally rewarding. I’m hoping to turn this into a career.”
