Ekaterina Menkina

Interdisciplinary and creative methodologies in visual anthropology has broadened my research areas in North and South America, Asia, and Southeast Asia. From drone operation to digital reconstruction of cultural and natural features, I have extensive experiences working in laboratory and site documentation. My fluency in several languages, collaboration with group-oriented projects, and interest in documentary making makes it possible to work with researchers and indigenous communities together to solve cultural and ecosystem related concerns. My research areas include Vietnamese archaeology of Hoa Lu, Pre-Columbian Graffiti in Mesoamerica, pictographs at Paint Rock Texas, and ecosystem restoration efforts across the US.

• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Adobe After Effects
• Agisoft Metashape
• Lumion
• Next Engine Studio Operation
• Artec Studio & Artec Space Spider
• Mavic Air 2 operation
• GPS tracks
• Photoshop
• Meshroom
• Blender
• Geolayers 3
• GIS
• MeshLab

• Mesoamerican archaeology
• Archaeology of Vietnam
• Chinese archaeology
• Funerary sites
• Media in Anthropology
• Art illustration
• Anthropology and Media
• 3D technologies in anthropological analysis
• Drone operation for archaeological mapping

Russian: native speaker

English: fluent

Mandarin: rudimentary

French: rudimentary

Certified Small UAS Operator 2023-present.

Certified Recreational UAS Safety Operator 2023-present.

Registered with Federal Aviation Administration in United States 2023-present.

• Tuition Award for Graduate Research Assistant. 2024-2025.
• CONSERVE Conference Funding Award. 2024.
• A&S Deans Award of Merit/UG Honors Day Award. 2023-2024.
• Levitetz Innovation Seed Grant. 2023-2024.
• Vernon J Knight Endowed Scholarship in Anthropology. 2023-2024.
• Dean’s Graduate Recruiting & Opportunity (GRO) Award. 2023-2024.
• Graduate Council Fellow. 2023-2024.
• Summa Cum Laude with Honors. 2021.
• Association for Preservation Technology Grant. 2021.
• Dean’s List and President’s Honor Roll. 2018-2021.
• Best Student Award in the Social Sciences. 2019.
• International Education Fees Scholarship Award. 2018.

• "Native Rivercane Restoration Efforts in Southeastern Watersheds: A Story of Resilience." Documentary presentation at the Alabama Water Resources Conference, September 4-6, 2024.
• "Drone-Imagery Sub Project in Hoa Lu Ancient Capital of Vietnam" methods paper presented at The Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, April 20, 2024.
• "The Paint Rock Project: Documenting the Winter Solstice." Short film presented at the Levitetz Leadership Program Pitch competition, March 22, 2024.
• "Preserving Caddo Pots: Now in 3D." Original research paper presented at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Texas Archaeological Society, October 2022.
• "Development Efforts in Southwest China." Senior Thesis presentation at 6th Annual Lyceum UT-Tyler Student Research Showcase, April 2021.
• "Preservation Technology: Comparing and Contrasting 3D Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry." Poster Presentation at the 6th Annual Lyceum UT-Tyler Student Research Showcase, April 2021.
• Grant Presentation, APT Texas Board on Preservation Technology, June 2021.
• "The Development Efforts in Southwest China." Original research paper at Great Plains Honors Conference, March 3, 2020.
• "Understanding Chinese Society in the Qin Dynasty Through a Funerary Site." Original Honors research project presented at 5th Annual Lyceum UT-Tyler Student Research Showcase, April 2020.
• "Exploring Caddo Mounds as The Reflection of Their Structures and Ceremonial Practices." Poster Presentation at The University of Texas at Tyler, December 2020.

• Reconnaissance and Drone-Based project in Vietnam. May 2023.
• Maya Archaeological Research Program (MRP), staff member, 2021-present.
• Preservation technology lab worker, 2020-present.
• Aware Leadership course with Honors Program, 2020.
• Study abroad in Blue Creek, Belize (Maya Archaeological Research Program, UT-Tyler), 2019.
• Study Abroad in Italy and Greece, UT-Tyler Honors Program, 2019.

• CONSERVE Graduate Research Assistant, Alabama Water Institute, Tuscaloosa AL. May 2024-present.

                Duties include CONSERVE Storytelling Studio and social media management, documentary- making, drone operation.

• Administrative Assistant at Maya Archaeological Research Program in Belize. June-July 2023.

                Blue Creek archaeological project, Tulix Mul graffiti project, and Ixnoha survey.Duties include purchasing and delivering food for the camp, driving students and associates to the sites, and taking care of the finances.Tasks in the projects include excavating/cleaning glyphs in Tulix Mul, surveying the trenches of Ixnoha, supporting the tree ecology and soil sampling teams at Blue Creek (MRP collaborations), and cataloging artifacts in the lab.

• Independent Scholar in Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Vietnam, IRAW@Hoa Lu settlement archaeology project, May 2023.

                Work includes fieldwork, reconnaissance, aerial photography, and drone photogrammetry of cultural and natural features in Hoa Lu.

• Laboratory Researcher Associate at the Digital Imaging in Archaeology Lab, UT-Tyler. October 2021- September 2022.

               Tasks include learning Artec Studio and Artec Space Spider, making a simplified instructions manual for Artec Space Spider, and building an archive for the Walters Collection.

• Paint teacher at Pinot’s Palette at Tyler, Texas. June 2021-August 2023.

               Work includes developing teaching methodologies, Customer Service, and instruction.

• Student worker at the Department of Social Sciences, Assistant in the Archaeology Lab, UT-Tyler. 2020-2021.

               Tasks include training in preservation technology. Specifically, learning Agisoft Metashape software (photogrammetry), Next Engine Laser    Scanner, attending a training session with Dr. Sills on the Artec Space Spider, and documenting Walter’s Caddo pots collection.

• UT Tyler Polling Center Operator. 2019-2020.

               Duties include updating spreadsheet policies, conducting election surveys, making phone calls throughout Texas.

• Student worker at the Department of Literature and Languages, UT-Tyler, TX. 2018-2019.

               Job includes working on reconciliations, answering phone calls, and ordering desk copies for the faculty.

My drone work has supported various company and personal research projects:

Tuckabum Rivercane Restoration in Southeast US. 2024-present.

AWI Summer Institute at the Cahaba River. 2024.

Jena Band of Choctaw Indians and CONSERVE group thinning native rivercane stands in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 2024.

Arboretum Learning Garden. 2024.

Farming community project, Thomaston, Alabama. 2024.

Paint Rock Project. 2023-present.

Hoa Lu World Heritage Site, Vietnam. 2023.

Drone model details:

Mavic Air 2

Model: UG600

FCC ID: 2A3FP-UGTA2110

Model: MA2UE3W

Amazon model# listed as CRTE1DJIMAVICA2FMRB.

FCC ID: SS3-MA2UE1N1911

Registration # FA3PCTF4M4

Software used for drone photogrammetry: Agisoft Metashape, Meshroom.

Member of CONSERVE at the Alabama Water Institute. 2024.

Member of Lambda Alpha Honor Society in Anthropology. 2024.

Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. 2023-2024.

Pets for People Organization, in collaboration with Pinot’s Palette. 2022.

Certificate in Aware Leadership Honors Course. 2019.

Community Service Arbor Day, Tyler. 2019.

Chair of Service in Honors Program, UT-Tyler, TX. 2018-2019

Led the Honors Colloquium at UT Tyler to prepare all Honors Program students for incoming speaker from NASA.

Organizing the Great Plains Honors Conference at Tyler.

Organizing trash pick-ups around the UT Tyler campus and local Tyler parks.

Work selected to be presented at the art show in the University of Texas at Dallas. 2017.

Social Officer in drill team, Chapel Hill High School, Tyler, TX. 2016-2017.

Honors Society Member, Chapel Hill High School, Tyler, TX.

Japanese Culture and Anime Club president, Chapel Hill High School. 2015-2017.

Community service at the Food Banks, Tyler, TX.

Toys for Tots, Tyler, TX.

• Dr. Thomas Guderjan, University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Social Sciences, Chair, Professor of Anthropology, 903-566-7418, tguderjan@uttyler.edu
• Dr. Elizabeth Sills, University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Social Sciences, Associate Professor of Geography, 903-566-7442, esills@uttyler.edu
• Dr. Alexandre Tokovinine, University of Alabama, New College and Department of Anthropology, Associate Professor of Anthropology, 205-348-1906, atokovinine@ua.edu
• Dr. Katherine L. Chiou, University of Alabama, New College and Department of Anthropology, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, 205-348-1929, klchiou@ua.edu
• Michael P. Fedoroff, University of Alabama, Alabama Water Institute, Director of CONSERVE, mpfedoroff@ua.edu
• Dr. Marysia Galbraith, University of Alabama, New College and Department of Anthropology, Associate Professor of Anthropology, 205-348-8412, mgalbrai@ua.edu
• Sonya E. Pritzker, University of Alabama, New College and Department of Anthropology, Associate Professor of Anthropology, 205-348-6554, spritzker@ua.edu
• Dr. Paul D. Streufert, University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Literature and Languages, Associate Professor of English, Director of Honors Program, 903-565-5823, PStreufert@uttyler.edu