2020 News

2020

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Dec 23

Trans-disciplinary team investigates topological defects Opens in new window

Amit Acharya is leading a multidisciplinary, university-spanning team in an NSF Grand Convergence Research project to unravel one of the most ubiquitous physical phenomena known to science.

Dec 15

Peters named CEE's Distinguished Alumni

Peters is Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University and has earned both national and international distinction as an educator, researcher, and professional leader.

Dec 14

CEE annual alumni awards goes virtual to highlight graduates' successes

After accepting their awards, the winners answered questions submitted by current students, focusing on everything from work/life balance to overcoming bumps in a career path.

Nov 12

Lai builds location-specific climate forecasting tools for engineers

Yuchuan Lai recently completed his Ph.D. studies and published his second paper, co-written with his advisor Professor Dave Dzombak.

Nov 11

Hendrickson receives 2020 Torrens Award

The Richard R. Torrens Award was created to honor the memory of Richard Torrens, who served the Publications Department for 17 years and was Manager of Professional and Technical Publications.

Nov 04

Bielak elected as honorary member of EERI

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute is the leading professional organization that connects those dedicated to reducing earthquake risk.

Nov 04

Alum helps organizations construct the workplace of tomorrow

“Starting civil engineering and finding project management and really getting into engineering economics, I loved it,” Beckham says. “It felt like home.”

Nov 02

CEE introduces undergraduate environmental engineering program

“We set out to create a distinctive degree program that reflects our long history of excellence in environmental engineering along with the core strengths of our department in computational problem solving and applied data analytics for environmental and civil engineering," says CEE professor Kelvin Gregory.

Oct 27

A home for innovation & collaboration

In addition to investments from the CEE Department, the lab redesign was made possible through generous support from the University, the College of Engineering, the Hillman Foundation in Pittsburgh, and multiple CEE alumni.

Oct 21

Ken-Opurum awarded Business Case Award

Ken-Opurum was enlisted to develop a decision support tool for assigning monetary values to the benefits of resilient design practices.

Oct 06

Babaei identifies lipid rafts as way COVID-19 invades cells

The groups’ research could have long-term impacts in treating viruses including COVID-19. By understanding the ways that a virus can invade a cell, researchers can work to close that entry point and help individuals to avoid infection.

Sep 21

Two CEE students named Andrew Carnegie Scholars

Valentina Ortiz de Zárate and Ryan Rusali have been named ACS Scholars.

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Sep 16

Provost Garrett elected to National Academy of Construction

Garrett will be formally inducted at the NAC's 2020 Member Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually on October 29.

Aug 25

Rounce joins CEE faculty

David Rounce recently joined CEE as an assistant professor. His research focuses on an open-source global glacier evolution model to improve projections of glacier mass change and runoff.

Aug 19

Jones named Steinbrenner Institute and Heinz Presidential Fellow

Jones is a dual degree Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP).

Aug 17

Nanoparticles for cleaner water

Lowry and his colleagues conducted experiments by incorporating different amounts of sulfur into NZVI particles. They analyzed the resulting SNZVI particles’ properties, including hydrophobicity, electron transfer, and sulfur speciation, and how SNZVI interacted with TCE.

Aug 13

Nanoparticles to immunize plants against heat stress Opens in new window

Greg Lowry and Bob Tilton have created a new type of nanoparticle that may be able to immunize plants against harsh environmental conditions and pathogens.

Research paper Opens in new window

Research paper Opens in new window

Aug 05

CEE Professor Samaras and alum Francis named to NASEM Committee

This committee will develop a compelling vision for a systems approach to studying the Earth and identify facilities, infrastructure, coordinating mechanisms, computing, and workforce development needed to support that vision.

Jul 23

Wang named Provost Inclusive Teaching Fellow at Eberly Center

Professor Wang is part of the first cohort of this new program at CMU. The program is designed to create and support faculty in adopting inclusive teaching practices in their classes. In addition to working closely with Eberly Center consultants to redesign their course, fellows participate in a year-long special interest group.

Jul 06

Shooting for the moon: Making smart cities ethical and sustainable

Bergés is the principal investigator on the Autonomous Technologies for Livability and Sustainability initiative, which won funding from the CMU College of Engineering’s Moonshot 2020 competition.

Jun 10

Peter Adams named head of EPP Opens in new window

Peter Adams, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and leading researcher in the field of air quality and environmental policy, has been named head of the Department of Engineering and Public Policy (EPP).

Jun 05

The future of pesticides and fertilizers Opens in new window

Greg Lowry has demonstrated for the first time the ability of engineered nanoparticles to target specific structures on plant leaves.

Research paper Opens in new window

May 28

Air pollution, simplified Opens in new window

Researchers from CMU’s College of Engineering are part of a collaboration that has created easy-to-use tools to estimate the societal costs of air pollution.

May 26

Electricity for all Opens in new window

Destenie Nock led a study outlining a more equitable model of electricity planning in developing regions like Liberia.

Research paper Opens in new window

May 18

Hegglin challenges norms and brings a fresh perspective

Her professional experiences have shown the value of research and projects that encourage CEE students to think creatively, and to develop solutions for undefined challenges by taking into account a wide variety of disciplines and variables. In the real world, solutions are often not straightforward.

May 04

LoGrande named DoD SMART Scholar

The program was created to enhance the DoD workforce with “talented, innovative and brilliant scientists, engineers and researchers,” according to the program website. Awardees spend summers in paid internships working for the DoD inside labs and agencies of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

Apr 23

Choudhary's team takes "Best Overall Design" in Rethink the Rink competition

Rethink the Rink is a week-long Make-a-thon that challenged students, including sophomore Dhruv Choudhary, to find solutions that provide hockey players with a greater range of motion and flexibility—while still providing appropriate coverage.

Apr 09

Flanigan to join CEE faculty in fall 2020

As an instructor, she plans to help create a new generation of civil and environmental engineers who are able to draw upon tools and technologies from across engineering disciplines.

Apr 08

ANSYS Hall: A creative epicenter

Fully opened in October 2019 as part of the College of Engineering’s larger maker ecosystem known as TechSpark, ANSYS Hall is a great boon for CEE courses.

Apr 03

Farrell competes in Jeopardy 2020 College Championship

The competition filming took place in Los Angeles in February and Farrell faces off in the first round against students from the University of Texas at Austin and Princeton University for a shot at the semifinals.

Mar 17

The Value of Information Opens in new window

Research by Matteo Pozzi shows how improper regulation can unintentionally trigger dangerous behaviors of information avoidance from infrastructure managers.

Mar 05

Going with the flow Opens in new window

In solving an age-old physics problem, a team led by Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Jerry Wang has helped enable a future permeated with nanoporous materials.

Research paper Opens in new window

Research paper Opens in new window

Feb 18

Wall premieres film festival-winning documentary in Pittsburgh

The Fan Connection has received media attention from ESPN, The Hockey News, and Buffalo stations WGRZ, WIVB, WKBW, and WYRK. Wall says that there’s something in the movie for everyone. “It is a movie that wears its heart on its sleeve.”

Feb 14

Heating and cooling that anticipates your needs Opens in new window

Researchers have created a system that predicts each occupant’s ideal temperature range and changes the room temperature to provide better comfort for all.

Research paper Opens in new window

Feb 12

Hegde presents data privacy paper at 2020 TRB conference

Hegde says that the response to her poster presentation was positive and gratifying—especially from individuals within state and local infrastructure who are familiar with connected vehicle communication standards.

Feb 11

Leech awarded ESWP Metcalf Award

The William Metcalf Award is named in honor of the first ESWP president and is awarded to a Western Pennsylvania engineer whose career accomplishments are connected to steel, aluminum, power, coal, electrical equipment, chemical, glass, or construction.

Feb 07

Stein wins George Washington Prize

The George Washington Prize is named in honor of the first president of the United States. It reinforces the importance of engineering and technology in sustaining and enhancing the visibility of the profession.

Feb 05

Wang awarded Smith Fellowship

Ph.D. candidate Yanyu Wang has been awarded the Bradford and Diane Smith Graduate Fellowship.

Feb 04

Martinez awarded Fok Presidential Fellowship

Through a generous gift from the Fok estate, the department was endowed with fellowship and scholarship funds to support CEE students.

Feb 03

Quantifying transportation relationships Opens in new window

Sean Qian studied the relationship between Uber and public transportation, proving it can vary by time of day and location.

Feb 03

Using AI to detect energy waste

Liu says that what makes LeanFM’s technology successful is that it is designed to comprehensively analyze data collected from existing sensors throughout HVAC systems.

Jan 28

Wei awarded the Liang Ji-Dian Graduate Fellowship

This fellowship was created through the generosity of Liang Ji-Dian and it was established to help support the graduate studies of highly deserving CIT PhD students of Chinese heritage.

Jan 28

Sainarayanan awarded the Parnika ACS Legacy Fellowship

This fellowship was created through the generosity of Parnika ACS Legacy and it was established to help support the graduate studies of highly deserving CIT Master’s students whose primary residence is in India.

Jan 24

Divergent path: Joining engineering and creativity

The challenge after leaving academia, Mo says, was to demonstrate that her engineering/analytical skills could inform her design skills in such a way that an employer would benefit from hiring her.

Jan 16

Ibekwe awarded Miller Presidential Fellowship

This award was made possible through a generous gift in 2016 from the estate of Ruth Furman Miller.

Jan 16

Katti awarded Miller Presidential Fellowship

This award was made possible through a generous gift in 2016 from the estate of Ruth Furman Miller.

Jan 13

Jacobs retires after 32 years of service

CEE Department Head Dave Dzombak presented Dr. Jacobs with a special recognition at a faculty gathering in January. "Alan has brought his deep knowledge and experience base in geology to generations of Carnegie Mellon CEE students," said Dzombak.

Jan 08

Modeling excellence, Chatterjee brings skills and collaboration to engineering solutions

As a project environmental engineer, Chatterjee’s work involves using high-resolution tools and creating three-dimensional conceptual site models, using geology, hydrogeology and groundwater contamination data.

Media mentions

Multiple sources

Nock reveals truths about electricity use and affordability

CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock wrote an article that discusses the perspectives on affordability from energy companies, and the importance of balancing reduced energy use to save funds while maintaining household safety and health. The article can be read in The Conversation, Chron, and Yahoo! News.

MIT Technology Review

Samaras applies expertise as judge for Innovators Under 35

Scott Institute Director Costa Samaras applied his expertise as a judge for MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 list. “These Innovators represent some of the best aspects of science and technology research—pushing forward bold ideas to improve the future for everyone,” said Samaras in an article previewing the September announcement.

Engineering faculty awarded for academic and research achievements

The 2026 Engineering faculty award winners have been selected by the Engineering Faculty Awards and Recognition Committee for their exceptional achievements in academics and research. Award winners include Katherine Flanigan, Tzahi Cohen-Karni, Peter Adams, Noelia Grande Gutiérrez, Patrick Tague, Valerie Karplus, Chris Pistorius, Kaushik Dayal, Kathryn Whitehead, and Keith Cook.

The Conversation

Nock publishes piece on dangers of high indoor temperatures

CEE/EPP’s Destenie Nock published an article in The Conversation on why the recommended 78-degree air conditioner setting may not be right for every household.

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