Civil and Environmental Engineering News

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Penn State undergrads place in regional, national civil engineering competitions

9/30/2024

Penn State civil engineering student teams and one individual placed first or second in five categories at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Region 2 Mid-Atlantic West Symposium in April at George Mason University. Two of those teams were invited to compete at the National ASCE competitions in June at Brigham Young University, where one team went on to place third.

Li Li recognized by Earth and space association with medal, lecture

9/27/2024

Li Li, the Barry and Shirley Isett Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, was selected for two honors from the American Geophysical Union, the world’s largest Earth and space science association, for her scientific contributions to the field of hydrology.

Media mention: ‘Federal program is finally incorporating climate change into precipitation frequency estimates’

9/1/2024

Lauren McPhillips, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and of agricultural and biological engineering, was featured in an article from Grid Magazine.

Farshad Rajabipour named co-editor in chief of civil engineering journal

8/28/2024

Farshad Rajabipour, interim department head and John A. and Harriette K. Shaw Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will be co-editor in chief for the Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (JMCE), effective Oct. 1.

USDA grant to fund project developing AI-powered database on water quality

8/26/2024

Nitrate, a common chemical compound that occurs naturally and is found in plants, water and soil, can break down into molecules harmful to human, animal and ecological health and accumulate as a pollutant. contamination in streams, lakes and estuaries is a critical problem in many agricultural watersheds, but water-quality data is limited, making monitoring stream health and making management decisions difficult, according to researchers at Penn State. To enhance available data, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a four-year, $650,000 grant to a research team at Penn State.

Media mention: ‘Healing the Red Mo: The Toxic Legacy of Acid Mine Drainage’

8/21/2024

In a video produced by WPSU, Bill Burgos, professor of civil and environmental engineering, discussed the toxic effects of abandoned coal mine drainage on the Moshannon Creek.

Vikash Gayah selected for the Penn State Emerging Academic Leaders program

8/20/2024

Penn State has announced the selection of 23 faculty members for the Penn State Emerging Academic Leaders (PSEAL) program for fall 2024. This initiative highlights individuals who have demonstrated exceptional potential for academic leadership and innovation within their fields.

University Libraries Open Publishing launches open-access journal ‘Geomorphica’

8/12/2024

Penn State University Libraries Open Publishing has launched Geomorphica, a Diamond Open Access journal that promotes discourse and disseminates research in geomorphology, the study of landforms.

A Note from Neeli: Penn State steering the future of autonomous vehicles

8/2/2024

At the Larson Transportation Institute Test Track, ride along with President Bendapudi and the faculty and students who are helping develop tech for self-driving cars.

Q&A: Xianbiao Hu on driving transportation research forward

7/18/2024

Xianbiao "XB" Hu, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State with a Larson Transportation Institute (LTI) affiliation, shared his transportation engineering expertise with President Neeli Bendapudi and others at a visit to LTI’s test track on June 29. Penn State News spoke with Hu about his research and some of his recent and ongoing projects that address emerging transportation issues affecting drivers in Pennsylvania.

Solar farms with stormwater controls mitigate runoff, erosion, study finds

7/18/2024

As the number of major utility-scale ground solar panel installations grows, concerns about their impacts on natural hydrologic processes also have grown. However, a new study by Penn State researchers suggests that excess runoff or increased erosion can be easily mitigated — if these “solar farms” are properly built.

Emerging research areas refocus Institute of Energy and the Environment themes

7/11/2024

The Institute of Energy and the Environment has announced an update to its research themes. The change is to better align three of the research themes with the energy and environmental research being done at Penn State, and with efforts to recognize the importance of community and justice.

Six engineering undergrads earn Graduate Research Fellowships

6/27/2024

Six College of Engineering baccalaureate graduates have been selected for the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP). Four engineering graduates were also named honorable mentions for the NSF-GRFP.

Mussels downstream of wastewater treatment plant contain radium, study reports

6/7/2024

A pair of researchers from Penn State’s Department of Civil and Environment Engineering analyzed the composition of mussels downstream of a wastewater treatment facility in Western Pennsylvania that had accepted and treated fracking wastewater, and found that the tissue and shells of mussels contained radium.

Engineering investigators awarded seed grants by Institute of Energy and the Environment

6/6/2024

Six interdisciplinary research teams with investigators from the College of Engineering have been awarded funding through the?Institute of Energy and the Environment’s Seed Grant Program for 2024.

Engineering researcher awarded IEE 'Person of the Year' for 2023

5/7/2024

Li Li, the Barry and Shirley Isett Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the inaugural recipient of the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s Person of the Year Award. The award celebrates an exceptional researcher whose accomplishments in energy or environmental research have yielded notable successes over the past year.

Comprehensive scholarship program graduates first class of engineering leaders

5/3/2024

In 2020, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation committed $15.5 million to create the A. James Clark Scholars Program in the College of Engineering to support high-achieving engineering students with significant financial need. This spring, the first cohort of A. James Clark Scholars will graduate from the Penn State College of Engineering.

'Growing Impact' podcast explores a thawing Arctic and its impacts

5/2/2024

The latest episode of Growing Impact discusses how thawing Arctic permafrost is affecting rivers and communities in the region. With temperatures rising globally due to climate change, landscapes in the Arctic are evolving. A Penn State research team is investigating how thawing permafrost will change Arctic rivers and the consequences for erosion, sediment transport, and ultimately, communities.

College of Engineering names student marshals for spring 2024 commencement

4/25/2024

The Penn State College of Engineering has named its student marshals for the spring 2024 commencement ceremony.

Penn State Climate Consortium awards three engineering climate action workshops

4/18/2024

Penn State’s Climate Consortium awarded funding to hold workshops to three researchers from the Penn State College of Engineering, including Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering, director of the Convergence Center for Living Multifunctional Material Systems and associate director of the Materials Research Institute; Christine Kirchhoff, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of law, policy and engineering; and James Mutunga, assistant research professor in the School of Engineering Design and Innovation.

Xiaofeng Liu named fellow of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute

4/12/2024

Xiaofeng Liu, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was named a fellow of the Environmental & Water Resources Institute.

Eight engineering graduate students honored with prestigious University awards

4/4/2024

Eight College of Engineering graduate students were among the forty Penn State graduate students named recipients of Penn State’s most prestigious annual graduate student recognition awards.

Five engineering students finalists in Graduate School Three Minute Thesis contest

3/11/2024

Five Penn State College of Engineering graduate students have been selected for the final round of the inaugural Penn State Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.

3D printing affordable, sustainable and resilient housing in Alaska

2/26/2024

Alaska needs an estimated 27,500 new housing units over the next 10 years to alleviate overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, according to the Alaska Housing Foundation Corporation. A Penn State interdisciplinary team that includes researchers from the College of Engineering is looking to alleviate some of that stress with a $376,000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant.

Pennsylvania Housing Research Center to host two conferences in March

2/19/2024

The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center, housed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State, will host two concurrent conferences on March 27-28 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center, with two full days of educational panels, talks, exhibits and events.

Media mention: ‘Los Angeles’s Floods Show Why Sewers Matter’

2/7/2024

Lauren McPhillips, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and of agricultural and biological engineering, was quoted in an article published by The New Republic. The article discussed the importance of addressing aging drain and sewer systems as climate change accelerates.

'Growing Impact' podcast explores effect of solar energy's expansion on land use

2/2/2024

The latest episode of "Growing Impact" explores the connection between the expansion of solar energy and land use. To meet net-zero emissions by 2050, it is estimated that the U.S. would need to devote 0.5% of its land to achieve that goal through solar energy. That is nearly 16,000 square miles or about a third of the state of Pennsylvania.

Media mention: ‘Hear us out: We ban left turns and other big ideas’

1/24/2024

Vikash Gayah, interim director of the Penn State Larson Transportation Institute and professor of civil engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering, was featured in the NPR podcast Planet Money.

New scholarship to benefit engineering students from the Coal Region

1/18/2024

A mechanical engineering alumnus honored his late brothers and their Coal Region roots through an $800,000 gift to establish a scholarship in the College of Engineering. The Robert, John, and Edward Mitchell Family Endowed Scholarship Fund in the College of Engineering will help engineering students who hail from Pennsylvania’s Coal Region – or Schuylkill, Carbon, Columbia and Northumberland Counties – in their pursuit to become engineers.

Engineering alumni society recognizes awardee’s outstanding contributions

11/20/2023

At its annual awards ceremony, the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) recognized engineering faculty, staff and alumni members for outstanding teaching, research, advising and service.

Five engineering students receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

10/26/2023

The Graduate School at Penn State welcomed 20 new National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipients for the 2023-24 academic year. Five College of Engineering graduate students received the fellowship, and two engineering graduate students were recognized as honorable mentions.

Adapting to climate change: Individuals take action while governments plan

10/24/2023

A new study co-authored by Christine Kirchhoff, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of law, policy and engineering at Penn State, details why individuals are more likely than governments to implement actions to adapt to climate change.

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