The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is winding down another exceptional semester that brought numerous successes for our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. With our Chair Mandar Dewoolkar moving into the Dean's office to serve as the Acting Dean for the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, I am honored to step into the role of Acting Chair of our exceptional Department.
Our research funding and new interdisciplinary initiatives continue to grow including numerous exciting opportunities in the Water Innovation for the Future program. Our world-class Transportation Research Center, focused on sustainable and equitable solutions for smaller cities and rural communities, continues to make significant contributions to local, regional, and national transportation challenges.
I invite you to read this newsletter for a glimpse into the many noteworthy achievements in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UVM. I wish you a very peaceful and festive holiday season.
Dr. Kathryn Hinkelman(Katy) joined us this fall as an Assistant Professor and directs the new Sustainable Energy and Environments (SEE) Laboratory. Her research lies at the intersection of built and natural environments, and she designs innovative energy system technologies that are sustainable, resilient, and equitable. Katy’s specializations include computational modeling and simulation, building and district energy and control systems, and bio-inspired design. Previously, Katy was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Penn State. She has a Ph.D. from Penn State and M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Denver, respectively. In between her graduate degrees, Katy worked as a consulting engineer. In research and in the classroom, she is enthusiastic about connecting scientific innovation with real-world projects and has supported student teams working with campus district energy systems and disadvantaged communities.
New $2.6M award from the National Science Foundation
Recent events in Vermont and across the country have demonstrated the impact that climate change is having on our water systems—especially in rural areas. To improve water quality and develop and fortify community-based infrastructure, the University of Vermont and several partner institutions across the country have been awarded $6 million as part of a $77.8 investment by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build climate resilience capacity through its Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
CEE faculty study widespread landslides following July 2023 floods
Vermont has had an increasing frequency of intense storms leading to landslides, and recently, increased frequency of damaging mudslides and debris flows depositing on roadways. These fast-moving landslides represent a developing geohazard category in Vermont, which has led to Profs. Ehsan Ghazanfari and John Lens undertaking a research project for the Vermont Agency of Transportation on Debris Flow Hazard Identification and Monitoring. This project aims to use technologies including active satellite imaging, and other reconnaissance to monitor slopes to identify hazard prone locations and develop risk maps. The project also includes creating a catalog of mitigation measures and transferring the knowledge gained in this research to Vermont Agency of Transportation for use by their district crews, and design teams for field implementation.
Professors Dana Rowangould and Greg Rowangould will lead UVM's participation in new national Climate Change and Transportation Research Center
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) announced $1.7 million in research funding for a Climate Change and Transportation Research Center based at the University of California, Davis but including multiple partner institutions including the University of Vermont. The new Center for Emissions Reduction, Resiliency, and Climate Equity in Transportation will help develop and advance research and technologies in alignment with the Nation’s clean energy goals while looking to improve the resiliency of our transportation infrastructure and identify existing and potential inequities. UVM Civil and Environmental Engineering Professors Dana Rowangould and Greg Rowangould will help lead the center’s research efforts on equitable greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions from transportation in small and rural communities where households and businesses are traditionally more reliant on personal vehicle travel.
Peggy O'Neill-Vivanco receives 2024 Net Zero Energy Award
Peggy O'Neill-Vivanco, the Director of Vermont Clean Cities and Communities, was honored with the 2024 Net Zero Energy Award from the Burlington Electric Department for her ongoing leadership in pursuing low-carbon solutions and sustainable transportation in Vermont.
Elizabeth Doran invited to White House Summit on Extreme Heat
Dr. Elizabeth Doran was invited to participate in the first-ever White House Summit on Extreme Heat in September 2024. This Summit, announced by President Biden earlier this summer, brought together local, state, Tribal, and territorial leaders and practitioners representing communities across the country experiencing the impacts of extreme heat as well as a select group of researchers.
The Summit provided the opportunity to discuss lessons learned from this summer; the Administration’s investments in heat resilience, mitigation, and preparedness; and how to drive further locally tailored and community-driven actions to address extreme heat at the federal level. Representatives of the White House and more than 10 Federal Agencies attended the Summit and round table discussions.
Courtney Giles named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Dr. Courtney Giles was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Courtney has been affiliated with the college since beginning her graduate studies here in 2007 and has served as a Senior Lecturer in Civil & Environmental Engineering. Her current interests center on curriculum design, the first-year experience, inclusive teaching in STEM, and the scholarship of teaching and learning as a means to advancing educational excellence. She is seen here accepting the 2024 Outstanding New Civic Learning Faculty Award by the Office of Community-Engaged Learning (CELO).
Providing engineering research pathways in environmental stewardship
For more than 20 years, the Barrett Foundation has served as a research catalyst at the University of Vermont, providing funding for both undergraduate and graduate students to pursue their research interests in environmental stewardship. At the same time, the convergence of funding, student research, and faculty expertise has provided unique engineering support for communities and natural environments in Vermont and across the nation.
Engineers Without Borders student club volunteers with flood recovery efforts
When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reached out to the University of Vermont chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) to assist local communities with their recovery from the devastating floods this summer, the students responded by connecting and ultimately partnering with several local Long Term Recovery Groups. The chapter is taking an active role in clean-up efforts, volunteering on weekends to do the dirty and difficult work required to help save homes and structures from the threat of further damage caused by rot from packed, damp mud. This fall, the crew traveled to Waterbury to assist with clearing out flooded properties.
Pictured in the group photo are Cooper Petrie, Billie McCarthy, Luke Briggerman, Alena Annunziata, Kita Guerra, Sienna Dorr, Garret Webster, Max Lucas, and Nathan Kellison-Miller.
The Pidgeon Structures Lab is a key facility where students gain hands-on real world experience that is essential to their experience at UVM. We are in the process of updating the structures lab, in particular the large reaction frame with updated actuators and controls and data acquisition programming with expected expense of about $200K.
Donations to the CEE Department have and continue to support student learning, state-of-the-art facilities like the Structures Lab, outstanding research, conferences and seminars, and much more! If you want to contribute to the success of the department and students please consider a donation.
