Research

The department has established research strengths in a number of areas related to (1) sustainable, intelligent infrastructure systems, (2) water and air quality environmental science and engineering, (3) modeling of mechanical behavior of engineering materials over a wide range of length and time scales, and (4) in environmentally sustainable, or green, engineering practices. We intend to continue for the next 3-5 years to define a cutting-edge research agenda in these areas and take advantage of CIT-based centers: WaterQUEST (a center in urban water quality); CenSCIR (a center focused on delivering sensed, intelligent infrastructure); CAPS (a Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies); the Center for Sustainable Engineering; the Green Design Institute, and SEER (the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research), which coordinates research initiatives across departments in sustainable cities and energy-environment challenges. We also intend to establish a new center-level of activity in the area of multi-scale modeling of engineering materials. 

A number of influences on the built and natural environment will drive many of the future research needs and opportunities. First, the world population continues to grow and is concentrating in urban areas, taxing all forms of existing infrastructure and creating significant air, water and groundwater quality issues. At the same time, much of the inrastructure in the developed urban areas is aged and in poor condition. As the climate changes, weather patterns in these urban areas (as well as rural areas) will also change and create new challenges for both the built and natural environment in the form of more intense and frequent wind, flood and landslide events. In addition to natural disasters, the post 9-11 world also faces a much greater number of threats to the built and natural environment.  

The department maintains a commitment to excellence in education, research, and professional service while advancing the engineering science fundamentals of the civil and environmental engineering disciplines. The department research is organized into three major groups of activity:

	Advanced Infrastructure Systems planning, design, construction, and management/operation of built facilities and infrastructure, with emphasis on: 1) sensing, information modeling, advanced analytics and visualization for the construction, operation and maintenance phases of infrastructure systems; 2) new models, methods and tools for planning, design, project management and facility/infrastructure management; and 3) developing more sustainable processes and components that can be used in the built infrastructure
	Environmental Engineering, Sustainability and Science air and water quality engineering, science, and modeling; environmental nanotechnology; environment-energy studies, including, bioenergy, carbon capture and sequestration, shale gas; environmental sensing; green design and construction; industrial ecology; life cycle assessment; remediation; risk assessment; sustainable engineering; climate change
	Mechanics, Materials and Computing modeling and large-scale computer simulation; with emphasis on mechan­ics of crystalline, granular, and amorphous materials; dislocation mechanics; phase transformations; atomistic simulation; electromechanics of ‘smart’ materials; rheology of complex fluids; mechanics of soft-matter; engineering seismology and earthquake engineering.