With a strategic focus on urban engineering, Northeastern’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is at the forefront of interdisciplinary research and education in the evolving fields of environmental health, civil infrastructure security, and sustainable resource engineering.
Research Thrusts
Snell Professor and Associate Dean for Research Akram Alshawabkeh was awarded $13.2M from the NIH for the multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research project for environmental influences of child health outcomes in Puerto Rico.
Environmental Health
Yujie Yan, PhD student, focuses research on developing autonomous unmanned aerial systems to conduct routine inspection and post-disaster assessment of infrastructure.
Civil Infrastructure Security
Professor Auroop Ganguly, director of the Sustainability and Data Sciences Laboratory, uses technologies such as artificial intelligence and deep machine learning to enhance climate science understanding and inform policy.
Sustainable Resource Engineering
Our students are engaged in critical engineering challenges, both locally and globally. From Engineers Without Borders to the American Society of Civil Engineers—there is something for everyone to have fun while expanding your knowledge.
CommunitySpotlight Stories
ARPA-E Project
University Distinguished and CDM Smith Professor Jerome Hajjar leads the 4C2B: Century-Scale Carbon-Sequestration in Cross-Laminated Timber Composite Bolted-Steel Buildings project. Funded by ARPA-E, this multi-institutional research has already produced multiple publications on new systems for sustainable building design.
Advancing Offshore Wind Careers
CEE Assistant Professor Gilbert Ye, MIE Professor and Chair Yingzi Lin, CEE Professor Andrew Myers, in collaboration with the University of Alabama, were awarded a $1,000,000 NSF grant for “Engaging and Preparing the Offshore Wind Workforce through Hybrid Experiential Learning.”
Engineering in Action
PhD Research for Impact
Always fascinated by the ocean, Tyler McCormack, PhD, civil and environmental engineering, found his calling at Northeastern in studying wave mechanics. His research—based on inexpensive optical methods—is part of a new approach to monitoring the ocean’s near-shore environment, where deploying traditional instruments can be difficult, expensive, and dangerous.
World-Renowned Cooperative Education
Te’Erica Eason is pursuing a BS in environmental engineering. She is also on the varsity basketball team and an e-board member of the New England Water and Environmental Association. She says co-op is her guiding light and so far worked at WSP USA on hydropower. She hopes to open her own business in water distribution systems in undeveloped rural areas when she graduates.
World-Renowned Cooperative Education
Jude Arbogast, BS, civil engineering, has done two co-ops at Suffolk Construction—one in scheduling and staffing, and the other in the field where he found his love of construction management. He says co-op allowed him to put his knowledge to the test and find out what he really wanted to do.
PhD Research for Impact
Nicholas Briggs, PhD, civil and environmental engineering, used his Northeastern University experience to study composite materials—steel and concrete—under seismic loads, the stress exerted on structures by an earthquake. Working with teams in Northeastern’s “STReSS lab,” he’s gained experience to pave the way for both the practical and human sides of his career.
MS Co-op for Career Opportunities
When Ece Alan, MS, sustainable building systems, came to Northeastern from Istanbul, Turkey, the first thing she appreciated was the welcoming atmosphere for international students. Later, it was the hands-on learning and a co-op experience with RDH Building Science in Seattle—which matched her with the skills to find a job at one of her dream engineering firms.
Recent News
What Severe South American Quakes Teach Us About West Coast Disaster Readiness
Following a devastating doublet earthquake in Venezuela, Northeastern structural and resilience experts are urging California to bolster its preparedness for a future major rupture along the San Andreas Fault. Interim Dean Jerome Hajjar and CSSH/CEE Associate Professor Serena Alexander highlight that true mitigation requires addressing vulnerabilities across both interconnected physical infrastructure networks and local neighborhood emergency support systems.
Why Extreme Summer Temperatures Are Pushing Engineering Limits
As extreme heat strains infrastructure worldwide, CEE Associate Teaching Professor Nancy Varney and Professor Auroop Ganguly emphasize that prolonged spikes in temperature threaten to overwhelm power grids and public transit networks by exceeding baseline engineering parameters.
Building Low Cost Digital Twins to Accelerate Robotics Innovation
Fatemeh Ghoreishi, an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, jointly appointed with the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, was awarded $281,660 from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Innovation Institute, supporting a $352,075 project with matching cost-share, for OpenBayes Twin-in-a-Box: A Public, Decision-Grade Digital Twin and Manufacturable Compliant Manipulation Module for Massachusetts Logistics and Manufacturing. The award, granted under the institute’s Robotic Digital Twin Initiative, was one of six delivered across Massachusetts.
Evaluating the Limits of Modern Traffic Metrics
CSSH/CEE Associate Professor Serena Alexander conducts research finding that while the new “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) metric is an improved way to evaluate a development’s environmental impact, its success is limited by a lack of tool standardization, legal precedent, and community equity.