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
While ostensibly an issue of personal and public health, the pandemic's impact on all facets of life necessitates a broadly interdisciplinary approach to combating the disease, mitigating its economic impacts, and building a more resilient world against future threats. Learn about the research Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern is conducting into COVID-19.
COVID-19 Research in Civil and Environmental Engineering
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
NSF CAREER Award to Improve Home Thermal Automation
Assistant Professor Michael Kane, civil and environmental engineering, recently received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The project will enable the design of automation in the built environment that models human physiological and behavioral responses to changing environmental temperature conditions to satisfy competing objectives of energy management and occupant comfort.
Faculty Position Available
The department is seeking candidates for a tenure or tenure-track position in the area of Scientific Computing for Infrastructure Materials and one for a tenure or tenure-track position whose research addresses key challenges in Sustainable Water Systems and Coastal Ecosystems, broadly defined.
Engineering in Action
PhD Research for Impact
Always fascinated by the ocean, Tyler McCormack (PhD in 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 in Civil and Environmental Engineering) has 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 in 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
Invest in Infrastructure Now to Prevent Damage Later
CEE Professor Auroop Ganguly believes that more can be done to prepare for extreme weather events which will help save lives and reduce damages. The death toll in the Kentucky floods is climbing. Could this have been prevented? Main photo: Bonnie Combs, right, hugs her 10-year-old granddaughter Adelynn Bowling and watches as her property becomes […]
Record Temperatures Impacting Health and Infrastructure
CEE Professor Auroop Ganguly and MES/CEE Assistant Professor Samuel Munoz have been predicting that climate change would lead to record-breaking temperatures that would affect people’s health and dangerous environmental conditions.
Investigating the Accumulation of Microplastics in the Environment
MES/CEE Assistant Professor Samuel Munoz, CEE Professor Edward Beighley, and MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins were awarded a $530K NSF grant for “Evaluating Patterns and Controls on Microplastic Accumulation in Floodplains.”
Protecting Coastlines with Floating Wetlands
CEE Assistant Professor Julia Hopkins is working to design an “Emerald Tutu” of floating wetlands to protect shorelines from waves and coastal erosion.