Research
Convergent research with collaboration across government, industry, and academia
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering attracts exceptional faculty who conduct state-of-the-art research, are dedicated educators at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and advance the state of professional practice. Faculty conduct interdisciplinary research in department research areas, as part of the college’s multidisciplinary research centers, and within their laboratories, as well as working across the university, and with industry, government, and academia.
The department also has dedicated staff who provide a range of operational services, including laboratory technicians, a dedicated machine shop, and budget and finance.
View faculty profiles including faculty laboratory research, and recent Annual Reports.
Quick Facts
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering education and research missions are focused on Urban Engineering, anchored by several multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional centers and programs. Building on current strengths and expanding into new and vital areas, three overarching interdisciplinary research and education thrusts of the department include Environmental Health, Civil Infrastructure Security, and Sustainable Resource Engineering, with subthemes and disciplinary excellence in each of these areas. We have premier departmental strengths in four integrated enabling technologies that include Simulation (both computational and experimental), Smart Sensing, and Data and Network Science, and Urban Informatics.
q.wang@northeastern.edu
Urban and social resilience; geo-social networking; coupled, human-natural systems, natural disaster response and evacuation; urban computing
ya.zhang@northeastern.edu
Air quality; atmospheric chemistry; cloud/aerosol microphysics; sensitivity and uncertainty analysis; multiscale atmospheric modeling and forecasting; climate and Earth system modeling; health impact assessment; eco-environmental sustainability; human-Earth system interactions
Recent News
Warmer Water Can Lead to Stronger Hurricanes
CEE/MES Professor Qin Jim Chen explains that the high ocean temperatures are a factor in Hurricane Beryl’s record-breaking development and predicts a busy hurricane season.
How Slope Failures Can Lead to Critical Highway Collapses
CEE Associate Teaching Professor Craig Shillaber says that highway failures like the recently collapsed section of Teton Pass only happen under certain circumstances. These collapses are caused by slope failures, which depend on the stress of loading conditions and the strength of the foundation soil.
Northeastern Researchers Participate in Inaugural ClimaTech Conference
ECE/Khoury Professor Jennifer Dy, ECE/MIE Professor Hanumant Singh, and CEE Assistant Professor Julia Hopkins took part in the inaugural ClimaTech conference, joining hundreds of energy and technology experts from around the world who gathered to explore how protecting the environment can contribute to economic growth.
How Communities Can Brace Themselves for an Active Hurricane Season
CEE/MES Professor Qin Jim Chen provides insights into what NOAA and university researchers expect to be a significantly active 2024 hurricane season. Using past hurricanes as a reference, he also details the varying degrees of resiliency among different communities.