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
Stubbins Leads $1.3M NSF Grant To Investigate Plastics’ Role in Ocean Carbon Cycle
MES/COS/CEE Professor Aron Stubbins, in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire and the Sea Education Association, is leading a $1,319,273 NSF grant for “Nutrient-Mediated Interactions Between Plastic-Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon and the Biological Carbon Pump.”
Impact of Wake Effect on Offshore Wind Infrastructure
CEE Assistant Professor Eleonora Tronci co-authored research on the impact wake interactions have on the offshore Block Island Wind Farm that was published in the journal Renewable Energy. Mitigating wake effect is essential for improving the efficiency and longevity of wind farms.
Studying Coastal Sediments and Their Impact on Ecosystems
MES/CEE Assistant Professor Cristina Schultz, in collaboration with Boston University, was awarded a $808,319 NSF grant for “ULTRA-Data: Synthesizing the Role of Shallow Benthic Fluxes in Coastal Carbon Cycle Along the East Coast of the United States.” The research aims to understand the processes that can have a large role in controlling coastal water quality, and offer information that could help develop restoration projects and inform policy decisions.
Strategies for Reducing Transportation Emissions
CSSH/CEE Associate Professor Serena Alexander’s research, “What Tackles Vehicle GHG Emissions in California: Regional Plan Adoption or Local Leadership?” published in the journal Sustainability finds climate planning strategies are more successful with local and regional action, and with all different levels of government.