Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

National Engineers Week: Rewrite the Code - Ignite Innovation with Inclusivity through the Power of Psychological Safety
2024-02-21 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Fenway Center, 77 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Fireside Chat on the Power of Psychological Safety with Award-Winning Engineer and Industry Consultant Dr. Mark McBride-Wright and Northeastern’s College of Engineering Dean Gregory Abowd.

Learn how inclusivity in the workplace and beyond can ensure mental and physical safety.
Understand how to use DEI to maximize skillsets.
Explore impactful case studies increasing representation of minoritized groups in engineering.
Discover DEI strategies to enhance productivity and safety in teams.
Transform the way you lead in all areas of your life.

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Time: 12 noon—1:30 p.m., ET, Doors open at 11:30 a.m., Complimentary Lunch.
Place: Northeastern University, Fenway Center (77 St Stephen St, Boston, MA 02115) and Virtual
Who: Students, Faculty, and Staff, engineers and non-engineers across Northeastern and other universities

Dr. Mark McBride-Wright is Founder and Managing Director of EqualEngineers, a company offering a wide array of diversity & inclusion consultancy and training services for corporations, as well as creative events. He has worked with many Fortune 50 companies.
As a recognized diversity and inclusion leader, he is the recipient of the prestigious Rooke Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering in July 2022 for his work in promoting in engineering to the public. In June 2023, he was awarded an MBE for services to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the King’s Birthday Honours. He is a Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering Leadership at University College London, and author of the book, The SAFE Leader© (due for release in March 2024).
Register
Engineers Week

2023 AEESP Conference Hosted at Northeastern University
2023-06-20 - 2023-06-23 | MA
Northeastern University is proud to present the 2023 AEESP Research and Education Conference, organized in collaboration with a large team from universities in New England including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, University of Connecticut, University of Maine, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of New Hampshire, and University of Rhode Island. This conference will be welcoming participants from across the country and internationally, as well as representatives from industry, for 4 days of sharing, learning, and planning. The conference activities will commence on Tuesday, June 20 and continue through Friday, June 23, under the theme “Responding Together to Global Challenges”. The conference and its attendees will reflect the many contributions environmental scientists and engineers are making to address concerning global, historical, and emerging challenges to living in a healthy, safe, and just society such as a changing climate, emerging environmental quality and human health threats, aging infrastructure and networks, marginalization of communities, and evolving education demands.
The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) is a global organization of professors in academic programs who strive to provide education in the sciences and technologies of environmental protection. Founded in 1963, the Association has grown to universities around the world, facilitating improving education and research programs and encouraging graduate education. “This conference is an important meeting to exchange novel ideas in environmental research and education. We are proud to host academics, students, and friends from far and wide who will be sharing their recent advances in their fields of study,” said Philip Larese-Casanova, Associate Professor at Northeastern University, who also serves as the Conference Chair. In addition, the conference also serves the profession by providing information to government agencies and the public and provides direct benefits to its members.
Unique elements of this year’s conference include a career fair and outreach activities on Conference Day 1, a gala dinner on Day 2 at the New England Aquarium, and a series of field trips in and around Boston on Friday June 23 to round out the week! The conference schedule includes the conventional and highly sought-after workshops and technical presentations. Students, post-docs, and faculty will find ample organized opportunities for networking, career development, and community outreach at the conference.
Registration is open through June 5 for the 2023 AEESP Conference!

Ignorance Is Bliss: A Career Retrospective
2023-06-13 17:30 - 19:15 | 102 ISEC, 360 Huntington Ave, 102 ISEC, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Dean Gregory D. Abowd will present his SIGCHI Lifetime Research Award Acceptance Lecture
Date: Tues., June 13, 2023
Time: 5:30 to 7:15 PM, reception following Dean Abowd’s talk
Place: In-Person and Livestream
BostonCHI meeting at Northeastern University in ISEC Auditorium (102 ISEC), and reception in ISEC Atrium
Registration is appreciated but not required. View BostonCHI for more information.
Presentation Abstract: In 1988, as a graduate student grappling to find a research identity, Gregory D. Abowd accidentally discovered the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Over the past 35 years, he pursued a passion for applying the tools and techniques of computing to uncover how the human experience with technology can be understood and transformed. That leap into HCI was just the first of a number of leaps of faith. Abowd’s career has been a series of shifting research agendas, each one inspired by some life events. In all cases, he was buoyed by a bevy of talented and supportive colleagues, advisors and advisees alike, who gave him the courage to jump into a research topic that he didn’t know much about. That “ignorance” has allowed him to be more fearless than he had the right to be. In this talk, Abowd will reflect on his professional journey, hoping to inspire others to dispel fear of the unknown and unlock their potential. Life, like research, is best when shared with others whom you can respect and befriend.
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Gregory D. Abowd, dean of the College of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University, has received the Lifetime Research Award from the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI). The award is presented to individuals for “the best, most fundamental, and influential research contributions to the study of human-computer interaction (HCI)” and is awarded for a lifetime of innovation and leadership.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Feature
2023-06-06 10:00 - 11:00 | MA
The College of Engineering is excited to host a Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Feature event on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 10:00am ET. We’d love to see you there.
As a Northeastern student, you will have the future benefit of joining a robust alumni network that connects you with engineers around the world with exciting experiences and beneficial connections. In this webinar, you’ll learn from a Civil and Environmental alum where you will have the opportunity to hear about their Northeastern experience and how that set them up for their success in their industry today.
Topics this event will cover include:

Time as a student: Learn from our alum on how their time as a student at Northeastern University prepared them for the career they have today.
Transition to Industry: Our alum will share their experiences in industry and how they were able to use their Northeastern education to excel in the field.
Alumni Network: Northeastern University has alumni across the country and around the world. Learn how those connections remain beneficial to you after graduation.

Reserve your spot today and join us on June 6, 2023, at 10:00am ET.

PlusOne Information Session
2023-03-22 18:00 - 19:00 | MA
LEARN ABOUT THE PLUSONE ACCELERATED MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM
A master’s degree can provide you an additional level of expertise in an area aligned with your career goals. As a currently enrolled Bachelor of Science (BS) student in the College of Engineering at Northeastern, you have the opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree (MS) in an accelerated time period with the PlusOne program. Once accepted into the program in an approved PlusOne pathway, which is a BS and MS PlusOne combination, you can earn an MS degree with, in most cases, just one extra year of study beyond your undergraduate degree program.
In this virtual information session, College of Engineering undergraduate and graduate academic advisors will provide an overview of the PlusOne program to give you the knowledge and next steps to take advantage of the program if you choose.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

What is PlusOne
Benefits of the program
Eligibility
Co-op considerations
Financial considerations
Selecting your pathway
Academic advising resources
Timeline to apply
The application process
Course registration
Transitioning to graduate school

Zoom

COE PhD Research Expo
2023-02-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
The College of Engineering is excited to announce the fifth annual COE PhD Research Expo, and we invite all COE PhD students to submit a poster abstract. The expo is an excellent opportunity for your students to highlight their research and gain presentation experience before RISE.
Event: COE PhD Research Expo
Date: Monday, February 27, 2023
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Place: McLeod Suites – Curry Student Center
The expo will take place following National Engineer’s Week.
Student Abstracts:
Please encourage your PhD students to submit poster abstracts by February 10, 2023. The COE Communications Lab will offer interested students a poster preparation and presentation workshop early February. We will send details of the workshop to students soon.
Faculty Judges:
We are looking for around ten faculty members to serve as judges. If you are available to judge between 1:30pm and 3:00pm on Monday, February 27th please reach out to Taryn Urbanus (t.urbanus@northeastern.edu) by Friday, February 17th.

Engineers Week: Fireside Chat – Break the Mold! Think Beyond Technology to Make an Impact in Unimaginable Ways
2023-02-22 17:30 - 18:30 | East Village, 17th floor, 360 Huntington Ave, East Village 17th floor, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Featuring Award-Winning Engineer and Commentator Dr. Shini Somara and Dean Gregory Abowd
Think about engineering in a completely different way. Engineering is all around us and involves technology and beyond to solve the complex challenges of the world. Engineering is for everyone, and everyone is for engineering! Dr. Somara has been featured on Crash Course, BBC World, Discovery Channel, and more. Get ready for an engaging, out-of-the-box session!
When: Wed., February 22, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.)
Reception to follow with refreshments – opportunity to meet and network with Dr. Somara and Dean Abowd
Where: 17th Floor of East Village
Who: For engineers and non-engineers (undergraduate, graduate, and high school students)
Register at: https://neweek.sites.northeastern.edu/

Engineers Week: Cookies with the Dean
2023-02-21 17:30 - 19:30 | MA
Celebrating our COE students! Opportunity to meet and talk to Dean Gregory Abowd. Enjoy snacks (popcorn, pretzels, various desserts, hot chocolate), free swag, and photo booths!
When: Tuesday, February 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Where: Robinson Quad Bamboo & Industry Tents (near Mugar Life Sciences Building – 330 Huntington Ave)
Who: COE students

Call for Abstracts! AEESP 2023
2023-02-01 08:00 - 2023-02-15 17:00 | MA
We are thrilled to share the news that Northeastern will be hosting the 2023 Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Conference, the preeminent professional gathering on all things environmental that is hosted biannually at a US university.We will be welcoming 700-800 of our colleagues to campus this June for a 4-day event that will target topics under the theme “Responding Together to Global Challenges”. This theme is well aligned with the research we do here at Northeastern, and we would love to see big representation from our student community!
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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Due February 15, 2023
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Abstracts for oral/poster presentation on any topic of interest to the community will be considered, with conference sessions organized around major global challenges, including:

A changing climate
Current and emerging threats to environmental quality and human health
New education and workforce demands
Aging infrastructure and risks to lifeline systems
Marginalization of communities
Emerging topics (to be added based on submissions received)

For more information on the conference and abstract submission please see the attached flyer and the conference website: https://aeesp2023.sites.northeastern.edu/
And you can send questions to anyone on the Planning Committee – or drop by to chat!
2023 AEESP Conference Planning Committee

Matt Eckelman, Science Committee Chair
m.eckelman@northeastern.edu
Phil Larese-Casanova, Conference Chair
P.LareseCasanova@northeastern.edu
Amy Mueller, Conference co-Chair
a.mueller@northeastern.edu

Offshore Wind Tech Week Network Reception
2022-12-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Alumni Center, 716 Columbus Ave, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02120, United States
This event will celebrate #OffshoreWindTechWeek – comprised of the National Offshore Wind R&D Symposium December 5 & 6 and the International Offshore Wind Technical Conference (IOWTC) December 7 & 8.
This networking reception will close out the 2022 Symposium and introduce the IOWTC, happening the following days on December 7 & 8 at Northeastern University. All offshore wind industry professionals are welcome to attend, regardless of whether they are attending Symposium or IOWTC.
*Note – All in-person NOWRDC Symposium registrants are automatically registered for this networking reception.
Location: Alumni Center at Northeastern University, 716 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02120
Register

First Year Engineering Expo
2022-12-02 08:00 - 17:00 | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Please come to the Curry Student Center indoor quad and pit on Friday, December 2nd to see Northeastern’s First-Year Engineering Students’ inventive projects, games, and exhibits.
Students will showcase original board games, interactive projects geared to teach children sustainability concepts, and prolific prototypes to help solve a wide range of problems.
Each project applies the engineering concepts introduced this past semester, which includes the Engineering Design Process, Solidworks, AutoCAD, Programming with C++ and Matlab, and controlling microelectronics with Arduino.

DOC info session: Sustainable Waste Management in Cagliari, ITALY
2022-11-30 17:00 - 18:00 | MA
Learn about the Summer 1 Dialogue of Civilizations on Sustainable Waste Management in Cagliari, ITALY
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 960 2359 0759
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+19292056099,,96023590759# US (New York)
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Join by Skype for Business

Using NVivo for Literature Reviews Webinar
2022-11-10 12:00 - 13:00 | MA
CEE GSC & QSR Internation Presents:Scholarly Writing Webinar:Using NViVo for Literature Reviews
When: November 10, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) QSR International, the developers of NVivo are presenting a complimentary webinar on Scholarly Writing focused on how NVivo and reference management software, like Citavi can assist you throughout the writing process from literature review, outline, and first draft to publishing. They (QSR International) promise you will never have writer’s block again!The webinar will cover how you can use the power of NVivo & Citavi together to assist with your writing in the following ways:

Review of Literature: Easily search databases and websites for references to include in your project
Pre-Writing: Efficiently organize and annotate literature, and highlight critical quotes, comments, and ideas across many articles while developing a detailed outline
Writing: Export your outline with the content you highlighted into a Word document in seconds, taking you from the first draft to final publication
Revise & Edit: With Word integration, organize content and manage citations, plus references seamlessly
Publish: Speed up the writing process to help you publish faster and more often
Collaborate: Enable research groups of any size to work together – worldwide in the cloud.

NViVo is available for download by following these instructions.
REGISTER HERE FOR ZOOM WEBINAR

PlusOne Information Session
2022-10-20 18:00 - 19:00 | MA
Learn about the PlusOne Accelerated Master’s Degree Program
A master’s degree can provide you with an additional level of expertise in an area aligned with your career goals. As a currently enrolled Bachelor of Science (BS) student in the College of Engineering at Northeastern, you have the opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree (MS) in an accelerated time period with the PlusOne program. Once accepted into the program in an approved PlusOne pathway, which is a BS and MS PlusOne combination, you can earn an MS degree with, in most cases, just one extra year of study beyond your undergraduate degree program.
In this virtual information session, College of Engineering undergraduate and graduate academic advisors will provide an overview of the PlusOne program to give you the knowledge and next steps to take advantage of the program if you choose.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
• What is PlusOne
• Benefits of the program
• Eligibility
• Co-op considerations
• Financial considerations
• Selecting your pathway
• Academic advising resources
• Timeline to apply
• The application process
• Course registration
• Transitioning to graduate school
Learn more and apply: coe.northeastern.edu/plusone

GSE Wonder Week: Learn about Civil + Environmental Engineering Graduate Programs
2022-10-19 08:00 - 09:00 | MA
Learn about Civil + Environmental Engineering Graduate Programs

COE Selecting a Major Panel
2022-10-06 18:30 - 20:00 | MA
Not sure what to major in?
Considering switching majors?
Hear upperclassmen across all engineering disciplines share about their experiences!
Join via Microsoft Teams using your NU email
Email Liza Russell at russell.li@northeastern.edu for more information or to receive the link by email

MathWorks Week: AI for Humans
2022-03-04 11:00 - 12:00 | MA
Join MathWorks engineers and Northeastern faculty for these insightful seminars in Climate Change, Quantum Computing, and AI.

AI for Humans
Friday, March 4, 11 am – 12 pm
Register: MathWorksNUSymposiumAI.eventbrite.com
Fundamentals of AI
Neha Sardesai, MathWorks
How to apply machine learning and deep learning to images and signals. You’ll see how MATLAB® provides an environment to apply advanced techniques without requiring coding or experience in machine learning and deep learning.
Invariant Representation Learning for Human Pose Estimation withSmall Data
Sarah Ostadabbas, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Descriptions of the state-of-the-art representation learning algorithms for visual perception tasks in the contexts of human pose estimation, especially when we are facing problems where data collection or labeling is expensive (i.e. Small Data domains).
Machine learning for retina image analysis for Retinopathy ofPrematurity (ROP) severity assessment.
Deniz Erdogmus, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Discussion of the use of active learning, deep learning, and Siamese neural networks to develop deep neural network models for automated retina image analysis to diagnose and assess the severity of retinopathy of prematurity in babies born prematurely.

MathWorks Week: Chemistry, Deep Learning and Quantum Computing
2022-03-03 15:00 - 16:00 | MA
Join MathWorks engineers and Northeastern faculty for these insightful seminars in Climate Change, Quantum Computing, and AI.

Chemistry, Deep Learning and Quantum Computing
Thursday, March 3, 3 pm – 4 pm
Register: MathWorksNUSymposiumQuantumComputing.eventbrite.com
Graph Neural Networks for Chemistry Using MATLAB
Hossein Jooya, MathWorks
MATLAB’s new features in handling chemical structures, from small organic molecules to proteins will be demonstrated. Graph-convolutional (GC) and graph-attention (GA) networks are explained with various examples from toxicity prediction to molecular optimization. Attendees will have access to the shared code modules and can adapt them for their own research with hand-in-hand support from MathWorks technical team.
Photonic Quantum Technologies
Sunil Mittal, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
This talk will discuss the generation, manipulation, and measurements of quantum states of light, such as entangled photons, for applications in photonic quantum computation, quantum communications, and sensing.
Do You Trust Your Quantum Computers with Correct Answers?
Devesh Tiwari, Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) machines are increasingly being used to develop quantum algorithms and establish use cases for quantum computing. These devices, however, are highly error-prone and produce output which can be far from the correct output of the quantum algorithm. This talk will discuss some promising approaches towards estimating the correct program output on erroneous quantum devices.

COE PhD Expo
2022-03-03 14:00 - 16:30 | Raytheon Amphitheater (240 Egan)
The College of Engineering is excited to announce the fourth annual COE PhD Research Expo, and we invite all COE PhD students to submit a poster abstract. This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight your research and meet alumni, academic, and industry leaders.
The expo will take place during COE’s Graduate Candidate Day, where PhD candidates could learn first-hand about the exciting research our PhD students are conducting.
***We are closely monitoring COVID-related updates and abiding by the University policies to ensure safe attendance of the event. Should the expo be conducted virtually, we will send out follow-up communications about the updated logistics of the event.
Submit an Abstract. Deadline: January 24, 2022
In consultation with your research advisor, submit a poster abstract. We welcome posters that have been presented elsewhere.
Abstract word limit is 200 words. Authors accepted to participate will be notified by Feb. 2nd of their selection.
Prepare with a Workshop In addition, the COE Communications Lab will host workshops on the following dates:
Abstract – Thursday, January 20 at 5pm

Join with Zoom Link

Data Visualization – Thursday, January 27 at 5pm

Join with Zoom Link

Poster preparation – Thursday, February 3 at 5pm

Join with Zoom Link

Elevator Pitch/ Presentation – Thursday, February 24 at 5pm

Join with Zoom Link

We are excited to offer this opportunity to showcase the research of our PhD students and to provide a platform for you to gain valuable experience and network with academic and industry leaders.

MathWorks Week: Climate, Energy and the Built Environment
2022-03-01 10:30 - 11:30 | MA
Join MathWorks engineers and Northeastern faculty for these insightful seminars in Climate Change, Quantum Computing, and AI.

Climate, Energy and the Built Environment
Tuesday, March 1, 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Register: MathWorksNUSymposiumClimate.eventbrite.com
Insights of climate changes from the Common Era: an Artificial Intelligence view
Jianghao Wang, MathWorks
The rapid global warming seen in observations over the past 150 years shows nearly global coherence, the spatiotemporal coherence of climate epochs earlier in the Common Era (the past 2,000 years), however, has yet to be robustly tested. Understanding how the climate system works and how historical temperature changes shed light on the study of anthropogenic climate change.
Modeling the Stochastic Dynamics of Rotating Wind Turbine Blades
Luca Caracoglia, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
This presentation describes the results of recent research activities, examining the dynamic modeling of wind turbine blades under the influence of various sources of input error and noise. The presentation will focus on the flutter phenomenon. Flutter is a flow-induced dynamic instability that results from the coupling between flap-wise bending mode and torsional mode of the rotating blade.
Locating Damage in Structural Systems
Dennis Bernal, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
This presentation outlines the basic ideas behind some techniques used to localize damage applicable in cases where the structure is large, and the number of sensors is small. Visual inspection has been the traditional procedure used to check the condition of structural systems but there is significant interest in devising ways to replace or enhance this approach by incorporating information from sensors.

What’s Next? Career Conversations with NUCEAO
2022-02-03 12:00 - 13:00 | MA
Do you have questions about life after graduation? Northeastern Civil Engineering Alumni Organization (NUCEAO) is offering a virtual lunchtime “office hours” series for students and young alumni to chat and network with professionals who are actively working in the Civil Engineering and Construction fields.
Each session we will be focusing on a different topic, but feel free to bring specific questions for our panelists! You can sign up for as many hours as you like.
Switching Concentrations After Graduation
February 3, 2022 – 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET
Hear from NUCEAO board members on how they switched concentrations within civil engineering:
Dan Hack, E’16, Turner Construction Company
Kayla Sousa, E’15, PE, Howard Stein Hudson
Ezgi Talarico, E’14, MBA’21, Gilbane Building Company
Relocating for Work
February 17, 2022 – 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET
Hear from NUCEAO board members on how they relocated for work:
Sam Kinnaly, E’20, MS’20, Suffolk Construction
Ryan St. Martin, E’08, JB Pacific
Ezgi Talarico, E’14, MBA’21, Gilbane Building Company
Acquiring Professional Licensure
March 3, 2022 – 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET
Questions about obtaining professional licenses and exams like the PE and LEED? Ask NUCEAO!
Anna Beheshti, E’15, PE, Arup
Teja Pulla, MS’18, LEED AP BDC, CCT, CMIT, Drone Pilot, AECOM
Mike Tecci, E’03, MS’08, PE/SE LEED GA, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
Graduate School
March 10, 2022 – 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET
Hear from NUCEAO board members about their experiences applying to and completing graduate school:
Allie Goldberg, E’15, Weston & Sampson
Ashley Kocsis, MS’15, PE, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Ezgi Talarico, E’14, MBA’21, Gilbane Building Company
Closed Captioning. Live closed captioning services for this event can be made available upon advanced request (2 weeks).
These events are complimentary but registration is required.
All registrants will receive an email with information on accessing this virtual event.
Register

Learn about the Co-op Program (Disciplinary) Webinar
2021-12-01 08:00 - 09:00 | MA
Please join our Assistant Dean of Co-op at a webinar discussing the Co-op experiential learning opportunities available for graduate students in the departments of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Mechanical & Industrial Engineering.
Register

Engineering Environmental Data Justice: From citizen science to community data
2021-11-17 12:00 - 13:00 | 101 Churchill, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Please join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for this Lunch & Learn seminar series, A Bimonthly seminar series focusing on convergent research, bringing together Northeastern colleagues and collaborators to think big/bold, explore ideas that build cooperation and foster transformative innovation within CEE and across disciplines beyond CEE.
Abstract: Premature births, unexplained human and livestock sicknesses, flammable water faucets, toxic wells and the onset of hundreds of earthquakes, the impacts of fracking in the United States are far-reaching and deeply felt. In this talk Dr. Wylie explores how extractive resource systems, like natural gas extraction through fracking, are proceeded and supported by extractive data systems that create asymmetric access to information. Drawing together the fields of Environmental Health, Environmental Justice and Data Justice, Wylie explores how we can build community centered information systems that help create accountability for corporations and state agencies.
Based on her work building tools for community monitoring of the oil and gas industry and co-developing the watchdog organization the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI) Dr. Wylie reflects on how we can create community centered research and data systems that move beyond mapping exposure disparities to address the drivers of toxic contamination and make corporations responsible for their environmental harms. This precious present moment for action on Climate Change provides an opportunity to jointly create sustainable and just systems. Now is the time, Wylie argues to organize and collectively theorize, design, and engineer environmental data justice.
Bio: Sara Wylie is an Associate Professor Sociology/Anthropology and Health Science in Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute (SSEHRI). Her award-winning book Fractivism: Corporate Bodies and Chemical Bonds examines the U.S. unconventional energy industry. She is the co-founder of the citizen science organization Public Lab and the accountability organization Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI).

Developing Resilient Civil Infrastructure Systems – a Convergent Approach
2021-11-15 12:00 - 13:00 | 101 Churchill, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Distinguish Seminar Series is open for attendees from the College of Engineering and the University as a whole.
Developing Resilient Civil Infrastructure Systems – a Convergent Approach
ABSTRACT: Critical Civil Infrastructure systems, namely- Transportation network, Water systems, Waste-water systems, Electric grid and Communications network are vital to functioning of a community. They ought to be considered as Community assets and should be treated with the same care as all important assets are.
When a damaging natural hazard event such as earthquake, hurricane, and floods occur and strikes a community, the results can vary from tolerable to severe. To minimize the impact of such a hazard event, it is necessary that the community as a system respond in an integrated way. While it is necessary for built environment systems, economic systems, and social systems to work synergistically together, the focus of this talk is built environment systems – specifically the infrastructure systems, excluding the buildings. Because it is not always feasible to develop 100% resilience to damaging hazard events, acceptable functionality is strongly advocated. Such resilience in infrastructure systems can work quite well to keep the community functioning in an acceptable way.
Convergent engineering approach is used to develop the resilience, as it focuses on a Societal-level Problem, requires team -science and use of a transdisciplinary language, all required for a satisfactory solution.
BIO: Vilas Mujumdar practices as an independent consulting engineer since 2009. Previously he was CEO, President, and Partner of many large consulting engineering firms and worked at highest-level in the public sector, such as, Chief of Operations, Division of State Architect, State of California; Director, Engineering Research Centers Program – Natural Hazards, National Science Foundation.
His experience uniquely combines consulting engineering in the private sector – 35 years, State regulatory work – 10 years, and Research management at the Federal Govt. level – 6 years. This is enriched by working in different aspects of engineering such as: Civil/Structural Design, Project Management, Teaching, Research and Research Management in Asia, Europe, Canada, and the US.
Please arrive early to prevent disruption.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Webinar
2021-11-01 08:00 - 09:00 | MA
Please join faculty and graduate admissions staff at a webinar discussing the Civil and Environmental Engineering departmental program offerings and experiential learning opportunities in the Graduate School of Engineering.

Virtual Field Trip Series: Dialogue of Civilizations - India and Nepal: Climate Change Science and Policy
2021-10-28 12:00 - 13:00 | MA
Learn about the impact climate change has on The Indian subcontinent’s diverse geography, culture, and economy, and the policies being pursued to mitigate the damage.
https://eventregistration.northeastern.edu/event/a2d5623e-cd58-481a-807f-89872942a82c/summary?RefId=COLLEGE

LEADERs Event: AI Challenges in the Deployment of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems
2021-10-27 14:00 - 15:00 | MA
This presentation will help attendees learn about integrating AI in auto industry. While AI has been able to achieve remarkable success over the last 10 years, can it really be trusted? What does trustworthy AI look like in the context of connected vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS)? To create an ADAS for all, it’s paramount that the AI systems in the vehicle be trusted and work for everyone. This is especially important given the nature of ADAS as a safety-critical, cyber-physical, and people-centric system of systems. In this talk, the presenter will outline a number of challenges in building AI systems which could potentially be deployed in future ADAS.
Speaker Dr. Jacob Bond leads trustworthy AI research at General Motors R&D. In addition to his work on ensuring AI systems in the vehicle can be trusted, his research looks at how to keep AI systems private and how to ensure cloud and vehicle systems can establish secure communications. After receiving a Ph.D. in computational mathematics and cryptography from Purdue University, he joined General Motors’ Product Cybersecurity organization, focusing on applications of public-key cryptography. Jacob then began investigating the security of AI systems, moving to GM R&D and expanding his work to encompass the trustworthiness of AI systems.

Showcase of Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor (SOURCE)
2021-10-06 17:00 - 20:00 | Curry Student Center, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Calling all Huskies! Learn more about what cutting-edge research and creative endeavor look like at Northeastern. This is your chance to talk one-on-one with faculty from across the colleges about their research – and how you can get involved in projects during your time at Northeastern. Not everyone will have open positions right now but you’ll get a chance to see the range of work that’s happening and begin to make connections that you can build for the rest of your time at Northeastern.
Before you attend, here’s some advice to consider.

Take a look and see who’ll be there. We have an online database of attendees. Go through it and learn more about the project areas and visit the researcher/creative practitioner web pages. This will help prepare you for a conversation and help you ask any questions you might have.
Get ready for a conversation from your end. Think about goals you have , as well as your current interests and skills and those that you want to develop. How does what you have read about the various projects align with what you know about yourself and your interests? Take a minute to practice a simple declarative sentence, “My name is ____________. I study ____________. I think that this part of your work ____________ is interesting because of this intellectual reason/moral imperative/grand impact ____________. I’d love to learn more about it because of this previous experience ____________ and these skills ____________ and my long-term interest in ____________. How I can get involved?” You might not know how to fill in all of the blanks right now (that’s why you’re in school) but see how close you can get. When you know who you are, what you value, and how you can contribute — and get some practice saying it out loud– being confident becomes easier.
Remember, not every faculty member will have open positions now — but a good impression lasts a long time. You can’t go wrong with being polite and courteous. Address faculty members as Professor until told otherwise (better to err on the side of formality).
Keep in mind your time! If you want to be involved in research or creative practice, a good thing to keep in mind is that faculty members will commit a lot of time to training and mentoring their undergraduates. They’re investing time, energy, and expertise in their mentees and want to know that you will make time for the projects, show up consistently, and ideally be with them for longer than a semester if possible. The learning curve of most projects is steep and it takes some time to get to the meatiest parts of the work. Be honest with yourself about the commitment you can make, be frank with your faculty mentors, and stick to your word. Communication and honesty in relationships, including the mentoring relationship, is key.

SOURCE is a collaboration between Bouvé College of Health Sciences; College of Arts, Media and Design; College of Engineering; College of Science; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; D’Amore-McKim School of Business; and Khoury College of Computer Science. It is coordinated by Undergraduate Research and Fellowships on behalf of the Office of the Chancellor.

From Food to Resilience and Everything In Between
2021-09-14 17:00 - 18:30 | MA
This unique, interactive 7-part open seminar (attend one or all!) will feature guest speakers that explore the challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainable and resilient programs at Northeastern University. The class topics will include energy, recycling, ecology, resilience, sustainable food, and climate justice, as taught by Northeastern faculty and administrative staff. Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Michael Kane is the guest speaker on 9/21/21.
When: Tuesdays, September 14 through October 26
Where: 305 Shillman | Via Zoom
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST
Registration and Details: https://facilities.northeastern.edu/sustainability/open-classroom-2021/

COE CommLab/Khoury College Writing Retreat
2021-07-20 08:00 - 2021-07-22 13:00 | MA
College of Engineering PhD students are invited to join us for a writing retreat July 20 – 22. The aim of this retreat is to create sustained writing time for researchers to work in a calm, supportive environment on a longer project. Studies have shown that an academic writing retreat supports productivity and progress while also encouraging helpful guidance from peers.
Our virtual retreat is organized around alternating periods of quiet work on individual projects with collective sessions on topics related to research writing. Each of the three days begins with a welcome message and group gathering. On the last day, we’ll wrap up the retreat with a virtual lunch to share concluding thoughts.
Register here for this event by June 24.
