Civil Engineering

The Civil Engineering program focus areas include transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering and wind engineering.

Our Transportation Engineering research program offers a comprehensive approach to tackling critical challenges in the field. We focus on optimizing traffic flow and control, developing intelligent transportation systems, and advancing pavement engineering. Our faculty conduct research on various aspects of pavement engineering, including material characterization, sustainable construction, and innovative methods for pavement testing, evaluation, maintenance, and rehabilitation. We also employ statistical modeling to improve road safety, addressing challenges such as the rise of autonomous vehicles, the complexities of multi-modal transportation networks, and the persistent issue of distracted driving. This includes studying the effects of autonomous vehicles on crashes and examining factors contributing to fixed-object crash severity. Our multifaceted research program remains at the forefront of addressing the evolving needs of transportation engineering.

The Geotechnical Engineering program plays a pivotal role in advancing the understanding and application of granular materials in natural and built environments. Emphasizing soils and rocks as essential engineering materials, our program addresses behavioral challenges and mitigates natural and man-made hazards. Faculty and students engage in cutting-edge research using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. Research areas include foundation, slope, and earth retaining structure design, soil-structure interactions, site and material characterization, ground improvement, natural hazard assessment and mitigation, environmental geotechnics, and energy geotechnics. Collaboratively, we strive to develop innovative, resilient solutions to meet society's infrastructure and energy needs.

Structural Engineering faculty conduct research in cutting-edge areas as well as traditional focus areas. Engineering principles are used in novel ways to create synergistic solutions that could have far-reaching impacts on infrastructure and society, particularly in the context of natural hazards. Examples include: natural hazards engineering that tackles problems such as performance-based design of high-rise-buildings and long-span-bridges for extreme winds; multi-hazard sustainability (earthquake engineering, climate change, and probabilistic sea-level rise hazard analysis); methodologies and algorithms for uncertainty quantification and scientific machine learning; performance improvement of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures through analytical and experimental investigation; and investigation of cross-frame stiffness and stability in steel bridges.

Within the structures group, Wind Engineering faculty focus on advancing wind engineering and renewable energy systems through interdisciplinary studies and innovative research. We delve into critical aspects such as bridge and building aerodynamics to enhance structural stability under wind loads, alongside comprehensive analyses of wind effects on structures to mitigate damage from tornadoes and hurricanes. Our investigations also extend to studying the fatigue and extreme load responses of large wind turbines, ensuring their reliability and longevity. We address aeroelastic instabilities in both onshore and offshore wind turbines, contributing to safe and efficient energy production. Additionally, our research explores structural dynamics, random vibrations, performance-based design strategies, and artificial intelligence techniques to improve the resilience and functionality of wind-affected structures. By integrating these efforts, we aim to advance wind engineering standards and contribute to sustainable energy solutions for the future.