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Department of Civil Engineering

Departmental News:

Xudong Fan named an Outstanding Graduate Student Organization Member

CEE Ph.D. student Xudong Fan was recently awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Organization Member. Xudong is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the immediate past President of the Civil Engineering Graduate Student Association.  Under the capacity, Xudong has worked with the CEGSA leadership team to organize a variety of activities to build the bond between its membership and with the Department, which served as the basis for the Department nomination.   The award was presented by the School of Graduate Studies  as part of the Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards.

CWRU Teams wins NESOWEA Student Design Competition

CWRU team won the NESOWEA Ohio Water Environment Association Student Design Competition. The winning team was Abby Slates (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Andi Chakraborty (Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Sofie Iwamasa (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) from Case Western Reserve University.

The winning team will present their project at the 2021 One Water Ohio Conference and will represent Ohio at the Water Environment Federation Student Design Competition in October at WEFTEC in Chicago. The team’s winning design was for an energy recovery system for the Philip Q. Maiorana Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lorain, OH. Teams from CWRU have won three of the four competitions since the competition began in 2018.

 

Dr. Rhoads Received the Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Development

 

Faculty member Dr. Kurt Rhoads was recently awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Development. Dr. Rhoads is an associate professor in the Division of Engineering Leadership and Professional Practice and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. He is the co-director of the Roger E. Susi First-Year Engineering Experience, co-director of the Center for Engineering Action, where he works with student teams to develop for student teams both locally and internationally. The award was presented by Provost Ben Vinson as part of the Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards.

Congratulations!

CWRU Student Steel Bridge Team Competes from Campus

Case Western Reserve University’s Student Steel Bridge Team concluded two years of effort and competed from CWRU’s campus on March 30, 2021. The Student Steel Bridge Competition, hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction, challenges students to design a model steel bridge to simulate a real-world design and construction process. Among many other specifications, the bridge must span approximately 20 feet and carry 2,500 pounds.  (full story)

Recent Alumni Ram Mazumder appointed Associate Editor of ASCE Journal of Pipeline System Engineering and Practice

Ram Krishna Mazumder, Ph.D., a recent graduate advised by Dr. Yue Li, has been appointed as an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice effective March 15, 2021, for the next three years. 

This journal is sponsored by the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This journal provides perspectives on a broad range of topics on the planning, engineering, design, construction, renewal, safety, operation and maintenance, asset management, environmental aspects, and sustainability of pipeline systems. (full story)

CWRU Students Receive Top Recognition in RePicture Award Program

RePicture is a virtual community that promotes education and networking among engineering students and professionals. RePicture promotes the amazing work done by engineers of diverse backgrounds and gives students a window into their possible contribution as professionals. (click for full story).

Ph.D. student Xijin Zhang received Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship from the Northeast Ohio WTS Chapter

Xijin Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate advised by Dr. Xiong (Bill) Yu, has been selected as the recipient of the 2020-2021 Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship from the Northeast Ohio WTS Chapter.

The WTS Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship was established in 1981 by WTS International in memory of Helene for her dedicated service and a spirit to engage female transportation engineers. The scholarship is awarded to women pursuing career paths in transportation or a related field.

Xijin’s study is on the development of innovative bio-mediated civil engineering materials. More specifically on incorporating advanced microbial-based materials to improve sustainability and environmentally benign transportation infrastructure.

Congratulations!

3/5/2021

Students ASHE Lake Erie Transportation Engineer Scholarship

CWRU CEE students, Elizabth White and Brian Lin, are recipients of the 2021 American Society of Highway Engineer (ASHE) Lake Erie Section scholarship. The scholarship is selected among Northeast Ohio Civil Engineering students with an interest in Transportation Engineering.

Elizabeth, a Junior and third year Varsity soccer player, wrote to the committee about a CWRU seminar she took called “Transportation in American Life.” In her essay Elizabeth writes, “…I was most captivated by the Interstate Highway system…reading about the work gave me a newfound appreciation and love for the work of a a highway engineer…Engineers have to take into account the impact on communities and people…I appreciate the extra challenge…to make a positive impact on communities.”  (click to continue)

Ph.D. Student Zhuoying (Zoey) Jiang received Outstanding Graduate Student Awards

Zhuoying (Zoey) Jiang, a Ph.D. candidate advised by Prof. Xiong (Bill) Yu, has been named as a recipient of two awards for academic achievements.  These include the 2020 Waheed Uddin Outstanding Graduate Student Award from USDOT National University Transportation Center (TriDurLE) and the 2021 IACIP Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the International Association of Chinese Infrastructure Professionals.  

Zoey has an interdisciplinary training in Civil, Materials, and Physics.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Materials Physics at Xi’an Jiaotong University, China and MS degree in Materials Science and Engineering at CWRU. Her Ph.D. dissertation studied the new design of photocatalytic materials to radically improve the efficiency in air contaminant removal through experimental, physical-based finite element analysis, and data-based machine learning model. 

Congratulations!

Jan 2021

Dr. Frank Rausche honored with E.A.L. Smith Award Lectureship by Pile Driving Contractor Association

Dr. Frank Rausche, Department Alumni and long term supporter, has been honored with the 
Pile Driving Contractor Association (PDCA) E.A.L. Smith Award Lectureship.   The E.A.L. Smith Award Lecture is presented triennially during each International Foundations Conference & Equipment Expo (IFCEE) and is given to an individual who has demonstrated creative and original work that helps the driven pile industry provide an economical, sustainable, effective and environmentally conscious foundation solution.   According to the selection Committee, Dr. Rausche has “provided the engineer with a tool that helped design driven piles not only for geotechnical or structural suitability, but also for driveability and, therefore, constructability.”