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CEE News
AUGUST 2009
Watching Over the Water System - UCI Engineers Design Sensors to Monitor Pipes
After Earthquakes, Other Disasters After a big earthquake, it's key to keep the water system afloat. What is necessary for life, and it fights the fires that often accompany such disasters. UC Irvine engineers plan to outfit the local water system with sensors that will alert officials when and where pipes crack or break, hastening repair - thanks to nearly $5.7 million over three years from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and several local water groups.
"When an earthquake occurs and infrastructure systems fail, continued service of the water network is most critical," says Masanobu Shinozuka, Ph.D., lead project investigator and civil & environmental engineering chair. "Before anything happens, I'd like to have a pipe monitoring system in place to let us know when and where damage occurs. It could minimize misery and save lives." Read More >>
UC Teams Attack Urgent State Issues
One initiative will team UC researchers from more than 30 disciplines on six UC campuses to work on reducing congestion, oil use, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
"Transportation is central to economic and social life in California," said Stephen Ritchie, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine and co-director of the new sustainable transportation research program, which was awarded $6.25 million over five years. Read more >>
Dean Bras Elected to National Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico
Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., distinguished professor and dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, has been elected to the Academia de Artes y Ciencias de Puerto Rico in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments and “for lifetime contributions to the arts, sciences and literature.”
Bras is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a corresponding member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Meteorological Society.
JULY 2009
California Governor Appoints CEE Professor to Western States Water Council
Betty H. Olsen, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the Western States Water Council, an organization designed to advance the cooperation of regional water resource management and conservation policies of 18 western states. Olson is also a member of the Santa Margarita Water District board of directors.
The Western States Water Council was established in 1965 to foster cooperation among western states in the conservation, management and development of water resources. California currently has six members on the council.
JUNE 2009
Maria Feng Receives Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research
Maria Q. Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, has been named the 2009-2010 recipient of the Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research on behalf of UC Irvine’s Academic Senate, honoring her significant contributions to scholarship through distinguished research. This recognition is among the most prestigious awards University of California faculty members can receive from their colleagues.
As part of this distinction, Feng will be invited to present a Distinguished Faculty Lecture during the 2009 fall quarter.
Brett Sanders Honored with Celebration of Teaching Award
Brett Sanders, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at this year's UC Irvine Celebration of Teaching Awards, presented by the Division of Undergraduate Education, The Council on Student Experience and The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center. Sanders research focuses on environmental hydrodynamics, and his specialty is numerical modeling of free surface flow and transport in rivers and the coastal zone (estuaries, harbors, and bays). Undergraduates are introduced to this field in CEE 20 (Engineering Problem Solving with Matlab), taught by Sanders, where computational methods are presented in the context of civil and environmental engineering analysis and design problems. This year, students developed a Matlab computer code which applied Newton's method for solving non-linear systems of equations to design the expansion of a pressurized water distribution network.
Recognized for her exemplary leadership and expertise in civil engineering
Maria Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and director and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, was recently elected to Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, a prestigious recognition exemplifying her outstanding contributions to civil engineering.
Feng also was bestowed with the Best Paper Award by The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Japan in 2008 for "Robust Joint Torque Estimation and High-Speed Calibration for EMG Sensor Suits,” published in the Transactions of Society of Instrument and Control Engineers in 2007. The paper was co-authored by one of Feng’s former students, S. Moromugi, Ph.D., and is based on his Ph.D. dissertation at UC Irvine. Moromugi is currently an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, Japan.
CEE Distinguished Professor Receives Four Prominent Honors
Soroosh Sorooshian honored nationally and locally for atmospheric research, dedication to education, public leadership
Soroosh Sorooshian, Ph.D., distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and Earth system science and director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing at UC Irvine, was honored recently for his outstanding atmospheric research contributions, his continued dedication to engineering education, and his leadership in science and technology public policy.
The 2009 Walter Orr Roberts Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Sciences by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Orange County Engineering Council 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, as well as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Chapter 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, were bestowed to Sorooshian for his outstanding accomplishments. Read more >>
Study Links Amazon Deforestation to Cloud Cover
Samueli School Distinguished Professor and Dean Rafael L. Bras co-authored Amazon deforestation study
Shallow clouds are prone to appear over deforested surfaces whereas deep clouds tend to favor forested surfaces, finds a study co-authored by Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., dean and distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Researchers analyzed satellite cloud maps and performed local measurements in the Amazon region to determine shallow clouds follow deforestation, but deep clouds do not. The study appeared online the week of Jan. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more >>
Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Recognized for Water Contamination Research
Hanoz Santoke receives ARCS fellowship to study pharmaceuticals in the water supply
Hanoz Santoke, a third-year environmental engineering Ph.D. student, received the prestigious 2008-2009 ARCS Foundation Fellowship from the Orange County chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, Inc., in recognition of his outstanding research in pharmaceutical compounds in water supplies.
Read more >>
Maria Q. Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, has been named the 2009-2010 recipient of the Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research on behalf of UC Irvine’s Academic Senate, honoring her significant contributions to scholarship through distinguished research. This recognition is among the most prestigious awards University of California faculty members can receive from their colleagues. As part of this distinction, Feng will be invited to present a Distinguished Faculty Lecture during the 2009 fall quarter.
Brett Sanders Honored with Celebration of Teaching Award
Brett Sanders, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at this year's UC Irvine Celebration of Teaching Awards, presented by the Division of Undergraduate Education, The Council on Student Experience and The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center. Sanders research focuses on environmental hydrodynamics, and his specialty is numerical modeling of free surface flow and transport in rivers and the coastal zone (estuaries, harbors, and bays). Undergraduates are introduced to this field in CEE 20 (Engineering Problem Solving with Matlab), taught by Sanders, where computational methods are presented in the context of civil and environmental engineering analysis and design problems. This year, students developed a Matlab computer code which applied Newton's method for solving non-linear systems of equations to design the expansion of a pressurized water distribution network.MARCH 2009
Maria Feng Elected to Prominent ASCE Fellow, Wins Best PaperRecognized for her exemplary leadership and expertise in civil engineering
Maria Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and director and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, was recently elected to Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, a prestigious recognition exemplifying her outstanding contributions to civil engineering. Feng also was bestowed with the Best Paper Award by The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Japan in 2008 for "Robust Joint Torque Estimation and High-Speed Calibration for EMG Sensor Suits,” published in the Transactions of Society of Instrument and Control Engineers in 2007. The paper was co-authored by one of Feng’s former students, S. Moromugi, Ph.D., and is based on his Ph.D. dissertation at UC Irvine. Moromugi is currently an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, Japan.
CEE Distinguished Professor Receives Four Prominent Honors
Soroosh Sorooshian honored nationally and locally for atmospheric research, dedication to education, public leadership
Soroosh Sorooshian, Ph.D., distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and Earth system science and director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing at UC Irvine, was honored recently for his outstanding atmospheric research contributions, his continued dedication to engineering education, and his leadership in science and technology public policy.The 2009 Walter Orr Roberts Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Sciences by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Orange County Engineering Council 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, as well as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Chapter 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, were bestowed to Sorooshian for his outstanding accomplishments. Read more >>
Study Links Amazon Deforestation to Cloud Cover
Samueli School Distinguished Professor and Dean Rafael L. Bras co-authored Amazon deforestation study
Shallow clouds are prone to appear over deforested surfaces whereas deep clouds tend to favor forested surfaces, finds a study co-authored by Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., dean and distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Researchers analyzed satellite cloud maps and performed local measurements in the Amazon region to determine shallow clouds follow deforestation, but deep clouds do not. The study appeared online the week of Jan. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more >>Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Recognized for Water Contamination Research
Hanoz Santoke receives ARCS fellowship to study pharmaceuticals in the water supply
Hanoz Santoke, a third-year environmental engineering Ph.D. student, received the prestigious 2008-2009 ARCS Foundation Fellowship from the Orange County chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, Inc., in recognition of his outstanding research in pharmaceutical compounds in water supplies. Read more >>
