Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Magazine, Spring 2022

Spring 2022

Sharing our successes From Department Chair Xianming Shi: We’re excited to share our successes from this past year with you as we begin a new era in our program. River view A WSU-led team has received a National Science Foundation grant to understand how contaminants, nutrients, and minerals interact with the environment as they move downstream in a river.

Kangaroo rat burrow builders A three-year National Science Foundation grant aims to learn lessons from rats that humans might emulate in building better structures for a harsher climate of the future. Studying a fast-changing Greenland A $3.5 million National Science Foundation grant will allow researchers to study Greenland’s ice and atmospheric conditions to better estimate and forecast the continent’s contribution to future sea level rise.

Planning for the future A student team took the top prize in the 2021 Pacific Northwest Air & Wastewater Management Association Environmental Challenge. From hazelnuts to panels Professor Vikram Yadama has found a new way to upcyle leftover hazelnut shells into durable panels for cabinets, tables, and other products. Keeping water out A nanomaterials-engineered penetrating sealer developed by WSU researchers is able to better protect concrete from moisture and salt. Thank you, Simpson Strong‑Tie The company’s engineers came for a day-long symposium where students learned about building connections and structural connectors and components.

Awards and Honors Congratulations to CEE faculty and students for their recent accomplishments. Haifang Wen ASCE Fellow Nicholas Engdahl 2021 CEE Scholarship Award Dan Dolan 2021 CEE Outstanding Service Award Vishnupriya Jonnalagadda Waheed Uddin Diversity Graduate Research Fellowship Ayumi Manawadu WTS Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Chapter Paula Hammond Graduate Scholarship Yan Zhang Council of University Transportation Centers Milton Pikarsky Memorial Award

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