Students are encouraged to contact individual faculty members to discuss potential thesis topics/areas and graduate research assistantships.
Faculty by area
Environmental / Water Resources Engineering
Dr. Sondra Miller
- Fate and transport of persistent and emerging contaminants in natural (lakes, rivers, urban and rural air) and engineered (water and wastewater) systems.
- Air quality monitoring and modeling.
- Water quality monitoring and modeling.
Dr. Kevin Roche
- I use experiments to determine how carbon, contaminants, and nutrients move through rivers and groundwater.
- I use math to predict how those substances move, and how those movements may change in the future (e.g., in response to changing land use).
- I aim to use these tools to understand how humans can better manage rivers and aquifers.
Dr. Mojtaba (Moji) Sadegh
- Climate modeling and analysis, with a specific focus on wildfires, droughts and heatwaves.
- Understanding and analyzing changes in risks, frequencies, intensities and magnitudes of various climatic/weather extremes and their impacts.
- Devising adaptation strategies and enhancing societal resilience to climatic hazards.
Geotechnical / GeoEnvironmental Engineering
Dr. Bhaskar Chittoori
- Use soil bacteria to engineer soil behavior.
- Develop methods to assess how well civil infrastructure is doing! (Sustainability and resiliency)
- Mimic nature to develop new methods of building foundations. (Tree root based foundation systems)
Dr. Arvin Farid
- Finding and cleaning up any pollution (e.g., due to industrial spills or wildfires) within soil and groundwater.
- Learning about soils’ various properties, e.g., strength to carry any structure (building dams, etc.) built on soil or problems such as landslides and erosion.
- Finding ways to prevent or reduce the risk and damage due to earthquakes to foundations and power grids.
Dr. Nick Hudyma
- I perform laboratory tests to investigate the behavior, properties, and failure characteristics of rock.
- I use imaging and visualization techniques such as CT scanning, laser scanning, 3D models, drones, and virtual reality to understand rocks at the laboratory and field scales.
- I quantify how close rocks have come to forming soil (weathering).
Materials Engineering
Dr. Yang Lu
- Material design for 3D concrete printing of homes.
- Asphalt pavement design using recycled materials.
- Design energy-efficient buildings.
Structural Engineering
Dr. Robert Hamilton
- How buildings and bridges behave in the real world.
- How to design new or repair existing structures using building materials efficiently, while keeping the public safe in the event of an accident or major storm.
Transportation Engineering
Dr. Mandar Khanal
- Estimating the demand for transportation.
- Determining avenues to meet transportation demands.
- Managing operations of the transportation system.