How Granular Soil Insights Lead to a Lower Carbon Footprint What if the key to stronger, more sustainable infrastructure lies not just in traditional construction methods, but in understanding the movement of individual soil particles? Dr. Tong Qiu, Professor and Department Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering, is exploring this idea through his innovative research […]

Harnessing ambient seismic noise for advanced seismic hazard analysis Accurately predicting variations in ground motion characteristics is essential for reliable seismic hazard analysis and the design of resilient infrastructure. Traditional site response assessments rely on earthquake recordings or controlled field experiments, but these approaches are constrained by the infrequency of seismic events and the limited […]

Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty expands research into commercial-scale carbon storage across Utah to tackle climate change and revitalize local economies Pictured above: The Utah Iron mine looking over one of the future CarbonSAFE sites. What if Utah could lead the charge in addressing climate change by capturing millions of tons of carbon emissions? What […]

Blending Visionary Research with Student Success in Structural Engineering Dr. Chris Pantelides has served as a structural engineering professor at the University of Utah for 33 years. In that time, he has built a state-of-the-art structural engineering lab in the Layton Engineering Building, received numerous honors and distinctions from leading engineering societies, and graduated 20 […]

Geothermal energy offers a sustainable way to power homes and industries by harnessing the Earth’s heat. However, extracting this energy from deep, hot dry rock layers presents unique challenges, such as maintaining permeable channels—or fractures—within high-temperature, high-pressure, high-stress environments. The fractures in geothermal reservoirs allow fluids to flow through the reservoir and carry the heat […]

Civil & Environmental Engineering Professors to Support $3M U.S. Department of Transportation Grant Dr. Nikola Markovich and Dr. Abbas Rashidi, professors in the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department (CvEEN) at the University of Utah, are part of a consortium awarded a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Their portion of the […]

Earthquake-proofing Mass Timber Buildings Civil & Environmental Engineering (CvEEN) professor Dr. Chris Pantelides‘s research is revolutionizing wood construction. Sitting in his office in the Meldrum Civil Engineering Building, Dr. Pantelides holds up a block of composite wood, about 12 inches long and 10 inches wide, and smiles. “What you’re looking at here is the future,” […]

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the nation’s oldest engineering society, has been supporting Civil & Environmental Engineering students at the University of Utah since 1924. For a century, the ASCE Student Chapter has been providing students with invaluable opportunities outside the classroom, preparing them for successful professional careers. On Thursday, September 16, 2024, […]

Civil Engineering Student Sayal Shrestha Earns Honors at National Symposium In early 2024, Ph.D. student Sayal Shrestha was awarded funding by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Intermountain Chapter to further his research in concrete and structural engineering. The funds supported his participation in the TriDurLE Annual Symposium 2024, held at the Texas A&M Hotel & […]

Dr. Abbas Rashidi’s Role in Groundbreaking NSF Research  The intersection of technology and education is creating new possibilities for learning, and at the forefront of this transformation is a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Abbas Rashidi, an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, is playing a key […]