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 […]

Incorporating physical principles into machine learning models unlocks new levels of precision in landslide prediction  Landslides pose a significant natural hazard, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Traditional methods for predicting landslides often fall short due to the complex nature of terrain and the uneven distribution of landslide data.  To tackle these […]

Dr. Ramesh Goel Leads $1.6M EPA Research on PFAS Known as “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in various industrial and consumer products, such as non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing, and firefighting foams. Their resistance to degradation combined with their potential to accumulate in […]

From Airports to Highways: Dr. Markovich’s Impact on Utah’s Infrastructure The efficiency of our transportation systems is crucial to our increasingly fast-paced world. From ensuring planes land safely to optimizing traffic flow and managing snowstorms, transportation engineering is at the heart of keeping our lives on track. At the University of Utah, Dr. Nikola Markovich […]

Dr. No’am Dvory’s research contributes to developing reliable and sustainable energy resources While geothermal energy is a clean and sustainable power source, its integration on a larger scale presents challenges, including the need for advanced technology to manage geothermal reservoirs, mitigate seismic risks, and address site-specific limitations such as resource location and drilling depth. Additionally, […]