CEE Review
Welcome to the virtual CEE Review magazine for Fall 2020! In light of the pandemic, we are focusing our resources on providing the best possible educational experience for our students, and shifting this magazine to online is one way we are conserving our budget for other needs. This online issue is packed with great stories. Begin with a message from the Department Chair Jerome Lynch below, and start scrolling!
A Message from the Chair
Professor and Donald Malloure Department Chair Jerome Lynch reflects on the past year in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Jump to: Research News: Shaping Resource Flows | Using CEE Expertise to Combat the Pandemic | Life on Campus During a Pandemic | Faculty News | Student News | Alumni News | Staff News
Feature Stories
A sewage surveillance effort to track COVID-19
We don’t know much about how coronaviruses move through the environment. U-M and Stanford engineers aim to change that.
Read story »
Treating PFAS water contamination with cold plasma
Researchers are developing better plasma technology that can destroy PFAS compounds.
Read story »
Data is life
How data collected deep in the Amazon could provide a window into the Earth’s climate future.
Read story »
Give Earth [another] chance
50 years after the first Earth Day, the next generation is rewriting the rules.
Read story »Research News: Shaping Resource Flows
Resources and their flows are vital for sustaining the well-being and prosperity of society. These resources are finite, and their distribution across the planet and its communities is uneven. The global and regional systems that civil and environmental engineers envision, design and build are ideally positioned to alter the flow of resources to create more sustainable habitats. Read on to find out how our department is “Shaping Resource Flows,” one of our five strategic directions.
Treating PFAS water contamination with cold plasma
Researchers are developing better plasma technology that can destroy PFAS compounds.
Read story
‘Aged’ urine won’t transfer antibiotic resistance when converted to fertilizer
Findings raise prospects for recycled urine as a more environmentally-friendly fertilizer.
Read story
Center for Low Carbon Built Environment sets ambitious goals for combating climate change
The center aims to cut the built environment’s carbon footprint in half by 2030 and boost its productivity.
Read story
Removing and reusing phosphorus from agricultural runoff
A biological process allows treatment plants to remove phosphorus from wastewater in a concentrated form that can be reused as fertilizer.
Watch video
Analyzing brewery and food waste to create useful products
A staff perspective on an innovative CEE project.
Read story
Brian Ellis awarded Sloan Foundation “net zero” grant
The Alfred P. Sloan grant funds projects furthering technologies that sequester carbon or have zero emissions.
Read storyData is life
How data collected deep in the Amazon could provide a window into the Earth’s climate future.
Read storyGive Earth [another] chance
50 years after the first Earth Day, the next generation is rewriting the rules.
Read story
From plan to practice: CEE staff make research concepts a reality
Electronics Technician Ethan Kennedy creates a custom reactor controller for wastewater treatment.
Read storyUsing CEE Expertise to Combat the Pandemic
Our researchers quickly pivoted their research goals to contribute to fighting the global health crisis. With contributions including virus tracking, best practices for disinfecting masks, and a design for the next generation of innovative masks, CEE researchers are making an impact.
A sewage surveillance effort to track COVID-19
We don’t know much about how coronaviruses move through the environment. U-M and Stanford engineers aim to change that.
Read story
Engineers work to disinfect N95 masks for medical personnel
Virus removal approaches, mask resilience and mask fit are all being tested.
Read story
Guidance on decontaminating face masks: U-M researchers contribute to national effort
Collaborative website launched while U-M researchers continue advanced testing.
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Testing disinfected N95 masks to show they stop coronavirus-scale particles
How effective is an N95 mask after it has been disinfected multiple times? With a shortage of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors need to know if cleaned masks remain effective at blocking coronavirus particles.
Watch video
Personal cold plasma “air curtain” design for COVID-19 protection moves forward
Medical giant Johnson & Johnson and federal HHS select U-M design with “minimal impact on daily life.”
Read storyLife on Campus During a Pandemic
This year has brought its share of challenges, and our community has met them with resilience and creativity. Classes and research look different during this time but we are adapting together, finding innovative ways to connect while keeping our community safe and healthy.
Caution and connection in in-person classes during COVID-19
Faculty members and students share their perspectives.
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Image gallery: Campus closes down
Poignant images capturing the early days of the pandemic on campus.
View photos
Image gallery: 2020 on-campus experience
These images show a sample of how classes, labs and facilities are remaining engaging for students, while mitigating risk.
View photos
Continuing research in the face of COVID-19 and coronavirus
Because of travel restrictions and other precautions for and reactions to COVID-19 and the coronavirus, University of Michigan researchers are moving fast to shift an NSF-funded workshop in Russia about climate research to a remote tele-workshop.
Watch video
Building connections through engaged hybrid courses
CEE Lecturer Lissa MacVean talks to the Michigan Minds podcast about how she has been educating students in two of her graduate courses using the hybrid format
Listen
Hybrid learning in CEE
Photos on our Instagram account give a glimpse into classroom life.
Instagram storyFaculty News
New faculty: Jeremy Bricker
Associate Professor Jeremy Bricker will join the CEE department in January 2021.
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New faculty: F. Estéfan Garcia
Dr. F. Estefan Garcia will join the CEE Department as an Assistant Professor in January 2021.
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New Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow: Aleksandra Szczuka
Szczuka’s research focuses on pathogen control in water engineering.
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Reflecting on an impactful career: Nikolaos Katopodes retires
Professor Nikolaos D. Katopodes is retiring after almost forty years at University of Michigan.
Read story
Student News
CEE student organizations: A year in review
Reflections on CEE student organization activities during the 2019-2020 academic year.
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Pelham Scholars Program celebrates its first year of supporting master’s students
The Pelham Scholars Program program continues a legacy of excellence by supporting socially-conscious engineers seeking to solve society’s most pressing problems.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee expands
The CEE DEI committee has expanded this year to include student and postdoc members, with a reinvigorated mission.
Read about the committee's work
Alumni News
A message from the CEE Friends Association (CEEFA) Board President
Alumna and Board President Tarolyn Buckles reflects on an unprecedented year.
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CEE alumnus elected to National Academy of Engineering
Paul Freedman is recognized for his contributions to the development and application of science-based computer models for watershed assessment, remediation and management.
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Alumnus Bruce Dorfman receives CEE Alumni Merit Award
The award recognizes alumni who inspire students to embody the term “leaders and best.”
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Carol Ann and Jim Fausone selected for David B. Hermelin Award
University of Michigan School of Nursing alumna Carol Ann Fausone and CEE alumnus James G. Fausone honored for fundraising volunteer leadership.
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Staff News
CEE Lab Technician Bob Spence retires after long career
A Q&A with Lab Technician Bob Spence, who is retiring after 31 years in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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CEE staff members receive awards for supporting College values
Steve Donajkowski and Amy Shepherd received awards from the College of Engineering Staff Incentive Program.
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