Civil & Environmental Engineering Newsletter: August 2023
Message From the Chair
In this issue of our newsletter, we share just a sampling of recent achievements of the students and faculty in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Our faculty are dedicated to improving the resilience of both the built and natural environments and to mentoring the next generations of engineers by sharing their knowledge.
— Steven Wojtkiewicz, Professor/Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Kicking Up A Virus
PhD student Mahender Singh Rawat's research is the first study that has quantified the resuspension, or “kicking up," of virus particles from the floor into the air from human activity. He was awarded a grant to attend the International Society of Exposure Science annual meeting and present his research this summer.
Fulbright Specialist
Concrete construction is responsible for more than seven percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, but Assistant Professor Robert Thomas and his research team are working to change that. He received a Fulbright Specialist award to travel to India this summer and collaborate on curriculum development to support emerging low-carbon concrete technologies.
Healthy Water
Clarkson's Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions held its first annual meeting during the spring semester. The conference addressed topics like building climate resiliency in small communities, the treatment and monitoring of forever chemicals such as PFAS, and the detection and mitigation of harmful algal blooms.
Ice Award
Distinguished Research Professor in Hydraulic Engineering Hung Tao Shen has been honored for his outstanding and sustained contributions to the advancement of river ice science and engineering in Canada. In July, he received the Bernard Michel Award of the Committee on River Ice and the Environment of the Canadian Geophysical Union.