Alumni Newsletter - Alumni Newsletter — Summer 2023
Faculty News
Unlocking the monsoon mystery and its impact on society
Water Resources Professor Balaji Rajagopalan grew up in a small railroad town near Hyderabad, India, in a home without running water. Now an expert in hydrology, climatology and water resources, Rajagopalan was recently honored with a Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship and an opportunity to make a difference in his native country.Ìý
Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?
Professor Evan Thomas discussed ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.
Engineering News-Record names Wil V. Srubar III "Top 25 Newsmaker"
Associate Professor Wil V. Srubar was named a "Top 25 Newsmaker" by editors at the Engineering News-Record for his passion about creating "living" building materials, beginning with a greener masonry block.
Student News
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ team takes top engineering prize in 2023 Solar Decathlon with community housing project
An affordable, net-zero energy home designed by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ students and featuring a unique hydrogen energy system was honored Sunday as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge. The team took first place in the durability and resilience category and third place in engineering. The team was also recognized in the advanced technology category.
CVEN seniors tackle a portion of the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project
As part of their capstone project, seniors in ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ's civil engineering program are contributing to the design of the expansion of Denver Water’s Gross Reservoir Expansion Project, which involves raising the height of Gross Dam by 131 feet. The renovated dam will nearly triple the reservoir’s water storage capacity and create a more reliable water system for 1.5 million people in the Denver metro area.
Gabrielle Dunn: Water resource/stormwater engineer
Gabrielle Dunn has one professional paid internship under her belt, will complete another one this summer, and in the fall will move into the Bachelor’s Accelerated Master’s program.
Research
This scientist fled a deadly wildfire, then returned to study how it happened
In 2021, the devastating Marshall Fire showed wildfire can strike Colorado in almost any place or season. Scientists like Assistant Research Professor Brad Wham now hope to glean lessons from it for communities across the West.
Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage
More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, according to a groundbreaking new assessment published today inÌýScience.Ìý The article was coauthored by Professor Balaji Rajagopalan and Associate Professor Ben Livneh, both from ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ's Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.ÌýFangfang Yao, a CIRES visiting scholar, was the lead author.
Brad Wham shares key findings from post-earthquake reconnaissance in Turkey
Brad Wham, assistant research professor in ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, was a member of one of the three Learning From Earthquakes (LFE) reconnaissance teams that traveled to Turkey in March to assess the impacts of the Feb. 6 KahramanmaraÅŸ earthquake. The team specifically looked at lifeline systems, including energy, transportation, water and wastewater.
Study shows personal disinfection device safe for use in public spaces
Ben Ma, a postdoctoral researcher in environmental engineering, was the first author on a paper that confirmed the safety of a new portable, handheld disinfecting device. The device emits a wavelength of ultraviolet light that is safe for disinfecting public spaces.
Tend to get sick when the air is dry? New research helps explain why
Mark Hernandez, S. J. Archuleta Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and senior author of recent research published in PNAS-Nexus, found that airborne particles carrying a mammalian coronavirus closely related to the virus which causes COVID-19 remain infectious for twice as long in drier air.
As rising temperatures affect Alaskan rivers, effects ripple through Indigenous communities
Streamflow is increasing in Alaskan rivers during both spring and fall seasons, primarily due to increasing air temperatures over the past 60 years, according to new ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ-led research. Dylan Blaskey, a doctoral student in civil engineering, is the lead author on the study.
Turkey earthquake a ‘poster child’ for what could happen in Southern California
Shideh Dashti, an associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering and acting associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, says the geology underlying Turkey and Syria shares a lot in common with the West Coast of the United States.
Alumni
Civil alumna advancing disaster risk reduction
Casie Venable (PhDCivEngr’20) came to ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ to work with professors Amy Javernick-Will and Abbie Liel on community resilience. Today Venable works in San Francisco for Arup, a global collective of designers, engineers, and consultants dedicated to sustainable development. As a consultant she works with clients to help them understand the potential risks they face from a variety of natural hazards, such as seismic activity and wind as well as manmade disasters like train derailments.