Letter from the CEAE Chair

Dear CEAE Alumni, Friends and Colleagues,

I’m writing to you as we finish up our first week back on campus for the Spring 2025 semester, excited to tell you about our programs and encourage you to join us in supporting the next generation of scholars.

As we begin 2025, I am reflecting on the first year of our new Strategic Plan and our focus on Sustainability, Resilience and Inclusion. You, our vast network of alumni and friends and the students who have come before, have helped shape the legacy of this department. From late nights in the Engineering Center to the excitement of capstone presentations, the memories of shared challenges and camaraderie continue in the fabric of our community.  We are proud of you and thrilled to have played a significant part in your life journey.

We believe in lifelong learning and I’m excited to share that we’ve expanded opportunities for professional growth through our Civil Engineering Professional Master’s Program (PMP) with tracks in Architectural Engineering, Water Engineering & Management, Global Resilience and Sustainability Engineering, and a unique Civil Engineering-Dual Track degree. Tailored for working professionals, these programs provide an excellent way to deepen your expertise or explore new areas—without the commitment of a research-focused master’s degree and, in some cases, from the comfort of home.

If you're looking to expand your professional knowledge and network through a PMP, we're here to support you. Don't wait! The application deadline for fall 2025 PMPs and MS degrees is Feb. 1. Need more information? Then  for our Jan. 28 virtual information session for prospective MS and PMP students.

Whether you’re pursuing a graduate degree or looking for other ways to stay connected, your involvement plays a vital role in shaping the future of CEAE. While CEAE is in an excellent position as one of the top-ranked departments in the nation, your support is critically important for sustaining this momentum. If you would like to support the department’s efforts, contributing to one of our giving funds, which we use to support student enrichment, undergraduate scholarships and to attract, support and retain talented graduate students, is the easiest way.

I would also love to connect with you if you have other ideas for involvement and to hear how your ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ experience shaped your path. Please feel free to drop me a line at ceaechair@colorado.edu.

Wishing you a wonderful new year.

Karl G. Linden, PhD
Chair and Mortenson Professor in Sustainable Development

Department Headlines

Disaster survivors want to rebuild safer, more sustainable homes, but cost misperceptions often stand in the way

The end of lead pipes: An engineer’s take on the historic national effort to eliminate them

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ establishes worldwide standards for repairing inaccessible, leaking pipelines

Faculty News

Wil Srubar named associate dean for innovation & entrepreneurship at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ faculty recognized for advancing environmental engineering

Three department-affiliated teams awarded $125K each in Lab Venture Challenge

Three CEAE faculty selected for Climate Innovation Collaboratory research awards

Bolhari leads DEI workshop on neurodivergent students through Fulbright Brazil

Amy Javernick-Will: Q&A with CEAS's new associate dean for faculty advancement

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ takes second place in national design-build student competition

Survivors in Indonesia grapple with trauma as they rebuild their lives 20 years after devastating tsunami

Two outstanding seniors honored with Clarence L. Eckel Award

Chaya Farley honored with college perseverance award

CEAE senior wins two college awards

Research News

Could wet winters start to refill Colorado River reservoirs? What researchers are saying

How prisons fall short in protecting the incarcerated from climate disasters

Dept. of Energy offers Prometheus Materials $10M to study CO2 removal in concrete

Using nanoscale membranes to clean water on the Moon

How Earth’s most intense heat wave ever impacted life in Antarctica

Can viruses help clean wastewater from fracking? It’s a “yes, but” from researchers.

Mark Hernandez: Indoor air monitoring goes to school

In Memoriam

Jim Heaney, former CEAE professor and chair, remembered for mentorship, bridging water resources and environmental engineering

Giving Back

The Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering is grateful to the many donors who generously support our students, faculty and facilities and help strengthen our standing as one of the leading teaching and research departments in the nation. We hope you will also consider being part of our tradition of excellence as we educate the engineering leaders of the future and develop innovative and sustainable solutions in the built environment to serve our society. Gifts to support the department can be made outright (cash, stock transfer, donor advised funds) or through your estate plans (a gift from your will/trust, retirement account beneficiary designation, etc.). If you're interested in exploring any of these giving opportunities and learning how you can make a difference through philanthropic support, please contact Joseph Baldwin, senior director of development, at joseph.baldwin@colorado.edu or (303) 735-2152

Letter from the CEAE Chair

Dear CEAE Alumni, Friends and Colleagues,

We are thrilled to celebrate the success of our 69 BS, 24 MS and 14 PhD students who graduated under a big tent on a chilly spring day in May. As freshmen and sophomores these students demonstrated remarkable resilience through the global pandemic, embodying the strength and fortitude of our community.

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Department Headlines

Top 10 ranking for civil and environmental engineering graduate programs

Landmark Colorado Bill and Congressional Earmark for Green Water Quality Infrastructure

Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado Senate Bill SB24-037, which directs ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������'s Mortenson Center and CSU's Energy Institute to pilot green infrastructure projects with the Colorado Department of Public Health to restore rivers and cut emissions from water treatment.

Kiewit extends Design Build Program for five years with $2.5M investment

Each academic year 25 to 35 students participate in the program, which includes financial aid, industry mentorship, guaranteed internship offers and professional development programming. 

Engineering students help professor rebuild the home he lost in the Marshall Fire

CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience

Alumni News

Briana Santa Ana: 2024 Alumni Engagement Medal Award recipient

We've spread out far and wide. Now it's time to reconnect and celebrate the history Forever Buffs share. Please join us!

What: CU vs. Baylor
When: Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024; Time TBD—tailgate will begin 2.5 hours before kickoff 
Location: 

Register now! 

Faculty News

Women’s History Month: A Conversation with Professor Abbie Liel

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ professor honored with Pathfinder award for societal impact

John Zhai wins CEAS Textbook Recognition Award

Modern water management approaches on tap during USAID visit

Amir Behzadan joins White House/NOAA AI workshop on numerical weather prediction

Shideh Dashti wins Campus Sustainability Award

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ shines at ASCE Symposium, advances to nationals

Magnus Boee: Balancing success in athletics and engineering

Unstoppable: Gabrielle Dunn honored as overall Outstanding Undergraduate of the College

PhD Student Madeline Pernat honored with prestigious NSF fellowship

Manjeet Pandey honored as a 2024 New Face of Civil Engineering

Three CEAE seniors take home CEAS graduating student awards

50 students graduate from the Construction Engineering and Management program

Osamah Dehwah (PhD CivEngr'24): BOLD student leader

Jorge Santiago Ramírez Núñez receives graduate fellowship

Research News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ secures $750K to improve drought preparedness in Western U.S.

Diane McKnight: Climate change increases metals concentrations in streams, study finds

Grant tackles sustainable alternatives for urban lawn irrigation

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ leads effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers

In Memoriam

Remembering Hari Rajaram—a legacy of intellect, humility and warmth

Remembering Kaspar Willam (1940-2024)

Remembering 'Doc' Helms: beloved mentor and pioneer in architectural lighting

Dear CEAE Friends and Colleagues,

Our vision at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering is to create a just and sustainable natural and built environment by fostering a diverse and inclusive community of globally-minded engineers. The exciting efforts and accomplishments highlighted in this newsletter, and our work every day, brings us closer to that shared vision. Linked below include some of our most recent work in public health, sustainable building materials, engineering with vulnerable communities, climate resiliency, water resources and highlights of our incredible students and faculty.  Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
Karl Linden
Professor and Chair

Sustainability of the Built Environment

$10M DoD project for self-repairing concrete inspired by human vascular systems

Structural Engineering Professor Mija Hubler and her team of researchers and partners are developing a technology that infuses concrete with self-repair capabilities found in living organisms.

Infrastructure Resilience

Findings from the Turkey earthquake

Assistant Research Professor Brad Wham traveled to Turkey to help assess the impact of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake on lifeline systems, including energy, transportation, water and wastewater.

Colorado prisons vulnerable to natural disasters

Seventy-five percent of incarceration facilities in the state are vulnerable to climate-related hazards, and many are ill-equipped to handle them, research by Geotechnical Engineering Professor Shideh Dashti suggests.

Public Health

Can air purifiers help keep kids in school?

Mark Hernandez, SJ Archuleta Professor, is co-leading a $2.2 million CDC-funded project with researchers at University of Colorado School of Medicine to investigate the impact of classroom air purifiers on reducing student absenteeism.

Climate Change

Unlocking the monsoon mystery

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 honored with a Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship and an opportunity to make a difference in his native country.

Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

Associate Professor Ben Livneh and Professor Balaji Rajagopalan contributed to a groundbreaking assessment published in Science, which concluded that more than 50 percent of the world's largest lakes are losing water.

Washington Post: Inside the race to grasp the fate of the Colorado River

Professors Edith Zagona and Joseph Kasprzyk were interviewed by the Washington Post for an article highlighting the federal government's use of innovative, web-based tools developed by ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ academics to forecast the river’s future flows.

Student News

Engineering students help professor rebuild home he lost in the Marshall Fire

Teaching Professor Matt Morris asked his students to help pour concrete. Students came. Two came back again. And again. For more than a year.

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 that is safe for disinfecting public spaces.

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ team takes top engineering prize in 2023 Solar Decathlon with community housing project

An affordable, net-zero energy home designed by ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ students and featuring a unique hydrogen energy system was honored as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge. 

Four civil engineering students earn major NSF fellowships

Four civil engineering graduate students have received 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, a prestigious award that recognizes and supports outstanding students in a wide variety of science-related disciplines.

Faculty News

Wil Srubar selected as 2023 Schmidt Science Polymath

Wil Srubar, associate professor in Building Systems Engineering and the Materials Science and Engineering Program, was chosen for his research trajectory to further redefine the boundaries of living architecture — both on Earth and beyond.

Yida Zhang’s CAREER award targets role of tiny grains in dam failures

With the construction of increasingly taller dams, Geotechnical Engineering Assistant Professor Yida Zhang is concerned about the potential effects of soil grain breakage caused by pressure. He recently received a prestigious NSF CAREER award to fund his research on the evolution of grain sizes in dams.

Dear CEAE Community,

At the start of the spring semester I started a new position as the chair of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. I would like to thank Rich Regueiro, who served as the interim chair from July 2022 through January 2023, for holding the reins until I could assume the role.

I spent the fall 2022 semester as a Fulbright Canada Research Chair Scholar at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, learning about water quality and treatment practices in Atlantic Canada as well as the challenges facing First Nations communities and small systems due to climate and infrastructure resilience. 

As chair, I’m really excited to help elevate our department. My top goal is to help enable a culture where everyone – faculty, staff and students  —  feels valued and part of the CEAE team. We are moving in that direction with an active DEI team, and we recently held a department-wide retreat where we all shared our thoughts about the department and the direction we want to head.

Please take a look at the stories below detailing all the great things happening in our department.

Wishing you a restful and happy summer,

Karl Linden
Chair
Mortenson Professor in Sustainable Development

Faculty News

Unlocking the monsoon mystery and its impact on society

Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

Engineering News-Record names Wil V. Srubar III "Top 25 Newsmaker"

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ team takes top engineering prize in 2023 Solar Decathlon with community housing project

CVEN seniors tackle a portion of the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project

Gabrielle Dunn: Water resource/stormwater engineer

Research

This scientist fled a deadly wildfire, then returned to study how it happened

Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage

Brad Wham shares key findings from post-earthquake reconnaissance in Turkey

Study shows personal disinfection device safe for use in public spaces

Tend to get sick when the air is dry? New research helps explain why

As rising temperatures affect Alaskan rivers, effects ripple through Indigenous communities

Turkey earthquake a ‘poster child’ for what could happen in Southern California

Alumni

Civil alumna advancing disaster risk reduction

New Videos

Cities of the future may be built with algae-grown limestone

Global cement production accounts for 7% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in large part through the burning of quarried limestone. Now, a ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������-led research team has figured out a way to make cement production carbon neutral—and even carbon negative—by pulling carbon dioxide out of the air with the help of microalgae. 

The ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ engineers and their colleagues at the and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have been rewarded for their innovative work with a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). The research team was recently (Harnessing Emissions into Structures Taking Inputs from the Atmosphere) to develop and scale up the manufacture of biogenic limestone-based portland cement and help build a zero-carbon future.

“This is a really exciting moment for our team,” said Wil Srubar, lead principal investigator on the project and associate professor in Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Materials Science and Engineering Program. “For the industry, now is the time to solve this very wicked problem. We believe that we have one of the best solutions, if not the best solution, for the cement and concrete industry to address its carbon problem.” 

Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous materials on the planet, a staple of construction around the world. It starts as a mixture of water and portland cement, which forms a paste to which materials such as sand, gravel or crushed stone are added. The paste binds the aggregates together, and the mixture hardens into concrete. 

To make portland cement, the most common type of cement, limestone is extracted from large quarries and burned at high temperatures, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide. The research team found that replacing quarried limestone with biologically grown limestone, a natural process that some species of calcareous microalgae complete through photosynthesis (just like growing coral reefs), creates a net carbon neutral way to make portland cement. In short, the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere equals what the microalgae already captured. 

Ground limestone is also often used as a filler material in portland cement, typically replacing 15% of the mixture. By using biogenic limestone instead of quarried limestone as the filler, portland cement could become not only net neutral but also carbon negative by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it permanently in concrete.  

If all cement-based construction around the world was replaced with biogenic limestone cement, each year, a whopping 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide would no longer be pumped into the atmosphere and more than 250 million additional tons of carbon dioxide would be pulled out of the atmosphere and stored in these materials. 

This could theoretically happen overnight, as biogenic limestone can “plug and play” with modern cement production processes, said Srubar. 

“We see a world in which using concrete as we know it is a mechanism to heal the planet,” said Srubar. “We have the tools and the technology to do this today.” 

A scanning electron micrograph of a single coccolithophore cell, Emiliania huxleyi. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Alison R. Taylor, University of North Carolina Wilmington Microscopy Facility)

The coccolithophore has been part of the Black Sea ecology for millennia, and in the summer these calcite-shedding phytoplankton can color much of the Black Sea cyan. (Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr) 

Limestone in real time

Srubar, who leads the Living Materials Laboratory at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������, received a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2020 to explore how to grow limestone particles using microalgae to produce concrete with positive environmental benefits. The idea came to him while snorkeling on his honeymoon in Thailand in 2017. 

He saw firsthand in coral reefs how nature grows its own durable, long-lasting structures from calcium carbonate, a main component of limestone. “If nature can grow limestone, why can’t we?” he thought. 

“There was a lot of clarity in what I had to pursue at that moment. And everything I've done since then has really been building up to this,” said Srubar. He and his team began to cultivate coccolithophores, cloudy white microalgae that sequester and store carbon dioxide in mineral form through photosynthesis. The only difference between limestone and what these organisms create in real time is a few million years. 

With only sunlight, seawater and dissolved carbon dioxide, these tiny organisms produce the largest amounts of new calcium carbonate on the planet and at a faster pace than coral reefs. Coccolithophore blooms in the world’s oceans are so big, they can be seen from space. 

“On the surface, they create these very intricate, beautiful calcium carbonate shells. It's basically an armor of limestone that surrounds the cells,” said Srubar. 

Students working in the Living Materials Laboratory, which utilizes calcifying microalgae to produce limestone and create a carbon neutral cement, as well as cement products which can slowly pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it. (Credit: Glenn Asakawa/���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������)

Commercializing coccolithophores

These microalgae are hardy little creatures, living in both warm and cold, salt and fresh waters around the world, making them great candidates for cultivation almost anywhere—in cities, on land, or at sea. According to the team’s estimates, only 1 to 2 million acres of open ponds would be required to produce all of the cement that the U.S. needs—0.5% of all land area in the U.S. and only 1% of the land used to grow corn. 

And limestone isn’t the only product microalgae can create: microalgae’s lipids, proteins, sugars and carbohydrates can be used to produce biofuels, food and cosmetics, meaning these microalgae could also be a source of other, more expensive co-products—helping to offset the costs of limestone production. 

To create these co-products from algal biomass and to scale up limestone production as quickly as possible, the Algal Resources Collection at UNCW is assisting with strain selection and growth optimization of the microalgae. NREL is providing state-of-the art molecular and analytical tools for conducting biochemical conversion of algal biomass to biofuels and bio-based products. 

There are companies interested in buying these materials, and the limestone is already available in limited quantities.

, a CU startup founded in 2021 and the team’s commercialization partner, is propelling the team’s research into the commercial space with financial support from investors and corporate partnerships, according to Srubar, a co-founder and acting CEO. Minus Materials previously won the university-wide Lab Venture Challenge pitch competition and secured $125,000 in seed funding for the enterprise. 

The current pace of global construction is staggering, on track to build a new New York City every month for the next 40 years. To Srubar, this global growth is not just an opportunity to convert buildings into carbon sinks but to clean up the construction industry. He hopes that replacing quarried limestone with a homegrown version can also improve air quality, reduce environmental damage and increase equitable access to building materials around the world. 

“We make more concrete than any other material on the planet, and that means it touches everybody's life,” said Srubar. “It's really important for us to remember that this material must be affordable and easy to produce, and the benefits must be shared on a global scale.”

• Science & Technology
• News Headlines

Engineers deploy drones to survey Marshall Fire, gather lessons for future disasters

Ross Corotis retiring from ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

CEAE assistant professor Kyri Baker recognized for excellence in teaching

Top 10 rankings for Civil & Environmental engineering among public universities by US News

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ takes 2nd place at Heavy Civil Competition.

Civil engineering student, a tsunami survivor, awarded fellowship to study disaster recovery

Two architectural engineering students earn prestigious NSF fellowships

Alumni News

Video Recaps: Colorado Construction Diversity Summit 2022

The University of Colorado Boulder hosted the first ever Colorado Construction Diversity Summit on April 1, 2022. The event focused on how everyone in the construction industry – from leadership to site managers – can help their companies build thriving, diverse teams.

Check out video recaps of the conference below, highlighting:

• Communication strategies and skills
• The importance of diversity, equity and inclusion on the jobsite
• Challenges current students and recent graduates joining the construction workforce navigate

Find out more about the summit and speakers.

Watch the videos  

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������, Deloitte launch Climate Innovation Collaboratory to accelerate action on climate crisis

Civil professor selected as dean of CU Engineering

Class Notes

Brandon Potts (CivEngr'16) is an investor at Framework Ventures, a thesis-driven venture firm that invests in and builds alongside early-stage crypto networks and founders. Framework just announced its third fund of $400M and Brandon was selected for the earlier this year.

Christopher McGrath (CivEngr’05) was named asset management practice leader of Black & Veatch, an engineering procurement, consulting and construction company. Residing in San Diego, Christopher leads a team serving Southern California seaports. 

Research News

Major research center for green building technology launches at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

A major research center for sustainable building technology has been founded at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Building Energy Smart Technologies (BEST) Center is a new, five-year multi-university initiative to advance sustainable building projects ranging from HVAC manufacturing, to smart glazing for windows, building controls, insulation, as well as solar installations.

“This is a long term commitment to solve industry problems and make buildings adaptive,” said Moncef Krarti, director of the center and a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering. “Many western countries want to be net zero in carbon emissions by 2050. That’s a significant challenge. To achieve that, we need a new set of innovative and smart technologies. We have to combine energy efficiency, reduce demand, and deploy renewable energy into buildings so they can be a net positive, actually producing energy, not just consuming power.”

The project is focused on business collaboration, directing research into areas needed for the construction industry and building retrofits. The new center will operate under the NSF model. This setup is designed to help startups, large corporate partners and government agencies connect directly with university researchers to solve common research obstacles in a low-risk environment. The aim is to develop new technology faster and build out the U.S. workforce in critical areas.

“This will be a really interactive process between industry and universities with what problems to solve. Each project we take on will have an industry sponsor,” Krarti said.

The NSF grant will provide $1.5 million over five years, matched by industry associates for a total of at least $3.0 million. Ten industry partners are already onboard with the initiative.

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ is the lead for the center, with the City College of New York as a partner site, offering the opportunity research and test new building technologies in the largest metropolitan area in the United States.

The work in New York will be led by Presidential Professor of Mechanical Engineering at CCNY.

“This is a major milestone and opportunity, as it validates our long-term efforts in research and education on building systems as supporting activity to our city,” González said. “We will be providing engineering and technology solutions to connect the outdoors environment to the indoors of buildings to enable smart and sustainable responses.”

In addition to meeting emissions goals, new smart and adaptable technologies in the built environment will provide responses for increasingly frequent extreme weather events due to the rapidly changing climate. The work will also direct attention on emerging challenges in the building sector due to pandemics and health crises such as those caused by COVID-19.

“It’s hard for industry to fund research, but this center is a vehicle to that collaboration. It’s a big deal,” Krarti said. “We spend 80% of our time in buildings. We need to make sure buildings are sustainable and healthy as well as comfortable.”

In addition to Krarti and Gonzalez, other ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ faculty partners include Kyri Baker, Gregor Henze, Wil Srubar, John Zhai, and Wangda Zuo, all in the ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, as well as Michael McGehee in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

What the Marshall Fire can teach us about future climate catastrophes

McKnight named a CU Distinguished Professor

Transformative Carbon-Storing Materials report co-authored by Wil Srubar

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Design-Build team wins national championship

Students are designing and building the green home of the future

Student researching ways to improve soil stability in earthquakes

Alumni News

Grad heads research into ground improvement technique ahead of earthquakes

Juan Carlos Tiznado (PhDCivEngr’20) is the lead author on a new paper in the and more reliably mitigate it.

Every structure around us rests on soil or rock. In major earthquakes, loose saturated soils that normally behave as solids, such as loose sands below the water table, can transition into a semi-liquid state. That process is known as liquefaction, and factors like the intensity and duration of the quake along with the soil composition in the area play a part in the process. 

Liquefaction remains one of the main causes of damage to physical infrastructure during earthquakes and can prevent community lifelines like healthcare, transportation, and power from being immediately restored afterwards, said Tiznado.

“This work focused on a ground improvement technique known as dense granular columns (DGC), which aims at mitigating the effects of soil liquefaction and improves structural performance during strong earthquakes,” he said. “Essentially, we developed the first probabilistic predictive models that help engineers evaluate the probability and expected degree of liquefaction in sites treated with DGCs. With this tool, we can now assess a site for a variety of mitigation scenarios, to help make informed decisions regarding earthquake risk reduction.”

Tiznado added that the work could be particularly useful when planning around important structures like road embankments and dams that are founded on saturated and relatively young (in a geological sense) granular deposits.

Tiznado started as a doctoral candidate in Associate Professor Shideh Dashti’s group in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, eventually graduating with a dual PhD from ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in December 2020.  He then served as a postdoctoral researcher under Dashti briefly before taking a faculty position at Pontifical Catholic University, where he works today.

The authors used the geotechnical facility at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ – which includes three state-of-the-art centrifuges – to complete some of the work. They also benefitted from the super-computing facility (Summit) at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ to perform the extensive set of numerical simulations presented in this paper.

“In addition to physical and numerical modeling, we collected case histories from previous earthquakes using DGCs to validate our proposed model,” Tiznado said. “Consequently, we used machine learning techniques that helped us optimize the postprocessing of data required to develop our statistical design procedures.” 

Dashti said this methodologically integrated approach will, for the first time, enable engineers to reliably evaluate the likelihood of liquefaction in stratigraphically variable liquefiable deposits that are treated with DGCs, contributing to the seismic safety of our critical infrastructure globally.

NASA’s Calomino reflects on early education at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������

Join the 2022 Colorado Construction Diversity Summit April 1

This half-day event on April 1, 2022 will focus on how everyone in the construction industry – from leadership to site managers – can help their companies build thriving, diverse teams. Join your colleagues and ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ faculty, staff and students at this free event for discussions on how to attract, retain and optimize the top talent your company is looking for. Find out more and RSVP.

Class Notes

The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals selected Michael Parker (ArchEngr'86) as the next bankruptcy judge in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division. Michael is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and has been with the firm since the end of his two-year bankruptcy clerkship in the Western District of Texas with Hon. Ronald B. King in 1995. He was scheduled to take the bench on Nov. 2, 2021.

Amelia Lyons (CivEngr'09) leads the Global Field Programs team of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), an organization dedicated to mapping the unmapped world. Building strong relationships with local mapping communities, HOT promotes open source collection and sharing of mapping data to map building damage and community access after earthquakes, refugee resettlement for national resource allocation, and disaster risk mitigation efforts in flooding prone informal urban settlements.

Submit Your Class Note 

Research News

Finding sustainable solutions to wicked water problems

Keeping a dry eye on drought in East Africa

International research partnership aims to reduce residential energy consumption

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Fulbright Scholar bringing energy research to Australia

Research on soil moisture aims to improve irrigation models

Student News

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ takes first place in 2021 Solar Decathlon Build Challenge

The University of Colorado Boulder won first place in the 2021 , the third time ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ has placed first in the highly competitive event. 

The results were announced Sunday by Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, who commended the winning team for designing a home that addresses the challenge of affordable housing in mountain communities. 

“It combines strong architecture and thoughtful market potential and innovative technologies. It showcased energy efficient performance in its high-altitude cold climate,” said Secretary Granholm. 

From April 15-18, the ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ team competed in this biennial collegiate competition against nine other teams from the U.S., as well as from the Netherlands, Chile and Canada. Originally planned to take place in-person on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last June, this year’s event was held virtually using real estate tour-like technology.

We are thrilled for ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������! All the students, faculty and advisers involved in the Solar Decathlon competition put in an extraordinary effort, and we are grateful to have been part of the team. Most exciting of all is being able to demonstrate that even in the coldest town in the US, sustainable, all-electric homes are ready for prime time. It is a joy to be part of the necessary and exciting energy transition our country is undergoing, and we look forward to seeing many more all-electric net zero homes in the future." - SPARC homeowners Kristen Taddonio and Joe Smyth

(Sustainability, Performance, Attainability, Resilience and Community), was designed and built to address the housing attainability crisis and construction challenges faced by mountain towns across the country. With its state-of-the-art-energy efficiency systems, the SPARC house is already selling energy back to the local power grid—all while temperatures still drop below freezing at night and the new homeowners use it to charge their electric car. In addition to significantly reduced utility costs and modest footprint, it also features an attached rental unit that  further addresses housing affordability and attainability in mountain towns. 

“We held on to this belief the entire way along that we’re solving a real issue and we have a great solution to it. And it just is amazing to see that other people believe in that as much as we do,” said Hannah Blake, one of the team’s student co-founders and project leads. “We are loving this response. We can’t wait to see what is next.”

A team of Buffs hasn’t competed in the Solar Decathlon Build Challenge since 2007, but this win adds to ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ first place finishes in the inaugural 2002 event and again in 2005. In addition to the overall first place win, within the build challenge, including innovation, market potential and architecture, tied for second in the Energy Performance contest, and placed second in the contests for engineering, operations, and financial feasibility and affordability. 

It’s the result of three years of work—through everything from extreme heat and wildfires to construction complications due to COVID-19—and the final product is a stunning achievement. 

It’s been a monumental effort, with more than 30 students and faculty collaborating across campus since 2017 to create a house completely from scratch for competition this week. From sophomores to PhDs, students involved have been based in architectural engineering, Engineering Plus, environmental design, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, business, and anthropology. The project has spanned many team members’ graduations, with recent alumni involved now spread across the country, applying their hands-on experience directly to their careers. 

“If you’ve ever been a part of the ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ team, whether you’re actively involved now or not, you matter to this team, and you helped us get to where we are,” said Gabriella Abello, student team co-founder and project lead. 

The ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Solar Decathlon team was generously supported by a large group of , donations and the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Student design team wins Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association Competition

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ engineering students win 1st place in national Solar District Cup Competition

EVEN capstone design team shines at WERC Environmental Design Contest

Five students earn prestigious NSF fellowships

Alumni News

New civil engineering scholarship commemorates Colorado highway engineer

Joe Siccardi. You may not know his name, but every Coloradan has seen his work.

A 1949 University of Colorado Boulder civil engineering graduate, Siccardi was part of the team of engineers and workers who built the Eisenhower and Johnson Tunnels and the Glenwood Canyon I-70 project.

Siccardi spent 34 years with the Federal Highway Administration, rising to the position of federal highway administrator. From 1988 through 1995, he served as bridge engineer for the State of Colorado, introducing new innovations in bridge design.

He died April 21, 2020 at the age of 93, and his family has endowed a scholarship at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ for civil engineering students as a way to recognize his lifelong commitments to education and engineering.

“He loved studying,” said Dave Siccardi, Joe’s son. “He would get home from his shift at the Federal Highway Administration, we’d have dinner as a family, and then he’d grab an apple and a pile of school books and head off to class.”

Over his career, Siccardi earned four degrees. In addition to his civil engineering bachelor’s at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������, he received a master’s in civil engineering from New York University, a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a law degree from the University of Denver.

“All of those different degrees were in response to things that happened in his life. He realized to be more effective professionally he needed more education, and he was not afraid to go get it,” said Dave. “The master’s of public administration and law degrees stemmed from the Glenwood Canyon project environmental concerns and lawsuits. He said, ‘I’m not going to be behind the curve on this.’”

Joe’s daughter Donna Nortz agreed.

“He was really passionate about schooling and engineering. He just loved learning,” Donna said. “The independent living facility he was in started offering Spanish lessons. At 93 years old, he signed up. It didn’t matter what it was, he just loved learning.”

Despite working on some of the most well-known Colorado highway projects, Dave said his father rarely touted his achievements.

Siccardi and a group of colleagues with early electronic tools at the Federal Highway Administration.

“He was a public servant who really believed in using the public’s money wisely,” Dave said. “His name is on a plaque up at the Johnson bore of the tunnel, but he talked about his work as ‘we’ built this bridge or ‘we’ built this tunnel. It wasn’t about him.”

For Dave and Donna, endowing a scholarship was a way to honor their father and help the next generation of civil engineers.

“We had an opportunity to do something we think he always wanted to do, but there were always other family priorities,” Dave said. “Part of it was also because of COVID. When he passed, we couldn’t have a celebration of his life of any significant size. He would appreciate this.”

As an engineer, Donna said Siccardi was always looking to the future, at the next big project.

“Whenever he achieved a goal, it wasn’t time to sit back and say, ‘Yeah, I did that.’, It was, ‘Look forward at what’s next,’” Donna said. “It’s part of his legacy for future engineers: what’s next. And he was never afraid to say I don’t know, but I will find out.”

If you are inspired by this story and would like to donate to the College of Engineering and Applied Science, please consider making a gift or contacting eng.advancement@colorado.edu to learn more.

Paul Brinkman (CivEngr'96) won the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ announces Architectural Lighting Certificate

Class Notes

In 2009, Susie See (ArchEngr'87) became the first woman to serve on the board of directors of engineering firm WSP USA. Now, Susie is president and CEO of engineering consultant firm MEYERS+, where she is paving the way for female leaders in architectural and engineering communities. She lives in San Anselmo, California.

Del Shannon (CivEngr'93) was recently elected President of the US Society on Dams (USSD). The USSD is the US representative of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). He will represent the United States at the upcoming ICOLD conferences in Marseille, France in 2021 and Gothenburg, Sweden in 2022.

Along with two colleagues, Pania Newell (MCivEngr'09; PhD’11) — assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Utah — has started a podcast called This Academic Life to support and inspire STEM educators and researchers.

After graduating from CU, Kimberly Bellis (CivEngr'14) became a special operations officer and was deployed overseas. Now, she leads the special purpose acquisition division at Academy Securities investment bank. She also volunteers to help young girls develop healthy habits for Girls on the Run and is a veteran mentor at Veterati.

While working to complete a master’s degree in engineering from Colorado State University, Michael Castillo (CivEngr'15) works as a civil engineer for Northern Engineering in Greeley, Colorado. Michael brings expertise in the fields of water and wastewater infrastructure to the municipal services team and is driven by his passion for environmental sustainability.

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Happy New Year!

From all of us in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, we hope that your 2021 is off to a good start, and that you and your families are staying safe and healthy. 

2020 was a year like no other at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������. We're proud to say that through it all, our faculty, staff and students have shown extraordinary resilience and innovative spirit. We hope you enjoy this look back at some of our biggest news from 2020. 

Research News

Only the nose knows: New international network explores how odors lead to actions

Engineering leads new DOE Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program Center on particulate materials research

Mortenson Center leading work to study trail bridge use in rural Rwanda

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ leads research into engineering education and AI-augmented learning

Researchers will use DOE grant to help update aging natural gas infrastructure

More Faculty Honors

• Linden receives prestigious 2020 Clarke Prize
• Hubler wins EMI’s da Vinci Award

Researching COVID-19

How sampling campus wastewater aims to keep COVID-19 in check

Ultraviolet light can make indoor spaces safer during the pandemic – if it’s used the right way

Environmental engineering researchers study airborne coronavirus disinfection

Student News

Innovative partnership prepares infrastructure engineers

Six civil engineers graduate from Colorado Mesa University-���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ partnership program

Air Quality Inquiry project extends from rural Colorado into Mongolia

Time for reflection: Stories of resilience in the COVID-19 era

Engineering team building Rwandan-style hut to test clean-air solutions

Alumni News

Commitment to community: Alumna serving as SWE president

Campos EPC enables transformative BOLD renovation

Alumni place in top 7 of NSF Idea Machine competition

David Gupta (ArchEngr'85) receives Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award

Christina Barstow (MCivEngr'10; PhD'16) honored with Recent Alumni Award

Remembering Vince Kontny (CivEngr'58)

Class Notes

Thomas Turman (ArchEngr'66) lives near his daughters in El Cerrito, California, for, as he writes, “easy access to their sons Owen, Jasper and Griffen.” After leaving CU, Turman spent 45 years in architecture and engineering in Northern California. He loves to write, and his latest book, Sailors and Dogs Keep off the Grass, is a novel about his time in the Navy.

Doug Rutledge (CivEngr'67) received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction for his work as a founding member of KL&A, a structural engineering and steel construction firm. Doug and his wife, Sheila (Edu’68), live in Loveland.

Dave Engles (CivEngr'74) received the 2019 Engineer of the Year Award from the Wyoming Engineering Society. Dave and his wife Catherine live in Sheridan, Wyoming, where he is a principal in EnTech, Inc. Professional Engineers.

The National Mining Association gave Larry Perino (CivEngr'75), a lifelong resident of Silverton, its Lifetime Environmental Achievement Award in March 2020.

Les Lee (CivEngr'79) celebrated his 20th year as a major gifts fundraiser at Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation. "As you can see from our current ranking as the 6th best children's hospital in the country, it is a privilege and honor to work here!"

David Olson (CivEngr'79) has founded Olson Forensic Solutions LLC, which concentrates on legal support in the fields of HVAC, plumbing and fire protection.

After moving back to Colorado from Dallas, Texas, Colleen Walker (ArchEngr'94) is now CEO of the Auraria Higher Education Center, a state organization that oversees the property at Community College of Denver, CU Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver. 

Allison Case (ArchEngr'95) of Oak Park, Illinois, left a career in corporate real estate to start her own jewelry business. Allison’s love for crafting jewelry began on Pearl Street at the local bead shop and in Sewall Hall, where she would string together her own creations. 

Known as the “Acoustic Ninja,” Trace Bundy (CivEngr'99; MS’03) has become recognized for his unique guitar playing style. After several clips of him made the rounds on YouTube, Trace was the subject of a short documentary in 2017, which premiered at Sundance. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Boulder. 

Ben Miller (EnvEngr'11; MCivEngr’13) and Lynn Pruisner Miller (BioChem, ChemEngr'11) announced the birth of their daughter, Regan, in April 2020. They write, “Regan is an extreme CU legacy baby as many of her relatives are CU grads and will be fourth generation to attend.”

In early 2020, Tyler Huggins (PhDCivEngr'16) and Justin Whiteley (PhDMechEngr'16) announced the first round of venture investments for their company Emergy Foods, which uses a proprietary protein to produce meat alternatives. They can grow the equivalent of a chicken breast overnight. The two friends met in graduate school, and anticipated having Emergy products in Boulder area restaurants in 2020.

Michael Anthony (ArchEngr'19) finished his MS in business analytics through Leeds in spring 2020 and says he's excited to see the progress on the Engineering-Business bridge, "which I hope will encourage interdisciplinary research and teaching." He is working at the intersection of engineering and business as a business data analyst for Seagate. During COVID, he's been staying connected with CU faculty and alumni through Zoom calls and socially distanced hikes on Boulder's hiking trails.

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Molenaar Named Interim Dean of CU Engineering

Keith is a Buff several times over: He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������; served as department chair of civil, environmental and architectural engineering; and is currently associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Environmental Engineering Program Celebrates 20 Years

Alumni, faculty and students celebrated with an October event featuring keynote speaker Daniela Brandao, the program’s first graduate who now works as a senior project manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

Event Photos 

Alumni News

Remembering Mort Mortenson, a dedicated CU Engineering alumnus

CEAE alumna Sara Beck talks career goals, riding the Tour De France route

Protein reimagined: Two ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ engineering alumni found Emergy Foods

Research News

Engineers deliver water filters, cookstoves to improve health in Rwanda

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ brings expertise to new, interdisciplinary Energy-Water Desalination Hub

Partnership puts valuable water quality information from Western Slope online

Student News

The buildup: Solar Decathlon team moves to next stage of competition

Student recognized for outstanding service by the College of Engineering & Applied Science

Team wins national design competition for third year in a row

Faculty News

Linden receives Water Research Foundation’s innovation award

Milford reappointed to governor’s air quality commission

Kasprzyk honored with Penn State Schreyer Honors College Outstanding Alumni Award

  More CEAE Headlines 

Class Notes

John Lund (CivEngr'58; PhD’67) is a geothermal energy expert and a retired emeritus professor and engineering dean from the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He writes, “I am currently working on gathering, editing and summarizing geothermal country update papers from all over the world for the World Geothermal Congress 2020 to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, in April 2020.

Thomas Lee Turman (ArchEngr'66) is an architect in El Cerrito, California. The author of two books and now at work on a third, he has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Laney College and California Photo courtesy Judy Freeman College of the Arts. After helping start a school of architecture in Ghana, he published a memoir about his experience, WAWA — West Africa Wins Again. He has published TEACHER — Stories to Be Graded by Friday and is now working on a volume called Sailors and Dogs Keep off the Grass. When not writing, Thomas enjoys spending time with his wife, daughters and grandsons.

Andrew Kelsey (ArchEngr'84) founded and manages Ascent Group Inc., a structural engineering firm in Boulder. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, mountain and road biking, backpacking and traveling. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Erie, Colo. They have two children in college, one at Montana State University and the other, Courtney (AeroEngr’19), at CU.

In 1995, Arvada, Colo., resident Keith Villa (MCDBio'86) created Blue Moon beer. After he retired from MillerCoors in 2018, Keith and his wife Jodi Villa (ArchEngr’86) co-founded Ceria Brewing, which specializes in cannabis-infused, nonalcoholic craft beer. The beer can be found in 132 dispensaries statewide. 

After graduating from the CU ROTC program, Jon Safstrom (CivEngr'88) served 10 years on active duty in the Navy as a F-16 and F/A-18 pilot. He logged over 300 combat flight hours in support of multiple operations including Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon leaving active duty, Jon joined the Minnesota Air National Guard, where he attained the rank of brigadier general and now serves as the assistant adjutant general.

Tilson, a network deployment and IT consulting firm, has hired information infrastructure expert Alda Licis (ArchEngr’90) as vice president of infrastructure development. In the newly created position, Licis will oversee Tilson’s fiber, wireless, network, space and tower asset development and leaseback.

Jennifer Adam (CivEngr’97) has been named an endowed professor in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University. Adam has been on the WSU faculty since 2008, with research interests in the hydrologic impacts of global change, earth systems modeling and land/atmosphere interactions.

Russell Callejo (MCivEngr’05) was selected by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to serve as deputy regional director in the Mid-Pacific Region. Prior to joining the Mid-Pacific Region, Callejo served in the bureau’s Lower Colorado Region for almost 20 years.

Walter H. Flood IV (MCivEngr’05) has been elected to serve on the board of directors of the American Concrete Institute. He is an assistant engineer and project manager at his family’s testing and inspection business in Chicago.

Will Vague (CivEngr’12, PE) accepted a new position as an associate engineer with Kerin & Associates in Bozeman, Montana, in 2019. He had previously worked as an associate structural engineer at Glenn Frank Engineering Inc. in Boulder.

John Cevaal (CivEngr'17) joined Ascent Engineering Group in Winter Park, Colo. He is an engineer-in-training working on designing residential and commercial structures.

Juan Pablo “JP” Gevaudan (PhDArchEngr’19) joined Penn State’s Department of Architectural Engineering in August as an affiliate professor. Gevaudan is currently completing a and will start at Penn State in 2021. His research focuses on experimental cement chemistry.

Engineers Without Borders Hosting Lecture Series

Engineering Exploration brings you experts from the University of Colorado Boulder in various departments of engineering. Whether you know a high school student who is trying to decide if engineering is for them, or simply excited to stay engaged with breaking technology in the college, Engineering Exploration is for you.

• When: Tuesdays from 6–7:30 p.m., through April 23
• Where: Hale Science Building, Room 230, ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ Campus, 1350 Pleasant Street, Boulder CO or online via livestream
• Cost: $10 gives individuals access to all 10 lectures. Attend/view the entire series or pick the ones that intrigue you. $100 all-access pass available for schools.

Learn More & Register 

Students Gearing Up for Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge Competitions

In April, our American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter will host the Rocky Mountain Regional Student Conference for ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction. The event, which will include the popular concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions, is a huge undertaking for our busy students, and they would welcome alumni support.

Public Events

• April 5, all day - Steel Bridge Comptition, CU Rec Center
• April 6, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Concrete Canoe Races, Boulder Reservoir 

Learn More 

Research News

New Professor’s Research Could Shape Water Use in West

Join the proposed Center for Building Energy Smart Technologies in Boulder, New York

Retrofit research at CU shaping policy on earthquakes, non-ductile buildings

Interview with PhD Student Mickey Rush: Hydrology Research in Patagonia

Faculty & Student News

Architectural Engineering Design Course Makes an Impact on Local Community

CU Engineering professor helps lead White House climate report

7th Honorary Doctorate Recognizes Amadei’s Environmental Leadership

Javernick-Will Contributes to Report on Career Benefits of an Engineering Degree

Professor Corotis honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers