News

With funds provided by the late Charles Kolodzey (MS 1946), this competitive award provides an opportunity for PhD students in the department to attend technical conferences, make oral and poster presentations about their research, and to develop a network of colleagues at other universities.

The National Academy of Construction has elected William J. O'Brien, professor and associate chair for architectural engineering in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, as a new member of its 2020 class.

Seven alumni from the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have been elected to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering is once again ranked in the top five in the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report, strengthening the department's position as one of the nation’s best undergraduate engineering programs.

Sergio Castellanos is the department's new assistant professor.

September 10, 2020

Dr. Sergio Castellanos will join the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor in January 2021.

Dr. Castellanos received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Arizona. He completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Photovoltaics Research Laboratory.

His research focuses on analyzing pathways for decarbonizing the electrical grid and studying how equitable are the policies and deployment strategies for technologies that can get us to net-zero-emissions economies.

“I am excited to be joining the CAEE Department at UT Austin and engage with its amazing faculty and student body in tackling energy-related challenges in the electrical grid and transportation systems. I look forward to exploring these issues beyond the US and in emerging economies,” said Castellanos.

Matt Bartos is the department's new Environmental and Water Resources Engineering assistant professor.

Matt Bartos will join the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor in our Environmental and Water Resources Engineering group in January 2021.

Matt Bartos obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan. He holds a B.S.E. in Environmental Engineering and a B.A. in English Literature from Arizona State University. He also holds an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Matt’s research focuses on building a new generation of smart stormwater systems. These systems use real-time sensing and control to deliver improved performance and mitigate water hazards. Major areas of interest include urban flood mitigation; sensing and control of urban water quality; digital twin models for water infrastructure; and coupled operation of interdependent water, power and transportation systems.

"It's a huge honor to join the faculty team at UT Austin. I can't think of a better place to start a research program focused on smart civil infrastructure. I'm looking forward to inspiring a new generation of engineers to build the cities of the future!" said Bartos.

Francisca Aroso Pinto de Oliveira is the department's new Assistant Professor of Practice.

Francisca Aroso joined the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin as an Assistant Professor of Practice this summer to develop the new ARE 217 course, which will be offered to all CE and ARE majors.

Dr. Aroso is an architect with expertise in Digital Design and Fabrication, Parametric Design, and Biomimetics. She holds a Ph.D. in Architectural Design from the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) and The Open University (OU) in London. She has a Master’s Degree in Advanced Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IaaC) in Barcelona and a B.A. in Architecture from ESAP, Porto. At CAEE, Aroso will be teaching Computer Aided Design and Graphics.

Having worked at the FabLab BCN and the AA’s Digital Prototyping Lab, Francisca was also part of the curatorial team of “FULL PRINT 3D’” at the DHUB Design Museum in Barcelona. She is a registered architect in Portugal and has been a lecturer at UT’s School of Architecture since 2014, where she has been recognized with the 2018-19 SOA Commencement Award for Outstanding Teaching. Dr. Aroso was also the founder of m|use, a custom-made jewelry company, and worked with multiple architecture firms in Portugal, Spain and the United States.

Arso said, “I am interested in exploring the conceptual and material opportunities that emerge from the use of digital design and fabrication technologies for the design and production of architecture. I am inspired by nature through the study of Biomimetics and its application to the design process, as well as investigating the way in which technology (CNC machines and rapid prototyping techniques) influences the way in which one conceives, thinks, and builds architecture.”

Recognized as a leader in the environmental and civil engineering industry, Walter leaves a memorable mark for his kindness, generosity and his unmatched passion for education.

A new Graduate Portfolio in Food-Energy-Water Systems (FEWS) will be offered beginning Fall 2020. The portfolio will help prepare graduate students to become effective and productive FEWS leaders who will develop the next generation of water and energy solutions for food production and, in doing so, serve the public good.

A major challenge in Texas, the U.S., and the world is water scarcity in agriculture. Drought, overuse of water resources, deteriorating water quality, and climate change are contributing to increasingly frequent and sometimes permanent water shortages for agriculture. Another complication is the expense and environmental impact of using conventional energy sources to provide agricultural water. Addressing these challenges requires innovation in water supply and treatment, as well as in energy production and delivery.

The new graduate portfolio will provide foundational training to address these challenges in courses focused on technology innovation, public policy, and complex systems integration while still allowing students to become domain experts in a more focused topic specific to their field of study.

Approved courses are available across three prominent schools at The University of Texas at Austin - the Cockrell School of Engineering, the Jackson School of Geosciences, and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Contributing programs include Operations Research and Industrial Engineering (ORI), Civil Engineering (CAEE), Electrical Engineering (ECE), Geological Sciences (GEO), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Chemical Engineering (ChE), and Public Affairs (PAff). Additional programs and courses may be added to address each student’s career goals.

The FEWS graduate portfolio is open to current master’s and Ph.D. graduate students in the university’s STEM-related and policy programs, with prior approval of the Graduate Advisor in the student’s primary degree program.

Questions? Please contact program administrator This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

UT Austin professors from the Cockrell School of Engineering and College of Natural Sciences were recently selected to receive a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to better forecast and identify potential lapses in water quality in urban water infrastructure. The interdisciplinary team will develop more accurate predictive models that could better protect the health of the American public from contaminated drinking water and guide future infrastructure investment.

The project's investigators are Professors Charles Werth, Lina Sela, Kerry Kinney and Lynn Katz from the Department of Civil, Architecture and Environmental Engineering and Cory Zigler from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences.

The project, “Leading Engineering for America's Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure (LEAP-HI): Smart Sensing and Forecasting of Water Quality in the Water Distribution Network For Protection of Public Health,” aims to develop a broadly adaptable process and data-driven models that will give water managers better tools to identify disturbances or lapses in water quality that could expose people to associated health risks.

In the U.S., pathogens in drinking water from public water systems cause an estimated 33 million cases of gastrointestinal illness each year. Two main pathogens found in contaminated drinking water, Legionella and non-tuberculous Mycobacteria, cause respiratory infection.

Pathogen occurrence can be caused by problems with the premise (building) plumbing (where end-users consume water), the water treatment and distribution network (where the water is being treated and distributed), which can be caused by extreme events such as flooding or by reliability failures that occur as infrastructure ages.

Motivated by the lead epidemic in Flint, Michigan and water quality issues that occurred in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey, researchers will use data-driven modeling approaches to adequately capture the complexity of an entire water system for real-time prediction of imminent transient and ongoing public health risks.

Principal Investigator Werth said, “This grant represents a unique opportunity to connect water quality and public health and to train students in these often separate but connected disciplines.”

Three unique test beds will be utilized to gather data from small—and large-scale systems using smart sensing and monitoring efforts. They include a laboratory-based pipe network, the water distribution system on the UT Austin campus and the City of Victoria, Texas utilities.

Co-PI Sela has already begun monitoring pressure changes in the water distribution system on campus. She said, “Utilizing more advanced sensing and models and promoting collaboration between academic research and public utilities will support the modernization of urban water systems.”

Katz and Kinney have also previously collected water quality data related to Hurricane Harvey, highlighting changes in the microbial composition of the water in the distribution system.

The project also includes interdisciplinary graduate student training in hydraulics, water chemistry, microbiology, systems engineering, big data, risk assessment, and public health. An outreach component will also be created to connect water utility, health care and public policy experts with the general public.