Overview
The water you drink, the pavement you drive on, the air you breathe—the work of civil and environmental engineers literally surrounds us all. Somebody has to build the nation's infrastructure, and that somebody is us.
As you can imagine, building an airport or water treatment facility requires a massive amount of input from local, state and federal officials, citizen groups, engineers and industry. The public nature of civil and environmental engineering means hearing the disparate voices and creating something that will function in harmony with the environment, improve how the city operates, and not be a burden on the taxpayers. It's a difficult task, but the rewards are great. How many other students get to shape a city?
Clean water is something we think about a great deal. Dr. Mark Benjamin and his team are researching ways to increase municipal water quality. Dr. H. David Stensel's group is improving the treatment of waste water, and Dr. Richard Palmer's students are analyzing future water resources, ensuring our continued access to clean, potable water. These efforts and others bring together students and faculty from a dozen schools, departments and organizations. Maintaining and protecting our sources of water are a crucial focus of our department.
While most people view a traffic jam as a frustration, we see a challenge. Our undergrads work closely with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), monitoring the state's freeway system, finding solutions that will allow the region to grow in an elegant and efficient manner. Dr. Yinhai Wang and Dr. Nancy Nihan work with graduate students to enhance the way traffic is monitored and controlled, taking advantage of a new lab linking traffic researchers directly to the WSDOT's traffic data and video images.
Minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes is another major part of what we do. Dr. Steve Kramer and Dr. Marc Eberhard's extensive analysis of the Alaska Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle has helped lead to major policy decisions that could have a dramatic effect on our city's appearance and infrastructure. But more importantly, their findings may help save lives in the next earthquake.
The students and faculty of the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering are making discoveries that will make a positive impact on the quality of life for millions of people. Safe structures, water and transportation are the major focuses of the department and all are of critical interest to the local area, state and rest of the country. This is why we love the challenges in this profession.