Research

Prof. Emeritus Pat Mokhtarian elected to National Academy of Engineering

Prof. Emeritus Patricia (Pat) Mokhtarian was elected to the 2024 class of the National Academy of Engineering for her contributions to "improved transportation systems planning and practice through quantifying human behavior." Prof. Mokhtarian is a world-leading researcher on travel behavior. Her work on the impact of telecommunications technology on travel behavior long predates the huge shift that has taken place over the last few years.

UC Davis Researchers Explore Environmental Benefits of Soil-Stabilizing Microbes

Naturally occurring microbes could help stabilize the ground under buildings during earthquakes due to the way they reduce the water content in soils, according to new research. One existing approach to stabilizing liquefaction-prone soils known as grouting is to inject concrete into the soil under vulnerable structures to cement the ground together.

Investigating Bridges Under Pressure

Scientists at the UC Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling have compiled the most detailed experimental data yet seen on how liquefaction-induced downdrag can add to the structural load applied to a pile foundation during earthquake shaking.

AISC 2021 T. R. Higgins Lecture Hosted at UC Davis on March 11

The department is honored to be hosting Dr. Amit Varma as he delivers his 2021 T. R. Higgins Lecture "SpeedCore and Steel-Concrete Composite Construction: The Best of Both Worlds." This lecture will be held from 4-5 pm on March 11, 2022, in 1003 Giedt Hall. There will be a reception after the event.

CEE Faculty and Students Publish Op-Ed on COVID Wastewater Analysis

In a continuation of the Bischel team's work on wastewater analysis with Healthy Davis Together, Hannah Safford, Karen Shapiro, and Professor Bischel published an op-ed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The article, titled Opinion: Wastewater analysis can be a powerful public health tool—if it’s done sensibly, can be found here. Congratulations, Hannah and Professor Bischel!

Report by University of California and CalEPA Featured CEE Faculty

Decarbonizing California Transportation by 2045 Report to State Outlines Policy Pathways to Meet the Zero-Carbon Time Crunch

UC Davis News and Media Relations recently highlighted the research contributions of department faculty members Austin Brown, Dan Sperling, and grad group member Susan Handy for their work on the "Driving California’s Transportation Emissions to Zero" report. 

A sample of the article below:

In Case You Missed It

Over the quarter several members of the department have been recognized in various news outlets for their cutting edge research. 

ASCE/SEI Symposium: Bay Area Resilience on 30th Anniversary of Loma Prieta Earthquake

Professor Brian Maroney speaker on panel at ASCE/SEI Symposium 

Many UCD students and alumni attended the ASCE/SEI San Francisco Chapter hosted a symposium on resilience to mark the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The speaker panel consisted of representatives from BART, Caltrans, EBMUD, City of Oakland, and the San Francisco Office of Resilience and Capital Planning. This event presented a unique opportunity to learn about the resiliency efforts of major building and infrastructure agencies in the Bay Area. 

Modeling small cigar smoke in the lungs

Everyone knows cigarettes are bad for you. Much research has been done and because of that, legislators have put a lot of sales restrictions and taxes on them. This is why companies are developing new products that deliver nicotine such as vapes, small cigars and cigarillos that have sugary flavors to addict a new generation of users.

These newer products have really caught on, especially with young people, who are adopting them faster than they can be researched or regulated.

Lake Tahoe Clarity Level Bounces Back

A return to more normal weather and streamflow conditions in 2018 saw Lake Tahoe’s annual clarity value improve dramatically to 70.9 feet. This represents a 10.5-foot increase over the 2017 value. That is according to a report of Lake Tahoe clarity released by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

How Fast Are Ice Shelves Melting?

A small group of scientists and doctoral students from the University of California, Davis, recently returned from Antarctica, where they became the first group to collect turbulence measurements from an underwater glider beneath an ice shelf. 

UC Davis Solar Decathlon Team Receives Excellence in Structural Engineering Award

On June 12, the UC Davis Solar Decathlon team, led by Professor Frank Loge in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, received the Excellence in Structural Engineering Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Central California for their work designing and building OurH2Ouse for the 2017 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition.

Controlling Invasive Shrimp to Improve Water Clarity in Lake Tahoe

A University of California, Davis research team led by civil and environmental engineering professors Geoff Schladow and Alex Forrest, along with environmental science and policy professor Steve Sadro, is launching a new project this month to test and optimize a strategy to improve water clarity in Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe.