Student Stories - Civil and Environmental Engineering

Bram “Rethinks the Rink” for Hockey Player Safety

Rethink the Rink is a collaboration between the Pittsburgh Penguins, Covestro, Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering, PPG, and Athletica Sport Systems. Students worked in teams of four at CMU's TechSpark and had hands-on coaching throughout the process

The Evolution of CEE: Preparing the Next Generation of Engineers and Problem Solvers

Part Four: CEE Classes Tackle Topics of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Engineering CEE undergraduates first encounter the topic of sensing in the first-year project course that introduces them to the domain of civil and environmental engineering. As sophomores, students explore computing and sensing in greater depth in CEE Challenges: Design in a Changing World.

The Evolution of CEE: Preparing the Next Generation of Engineers and Problem Solvers

Part Three: Students Utilize Sensing Technologies in CEE Project Courses CEE undergraduates first encounter the topic of sensing in the first-year project course that introduces them to the domain of civil and environmental engineering. As sophomores, students explore computing and sensing in greater depth in CEE Challenges: Design in a Changing World.

The Evolution of CEE: Preparing the Next Generation of Engineers and Problem Solvers

Part Two: New Labs Prepare CivE Students for Practice & Problem-Solving A new lab course sequence for Civil Engineering undergraduates is underway, designed to bolster students’ understanding of real-world applications and problem-solving.

The Evolution of CEE: Preparing the Next Generation of Engineers and Problem Solvers

Part One: The Start of a New Era for Environmental Engineering in CEE Environmental engineering has long been a mainstay of CEE’s undergraduate curriculum, and the November 2020 announcement of a new BS in Environmental Engineering (EnvE) program reflected expanded commitment to preparing graduates to make an impact in this critical field.

Junior Projects Experiment Studies Porter Hall Bottleneck

The project was assigned in the students’ Junior Projects course, and came to life to solve the problem of real-world collision experiences the students had experienced while attempting to navigate the high-traffic area.

Senior Greta Markey Earns Marshall Scholarship

Carnegie Mellon University's Greta Markey, a senior double majoring in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP), has been named a recipient of the highly competitive Marshall Scholarship, which is awarded to less than 50 Americans each year to fund graduate education in the United Kingdom. She is the fifth CMU student to receive the award since 1955.

Markey and Thompson Named Andrew Carnegie Scholars

NHL’s Penguins Install Boards Designed by CMU Students

Professional hockey is getting ready to kick off the 2021-22 regular season. And CEE students’ innovative work is making the experience safer for players. Three years ago, through a “Rethink the Rink” project, students were tasked with creating dasher boards that would reduce the impact felt when players crashed the boards. After feedback and testing by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced that the dasher boards had been installed in the practice rink at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Alumni Survey Reveals Strength and Variety of Options Available to CEE Grads

Backed by our CPDC career resources and CEE’s renowned programs, the data shows that CEE students can graduate confident that they are ready for what’s next.

CEE Capstone: Aquaponics for Center of Life

For the fall senior capstone course, CEE students were tasked with designing a prototype of an aquaponics food production system and an energy-efficient facility to house it. “In an aquaponics system, fish and plants work together,” explains fellow CEE senior Joseph Iacobellis.

Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Coursework

CEE professors, Sarah Christian and David Rounce, were selected for a 2021-22 Provost’s Inclusive Teaching Fellowship. This fellowship program is designed to support the development and implementation of inclusive teaching techniques to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in coursework. -401

Congratulations to Our Undergraduate CEE Commencement Award Winners

CEE undergraduate graduation awards for class of 2021

Rusali Presents: Using Molecular Science to Explore Urban Structure

Winding up his senior year at CEE, Ryan Rusali presented his College of Engineering Honors Research project titled “Using Methods from Molecular Science to Explore Urban Structure: Fractal structures, length scales, and getting two very different fields to work together" at the Meeting of the Minds undergraduate research symposium. Rusali’s project focuses on applying tools and methods from molecular analysis and simulation to urban textures in order to better understand the structure of cities.

Levene Presents: Pittsburgh’s Story of Environmental Justice and Renewable Energy

CEE Junior Meredith Levene has always been interested in how renewable energy could create a better, greener future. And after taking CEE courses that introduced her to environmental justice, she began to formulate sustainability-based ideas that could help others. “I want to look into how renewable energy could improve environmental justice—which is how I came up with the project idea,” she mentions.

Kramer Explores Relationship Between Social Distancing, Pedestrian Flow

We’ve all become accustomed to maintaining six feet of space between ourselves and the next closest person. But how does this impact the way we move through a space—does social distancing lead to pedestrian traffic jams? CEE undergraduate Kelby Kramer (CE ’22) recently presented research on this topic at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics.

Merging Art and Engineering for Innovative Solutions

Nika Finkelsteyn’s (CEE 2021) talent for both art and engineering allows her to discover innovative ways to tackle engineering problems. A passionate artist, she balances her engineering studies with coursework in photography and fine arts.

CEE Introduces Undergraduate Environmental Engineering Program

For decades, environmental engineering courses have been a cornerstone of the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering program at Carnegie Mellon, a program that has consistently been named among the best in the nation for studying environmental engineering. In Fall 2021, CEE will be starting a new BS in Environmental Engineering degree program that will continue to grow this legacy.

Two CEE Students Named Andrew Carnegie Scholars

Seniors Valentina Ortiz de Zárate and Ryan Rusali have been named as Andrew Carnegie Scholars. ACS Scholars are selected each year by their deans and department heads to represent their class in service and leadership.

ANSYS HALL: A Creative Epicenter

Fully opened in October 2019 as part of the College of Engineering’s larger maker ecosystem known as TechSpark, ANSYS Hall is a great boon for CEE courses. “What I can do with students just got bigger,” says Jim Thompson, who teaches the 12-401 Civil & Environmental Engineering Design capstone course.

Farrell Competes in Jeopardy 2020 College Championship

Emma Farrell, a senior majoring in civil and environmental engineering and history, bested over 18,000 applicants to earn one of the 15 competitor spots in the Jeopardy 2020 College Championship.

Choudhary’s Team Takes “Best Overall Design” in Rethink the Rink Competition

Rethink the Rink is a week-long Make-a-thon that challenged students, including sophomore Dhruv Choudhary, to find solutions that provide hockey players with a greater range of motion and flexibility—while still providing appropriate coverage.

Hegglin Challenges Norms and Brings a Fresh Perspective

Miriam Hegglin knew she would be one of few women on the ExxonMobil offshore oil platform to which she was assigned in 2016 as part of a program for new employees. But she was determined to learn as much as she could during the six-month assignment, and to earn through hard work the respect of the platform crew she was joining.

Learning by Doing

Courses that create the CEE design thread provides students with opportunities across all four years to gain hands-on engineering experience and to apply what they’re learning in the core courses to actual projects.

Hegde Presents Data Privacy Paper at 2020 TRB Conference

CEE senior Sharika Hegde’s 2019 summer internship at the Federal Highway Administration’s Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory not only allowed her to work with connected and automated vehicles—it sparked her interest in the data privacy implications of connected vehicle data logs.

Stein Wins George Washington Prize

CEE/EPP senior Simone Stein was awarded the George Washington Prize at the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania awards dinner on February 6. The honor is presented yearly to a College of Engineering senior who demonstrates qualities of academic excellence, service, and leadership.

Divergent Path: Joining Engineering and Creativity

Jolita Mo (CEE BS ’13, MS ’14) works as a product designer with online high-end retailer Net-A-Porter. Her job allows her to merge both her engineering and analytical skills, with her passion for design

Building Global Successes: Jonathan Tanner

As a management consultant in the automotive, aerospace, travel, and information sectors for A.T. Kearney, Johnathan Tanner (CEE ‘15, ETIM ‘15) brings to bear his background in engineering and business to help clients control costs. The projects on which he has worked have ranged from helping clients develop research labs to developing new business units.

Using Teamwork, Soil Mechanics in Bench Building Project

CivE undergraduates Tessa Weeden ('20), Jessica Wang ('21), and Skylar McAuliffe ('22) recently participated in an on-campus project that tested their engineering abilities—as well as their teamwork skills. The women worked alongside 40 other students to create a bench, designed by architecture students in the Earthworks Course, out of earthen building materials.

Cousté Steps Into Role as Site Superintendent for DC Metro Extension

Michelle Cousté (BS '15) is a site superintendent for Clark Construction on the Silver Line project, a 6-station, 11-mile extension to the DC metro.

Brown and Hegde Named Andrew Carnegie Scholars

CEE/EPP senior Taylor Brown and CEE Sharika Hegde were named as Andrew Carnegie Scholars for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Study Abroad in Berlin Provides Urban Planning Insight

Ryan Rusali’s summer program fulfilled his dream to travel within Germany—while gaining valuable life and educational experience through IES Abroad program. He took classes alongside students from across the United States and the courses were taught in English, allowing Rusali to immediately dive into his studies.

Internship: Hegde Gets Technical with Autonomous Vehicles

Sharika Hegde, rising CEE senior with a minor in Computer Science, spent her summer interning as a contractor at the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, just outside of Washington, D.C. She’s part of a team that’s focused on national connected and automated vehicle (CAV) research.

INTERNSHIP: Stress Analysis and Design Engineering of Boeing 767

Undergraduate Chinasa Onyenkpa (CEE/BME) spent her summer at the Boeing Everett Factory working as a structural engineering intern on the 767 tanker and freighter. She split her time focusing on stress analysis and design engineering.

Weeden’s Global Internships Build Experience, Provide Growth Opportunities

Tessa Weeden’s (CEE 2020) willingness to take on new challenges have led her to an internship for the Alaska Center for Entergy and Power and a weekend-long soil mechanics bench-building project. But as she nears graduation, Weeden made the decision to expand her reach globally while gaining valuable hands-on experience through an internship at a remediation site in Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany.

Internship: Gaining Valuable Hands-On Experience as a Field Engineer

Russell Orlick, a rising junior, is spending his summer working with Clark Foundations, learning the ins and outs of the construction industry. Clark Foundations, with locations across the country, has completed more than 100 of the country’s most sophisticated support of excavation systems. Through this experience, Russell has had the opportunity to participate in field engineering work, shadow a field engineer, and work with 3D modeling.

Service Inspires Educational Focus

CEE/EPP first-year student Rimsha Ahmed was one of 13 students – graduate and undergraduate – who traveled with CMU in Puerto Rico to observe, participate in educational opportunities and help with projects.

Undergrad Research Projects Impacts Pittsburgh

CEE undergraduate Megan Henriksen is part of a group working with Associate Research Professor Albert Presto, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Presto, a member of CMU’s Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, and his team are collecting data on pollutants from more than thirty sensors placed throughout Pittsburgh. The CMU Real-Time Multi-Pollutant Sensors (RAMP) are measuring: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter.

Rusali's Team Creates “Best Prototype” in Rethink the Rink Competition

“Rethink the Rink” is an initiative of The Pittsburgh Penguins, Covestro, and Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. 2019 marks the second year that students spent one week creating prototypes that were presented to high-level executives for the Penguins and Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials.

Internship: Focused on Safe Closing of Coal Ash Basins

Undergraduate Simone Stein (CEE/EPP ’20) is spending her summer in Charlotte, North Carolina working with the Coal Combustion Products team at Duke Energy. She’s assisting the group, which was formed in 2014 after the Dan River coal ash spill, to implement the safe closing of North Carolina coal ash basins which are mandated by the state government.

Internship: Student’s Analysis Leads to Potential Cost and Energy Savings

Tessa Weeden (CEE ’20) is spending her summer far from Pittsburgh—as an intern at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP). Her work focuses on making borough buildings more efficient to save both energy and money.

Internship: Restoring the George Summer Internship—Ensuring Safety and Adding Appeal

CEE/EPP undergraduate Joseph Iacobellis is spending his summer working on “Restoring the George,” an initiative of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to maintain the structural health of the George Washington Bridge.

Internship: Offshore Engineering Discovered at CMU Job Fair

Rising junior Paul Anderson dove deeper into his interest with offshore civil engineering this summer while interning at ExxonMobile. He was able to bring in some of the skills he learned at CEE to help develop tools and methods for increased efficiency.

Learning and Volunteering in Puerto Rico

While many of her peers were celebrating Spring Break at the beach or another relaxing location, CEE/EPP student Ariana Sabbat was working to help the people of Puerto Rico recover from hurricane damage.

Crossing Borders

Spending time in an unfamiliar country can teach us a lot—about others and ourselves. For CEE students, the opportunities to go abroad are vast, from spring break trips to summer programs to entire semesters. “Wherever they want to go, they can find a way to make it work with their studies,” says CEE Director of Undergraduate Programs Andrea Francioni Rooney.

Rethinking the Rink: Sophomore Designs Safer Hockey Rink for Penguins

To create a safer sporting environment for ice hockey players, 22 students from Carnegie Mellon University, including CEE Sophomore Sally Chen, were asked to create improved dasher board systems that minimize player injury during impact. The week-long Maker Space Rethink the Rink challenge took place in partnership with The Pittsburgh Penguins and Covestro, a world-leading supplier of high-tech polymer materials.

Learning at the Creative Intersection of Art and Technology

Morgan Reed is an aspiring structural engineer who plans to make an impact in urban development, and she has a unique and unexpected minor: Animation & Special Effects.

Room for Growth: Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences

From new approaches to make environmentally friendly concrete to modeling western Pennsylvania climate, undergraduates have several options to explore research opportunities.

Constructing Opportunities with CMU Connections and the TOC

Senior Connor Smith (CEE '17) used his networking and interviewing skills to land a summer internship and spent his summer internship with Clark Construction.

Engineering Abroad: Building a ‘Mega Construction Project’ in Qatar

With a residential development, hotel, shopping mall, and amusement park, senior Ahmad Khanzada (CEE '17) spent a very busy summer working with AECOM on a development project in Doha, Qatar.

Shedding Light in Rural Zimbabwe: EWB Brings Streetlights to Nyadire

Lighting up Nyadire, Zimbabwe: CEE students work to deliver sustainable lighting solutions to village community.