Flanigan to Join CEE Faculty in Fall 2020

Katherine Flanigan, who will join CEE’s faculty this fall, was attracted to the university thanks to its philosophical discussions surrounding the identity and role of the civil and environmental engineers in a changing world. “The growing needs of society are changing the ways in which we carry out research and train students to serve the common good,” she says. “CEE is one of the first programs to rigorously embrace these technological advancements in both its research and curriculum.”

As an instructor, she plans to help create a new generation of civil and environmental engineers who are able to draw upon tools and technologies from across engineering disciplines. “I use teaching as an opportunity to convey the relevance of technological, computational, and analytical advancements by pushing students to continue to develop and retain advanced interdisciplinary skills. These enable them to be technological leaders within the modern engineering environment.”

Her doctoral work focused on the problems associated with data-driven decision-making for infrastructure management. During her time at the University of Michigan, Flanigan worked on projects with both technical and non-technical stakeholders in the field.

“My research and associated deployments of wireless sensor networks have reached full scale and demonstrate my ability and eagerness to advance the academic community’s presence in smart cities,” she says. She plans to bring her field experience into the classroom, helping students to connect course topics with real-world case studies.

“The CEE community is delighted to have Katherine Flanigan joining our faculty. She is bringing new dimensions and research activities in Advanced Infrastructure Systems and Smart Cities,” says Dave Dzombak, CEE department head. Flanigan mentions that collaborations between CEE, CMU, and other local partners provide instructors and students the chance to research alongside with diverse stakeholders. “Citizens, communities, and city government engage with our research and leverage Pittsburgh as a living laboratory.”

Flanigan earned a BSE in CEE from Princeton University, and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. She will conclude her PhD studies in Civil Engineering Intelligent Systems from the University of Michigan in Spring 2020.