College of Engineering News • Iowa State University

Holographic hard hats ahead: Cyclone Engineers break into the third dimension of structural design

Civil engineering sophomore Liam Lenahan and assistant professor Roy Sturgill are working together to bring the third dimension into structural design. The two are bringing 3D projects into the classroom through a very ‘construction-style’ medium: hard hats. 

How much vehicle weight can highways withstand? Yongsung Koh receives award for highway resilience research

How much pressure can a road withstand? Of all the roads and highways we drive on – when will they crack? That’s what Yongsung Koh, a doctoral student in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is working hard to figure out.

CCEE welcomes 2023 Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni Inductees

Iowa State University’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering’s (CCEE) honors outstanding alumni of the department annually for their professional achievements, service to the profession, community and/or the department, and their high degree of character and integrity. There are two different recognitions: Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni. The Hall of Fame is a lifetime professional and service achievement award, while the Distinguished Alumni is for alumni who have significant professional achievement and service. This year, three alumni are joining the Hall of Fame, and two are joining fellow Distinguished Alumni.

“It’s all about making a difference,” construction engineering alum Paul Giroux’s advice to Cyclone Engineers

Paul Giroux graduated from the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. Now, after nearly five decades in industry with the Kiewit Corporation, Giroux pays his education forward by sharing his insights into modern and historical construction lessons with engineering students all over America.

How big should a new foundation be? Students determine ideal foundation size in soil strength course

In Civil Engineering 462/562, Site Evaluations for Civil Engineering Projects, seniors and graduate students use hands-on methods to learn various processes for testing soil in-ground. Taught by associate professor Jeramy Ashlock, the class is implementing CCEE Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard Handy’s in-ground soil strength test, known as the Borehole Shear Test, after digging a small hole, known as a borehole, for testing.

Helping policymakers make informed decisions about agriculture, $1.9 million grant for broad-scope framework

In the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, researchers received a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to provide a broad-scope framework presenting how FEW systems work together. Including elements like crop and animal production and ethanol generation among other things, the team is designing a series of maps that describe the food, energy and water data elements within the state of Iowa, and housing the maps in one user-friendly webpage.

ECIC club wins first place in national construction management competition

Iowa State University Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering’s (CCEE) National Electrical Contractor’s Association (NECA) club took home a $4,000, first-place award this fall at the annual Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge held during the NECA National Convention in Austin, Texas. The team placed first in the overall presentation portion of the challenge, an award determined by combining the scores of a written proposal and the oral presentation.

Water work: Daria Dilparic provides vital water treatment service to the Ames community

Daria Dilparic is combining her love of chemistry, water quality and public health as a graduate student in environmental engineering – and in a position as a student operator at Ames Water and Pollution Control Department. Daria’s commitment to protecting the environment and her community inspires her to use analytical chemistry methods to solve drinking water contamination problems.

Keeping the lights on in rural Iowa, digital tool to support utilities in the face of extreme weather events

Alipour recently received stage one of a two-stage grant to develop a digital infrastructure tool that can support electrical infrastructure, titled “Electric Network Disaster Mitigation for Utilities in Rural Environment (ENDURE).” This grant is a part of the CIVIC Innovation Challenge, funded by National Science Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The CIVIC Innovation Challenge works to “lay the foundation for a broader and more fluid exchange of research.”

Accelerating environmental equality in rural communities, Kaoru Ikuma receives $3.2 million EPA grant

Engineers at Iowa State University are starting a project to normalize and accelerate water reuse for rural communities. Water reuse is already implemented in small ways across the nation, especially in urban areas, but society still tends to turn heads at the thought of drinking what used to be “unusable” water.

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