CCEE 2022 Impact Report

Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

A word from the Department Chair

It has been another exciting year for Iowa State University’s Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. In 2022, we inducted four outstanding alumni into our Hall of Fame and nine as Distinguished Alumni, we substantially expanded our undergraduate research program, hosted the ASCE Mid-America Symposium, and much more.

We are dedicated to diversity and inclusion, both within our department and across our university. More than a quarter of our faculty members identify as women, and 22% of our student population identify as women. We are in a continuous state of improvement with accessibility and inclusion a priority. Within the last year, we created a resource page on our website for diversity and inclusion and conducted an environmental scan of our building for diversity and accessibility as we strive for an inclusive environment in our programs.

Our department has fantastic faculty, staff and students with 29 tenure-track and nearly 12 term faculty (including both full time and part time faculty). Our education remains strong and successful with a continuous upward enrollment in our new degree program, environmental engineering.

Our research is impacting lives worldwide. As an example, we recently received two multi-million dollar EPA grants on rural communities and safe infrastructure. In the last year alone, our research activities totaled $16 million in externally-funded research. Our close collaboration with the Institute of Transportation (InTrans) at Iowa State continues to expand our transportation-focused research.

As we strive to improve our programs, we are raising funds for renovating our existing spaces as well as expanding our building, Town Engineering, by adding a new advising center, collaborative spaces, classrooms and laboratories. We are very excited about where we are and where we are going. Big changes ahead! It is a great time to be a Cyclone.

Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Office of Equal Opportunity, 3410 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, Office: 515-294-7612, Hotline: 515-294-1222, Email: eooffice@iastate.edu

Copyright © Iowa State University of Science and Technology. All rights reserved.

David Sanders Ph.D, F. ACI, F. SEI, F. ASCE Greenwood Department Chair and Professor Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Brandi Moormann

Early Achievement in Advising

Faculty & Staff College Awards

Engineering Student Council Outstanding Staff Member

Sturgill

Early Achievement in Teaching

Excellence

Moormann

Innovation and Exceptional Advising

COVID

Rehmann

Outstanding Achievement in Teaching

Miller

Outstanding New Staff

University Awards

Sri Sritharan

Anson Marston Distinguished Professor

Cristina Poleacovschi

Early Achievement in Research

Simon Laflamme

Mid-Career Achievement in Research

Professional and Scientific Outstanding New Professional Alisha

and

Beena Ajmera

Council

Beena Ajmera joined CCEE in 2021 as an assistant professor with a specialization in geotechnical engineering. She has recevied the Early-Career Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award, the ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award, the Oldrich Hungr Award, and several other awards honoring her outstanding performance as an instructor and researcher.

CCEE welcomes new faculty members

Joe Charbonnet received his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and his bachelor of science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Through Charbonnet’s research, he studies the chemicals in water that impact the health of people and ecosystems. In past research, he has developed new technologies and techniques for detecting and destroying contaminants.

Steven Johnson graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering in 1979. After graduating, Johnson proceeded to be the first college graduate engineer hired by a design/build construction firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. Johnson then gained more than 40 years of construction experience, from managing his own projects to managing groups and building projects all around the world.

Yunjeong (Leah) Mo has an interdisciplinary background, including construction management, building science, computer programming and design. Mo’s core research areas have expanded to digital twin-based building management systems, and emerging technologies for architecture, engineering and construction courses by incorporating machine learning, building information modeling, virtual reality, augmented reality, and more.

Department Awards

Dawn Miller

Staff Exceptional Performance

Paul Kremer

Staff Exceptional Performance

Kaoru Ikuma

Charles W. Schafer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service Cristina Poleacovschi

Charles W. Schafer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service Travis Hosteng

Joseph C. & Elizabeth A. Anderlik Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Christopher Day

Joseph C. & Elizabeth A. Anderlik Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

External Awards

ASCE Distinguished Member

Beena Ajmera

ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement Early-Career

Peter Taylor and CP Tech Center

Charles S. Whitney Medal American Concrete Institute

Peter Taylor

Frank G. Erskine Award

Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Institute

David H. Sanders

Henry L. Kennedy Award

American Concrete Institute

Beena Ajmera

Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award, Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Halil Ceylan

University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award

Cassie Rutherford

USUCGER Early Career Educator Award, United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research

Halil Ceylan

improving water quality through environmental engineering DARIA DILPARIC

“As a student water operator, I put my classroom engineering skills to practice, with responsibility for maintaining the public water supply from start to finish.

It is incredibly rewarding to be part of providing a necessity to the Ames community while I’m still a student, especially one with a direct connection to quality of life and health outcomes.”

Daria Dilparic (’22 environmental engr) Current graduate student in environmental engineering Student operator at the City of Ames Water and Pollution Control Department

CCEE hosts Mid-America ASCE Symposium

Last spring, CCEE hosted the American Society of Civil Engineers Symposium for the Mid-America region. The three-day, student run event consisted of 15 schools from around the Midwest participating in competitions such as the concrete canoe, steel bridge and Mid-America Student Paper competition and the ASCE Innovation Contest.

grad student spotlight

recently received the Outstanding Individual Award from the nationwide graduate student community in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Citir currently serves as the president of ISU’s GradSWE chapter, while pursuing her doctorate in intelligent infrastructure engineering and structural engineering.

Nazik Citir

CCEE expands undergraduate research program

Director of Graduate Education (DOGE) and professor Omar Smadi in CCEE has significantly expanded our hands-on undergraduate research program in the department. This will be the second year of the new program, after a year of many positive experiences from students.

Students can conduct research in the department through this program and become more comfortable with the research realm, learning what is a good fit for them and if they want to do research in the future. According to Smadi, knowing what works for the students can potentially give them a more knowledgeable approach to their future careers, and give them a taste of what graduate school research could look like if they were interested.

Omar Smadi, professor and DOGE

Identifying PFAS the “forever chemical”

Known as “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are compounds that impact our lives daily. Waterproof, durable, and long-lasting, PFAS are commonly used to repel water and grease. The chemicals are found in Teflon™-coated pans, fast food wrappers, and even in the firefighting industry.

While PFAS have many useful applications, they are proven to be highly toxic, causing harm to the human body and ecosystems. And now, they are embedded in society.

Even though PFAS are extremely prevalent in today’s environment, there are few ways to clearly identify them. Joe Charbonnet, assistant professor, is creating a way for scientists around the world to communicate the characteristics of compounds they come across using one of the main PFAS identification methods –high-resolution mass spectrometry.

building safe infrastructure for Ukrainian refugees

For Cristina Poleacovschi, assistant professor in CCEE, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit close to home. Poleacovschi grew up in Moldolva, located between Ukraine and Romania, with family currently sheltering for their safety in Ukraine. The situation sparked some thinking by Poleacovschi. How could they help the refugees, especially those who make their way to the American Midwest?

Working with assistant professor Katie Madson in CCEE and other ISU colleagues from political science and world languages and cultures, the team received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop tools to study which factors determine successful integration of Ukrainian refugees into Midwestern communities. Pictured from left to right: Katherine (Katie) Madson, Nell Gabiam, Cristina Poleacovschi and Scott Feinstein.

helping rural communities adapt to an ever-changing environment

Professor Cassie Rutherford recently received a planning grant from the National Science Foundation for $300,000 through the “Navigating the New Arctic” project to work with communities, stakeholders and government officials to find ways to help communities adapt to the ever-changing environment.

This grant, called “Community-based Mitigation and Adaptive Strategies for River Flooding and Erosion in Alaska Native Communities,” is different from the typical grant that researchers have. The team is learning how the community can adapt to the situation through community collaboration and developing methods to protect their infrastructure. Rutherford and her team, including assistant professor Cristina Poleacovschi (CCEE) and professor Kristie Franz (Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences), are working with community members by looking at pictures of the river and listening to their stories, meeting with high school students to give them the chance to record the history of the river by interviewing their elders, and much more.

Sparking Innovation from students to co-workers

BUILDING THE BLUEPRINT

After starting one major project together – a system interchange reconstruction project where I-29 and I-480 converge in Council Bluffs/ Omaha – four alums became interconnected once again and moved home to build an HNTB office together in Des Moines, Iowa.

WORKING TOGETHER

Four civil engineering alums are building their careers at HNTB, an infrastructure solutions firm headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Along with working on several projects, the team is leading the Iowa HNTB infrastructure solutions branch (pictured above). Each alum brings a new perspective to the company and leads a different group of employees in their Des Moines office. Ashley Cook, 2010 structural engineering alum, specifically works with bridges. Stephanie Hemberger, 2006 civil engineering alum, works in transportation and design. Heidi Lane, civil engineering alum, works in municipalities and water. And David Green, 2009 civil engineering alum, works with Hemberger in transportation as a lead engineer.

“We are always bringing new energy and building the culture of the Iowa office. We all had a passion for Iowa, and were excited to come back here.”

- STEPHANIE HEMBERGER

Real-world experience

Real-life job sites

In Construction Engineering 222, taught by W.A. Klinger Teaching Professor Jennifer Shane, students are never short of a real-world experience. In the sophomore-level contractor organization management class, students review concepts from their class, including worker and job-site safety, quality control and cost estimation.

undergraduate spotlight

Caleb Stevenson

is a senior studying civil engineering, and will become the first-ever recipient of the Burg-Coleman Iowa State ‘77 Fellowship. The fellowship is administered by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Foundation, and will be awarded annually to students that have a focus on concrete structures or materials. Not only will Stevenson gain the benefits of a $10,000 scholarship and two weeks of paid travel to the conference, but he will get the amazing opportunity to network with Ronald G. Burg and Jeffrey W. Coleman.

Kiewit Scholars Program inaugural class

Last spring, 18 students were selected as the inaugural cohort for the university’s Kiewit Scholars Program. This first group of scholars includes nine incoming freshmen and nine currently enrolled students.

“Kiewit Scholars will not only be provided a generous scholarship, but they will also build connections and strengthen their leadership, team building and professionalism skills, bringing a unique and talented perspective to their future careers,” said W. Samuel Easterling, the James L. and Katherine S. Melsa Dean of Engineering. “We are thrilled to welcome these students to the Kiewit Scholars Program, and grateful to the Kiewit Corporation for providing our students this amazing opportunity.”

The program focuses on developing students interested in pursuing a career in the design and construction industry. The students selected for the program represent majors including civil engineering, construction engineering, environmental engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and engineering undeclared (incoming freshman). Scholars are renewed on an annual basis. With the opportunity to gain hands-on, real-world experience and the chance to participate in developmental opportunities, such as guest lectures from industry professionals, group discussions, volunteer opportunities and workshops, this all-encompassing program challenges students to achieve their best while giving them tools to succeed.

Scan here to learn more about what it means to be a Kiewit Scholar at Iowa State

Sprayable UHPC to speed bridge building

Sri Sritharan, assistant dean for research and Wilkinson Chair, is collaborating with the Iowa DOT and California DOT on a new type of sprayable/pumpable ultra-high performance concrete to accelerate bridge construction –no more waiting several days for traditional concrete to set.

394 Town Engineering 813 Bissell Rd. Ames, IA 50011-1066

Contributors

Editor: Sarah Hays

Contributing Editors: Maddie Willits, Jens Jorgensen, Breehan Gerleman, Bill Beach

Photography: Sarah Hays, Ryan Riley Graphic Design: Maddie Willits, Sarah Hays collegerelations@iastate.edu www.ccee.iastate.edu

Follow us on socials to stay up to date on the latest news and research Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & TikTok: @isuccee LinkedIn: ISU Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Town Engineering Renovation & Expansion

“Our goal is to improve and expand facilities to support the department’s current and long-range teaching and research to meet the societal challenges of today and tomorrow.”

- David Sanders, Greenwood Department Chair & Professor

Images and plans are representational only and are subject to change

Renovation & Expansion Initiatives

Create Flexible Instructional Spaces

Create instructional spaces that are right-sized and flexible to facilitate project and remote learning.

Provide Inspiration

Provide innovative facilities that inspire, recruit and retain outstanding and diverse students, staff and faculty.

Develop Modern Laboratories

Develop modern and flexible research laboratories and support spaces that impact how work is done today and tomorrow.

Increase Collaboration

Increase and improve collaboration spaces for students and faculty.