Via Report 2022

LETTER FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD

I always look forward to fall in Blacksburg as students return and we are surrounded by maroon and orange on the trees. Another highlight of the fall is the opportunity to present the annual edition of the Via Report. I am pleased to recognize our current Via scholars and the outstanding multi-mission efforts from faculty of the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Among those faculty are seven new members to our outstanding team of educators: Jingqiu Liao and David Munoz joined as an assistant professors in Environmental and Water Resources, Monica Arul as an assistant professor in Structural Engineering and Materials, Joseph Vantassel as assistant professor in Geotechnical Engineering, Reihaneh Hosseini as research scientist in Geotechnical Engineering, Holly Casey as assistant professor of practice in Sustainable Land Development, and David Ford as Vecellio Professor in Construction Engineering Management. We are excited to welcome our new colleagues and look forward to highlighting their achievements in future Via Reports.

This year we also welcome the Myers-Lawson School of Construction into the College of Engineering. Our long-landing engagement with the School will be strengthened through improved synergy with the Vecellio Construction Engineering Management graduate program and university initiatives in the area of Smart Design and Construction.

Speaking of construction, a 7,000 square-foot expansion to the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory is underway with completion of the project scheduled for the end of 2022. This long-awaited addition will improve the research capabilities of faculty, staff, and students and provide new and expanded experiential learning opportunities in Northern Virginia. Changes to the Blacksburg campus continue including eight new and on-going projects that directly impact the college and department. For those alumni and friends visiting Blacksburg, the transformation of the campus is impressive with the end result being improvements to elements of our core mission.

I invite you to read through the research efforts highlighted in several articles and the accomplishments and honors that faculty have been awarded this year. I am excited to share changes coming to the land development design program which will be renamed the Bowman Sustainable Land Development Program. We are grateful to Gary Bowman, CE class of 1980, for his generous gift of $5 million to our department to expand learning and research opportunities in sustainable land development.

The Via Scholars are the highlight of this document and I hope that the biographical sketches contained in the report help you get to know them. We will be recognizing our scholars at a reception in December in Blacksburg. This is always a special event to honor the achievements of the Via Scholars and the generosity of the Via family.

I am looking forward to another exciting year and, once again thank you for your continued support. I wish to give a special thanks to all of our alumni, friends and colleagues who have generously supported the department. These gifts are helping to prepare a new generation of engineers to invent the future and address the multitude of challenges as we reimagine and recreate our nation’s civil infrastructure. Please visit cee.vt.edu and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to follow the latest news and research going on in the department.

Regards, Mark Widdowson, Department Head and Professor

PHOTO: Students in Kevin Young’s civil and environmental engineering land development design course meet with industry professionals. Photo taken by Ray Meese.

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Program area highlights

Construction Engineering Management

CEM welcomed David Ford as Vecellio Professor and Mike Biscotte joined the group as Assistant Professor of Practice. R. David Curfman delivered the 21st Vecellio Distinguished Lecture. The Vecellio scholars for 2022 are Sherlock Banks, Charlotte Clyde, Martha Caguiat, Jacob McGee, and Mandy Smith. The Fellows are Yueyan Gu, Mostafa Meimand, and Joshua Trump. VCEMP also had some fun doing team building at the Virginia Tech ropes course and reinstituted the VCEMP hard-hat recognition for graduating students. Freddy Paige is working on a $1.2 million NSF BPE Equity Center project as an internal research lead for cultural pillar. The Principal Investigator on the Project is Dean Julia M. Ross.

Environmental and Water Resources

EWR welcomes two new assistant professors, David Muñoz and Jingqiu Liao. Linsey Marr spoke about Covid-19 transmission and mitigation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s event “Lets Clear the Air on Covid” in March. She was also inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. There were two NSF CAREER Awards earned by Landon Marston and Hosein Foroutan. Amy Pruden and colleagues launched a new National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NSF NRT) focused on convergent graduate training at the interfaces of policy, data science, environmental science, and engineering. Pruden also completed a research leave assigning exploring antibiotic resistance in coupled human and environmental ecosystems in Botswana. Jingqiu Liao’s nationwide survey of listeria in natural environments was published in Nature Microbiology. Stanley Grant’s NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR) project was funded into Phase II, which brings to the team an additional $2.4M over the next three years. The team authored a feature article describing the GCR project in the American Chemical Society flagship journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T). Peter Vikesland was named a Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP). Andrea Dietrich is lead author for American Water Works Association revision of manual for taste, odors and appearance issues in drink water.

Geotechnical Engineering

Joseph Vantassel will join the Geotechnical program as an Assistant Professor in January 2023. His expertise is in engineering geophysics and geotechnical site characterization. Reihaneh Hosseini will also join as a Research Scientist in January. Hosseini’s expertise is in partially saturated soils, in particular, the numerical modeling of multi-phase fluids in porous media. The geotechnical faculty have been honored with several awards this year. Sherif Abdelaziz received the C.A. Hogentotle Award from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Adrian Rodriguez-Marek received the 2021 Outstanding Paper Award from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. Nina Stark was called to help with the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) team to survey and study damages due to the Yellowstone floods in Wyoming in June 2022. Tom Brandon updated the NAVFAC DM-7.1, which was released by the Navy in February 2022. Alba Yerro-Colom is working to assess the tractive performance of tracked vehicles on “mud” (saturated finegrained soils). This is the first all-women team being funded by the Automotive Research Center (U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center).

Program area highlights

Structural Engineering and Materials

The SEM group welcomed a new faculty member, Monica Arul. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and her research interests center on wind engineering, extreme wind characterization, infrastructure resilience to windstorms, structural health monitoring and translational data science. Roberto Leon was the recipient of the G. Haaijer Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction. Dr. Leon’s graduate class on forensic engineering has been extended to form a conjoined undergraduate section to focus on the formal processes for failure analysis, the societal reasons for all types of failures, and the way the lessons learnt are applied. Rodrigo Sarlo is also co-teaching a new undergraduate course called “remote sensing and cyber-physical systems in civil engineering” which will expose students to new and evolving sensing/monitoring techniques across the civil engineering field. Sarlo is also collaborating with VDOT on augmented reality assistance for bridge inspection using virtual interfaces and computer vision to digitize the inspection reporting process. Scott Case is working on a three year project with Brian Lattimer to examine the response of structural thermoplastic composites to extreme thermal loads. He is also busy working with Luna Lab and NanoSonic to develop computational tools to support the design and analysis of composite structures. Matt Eatherton is currently working on several research projects related to the innovative design of floor systems in buildings, diaphragm behavior and retrofit, structural fuses, and new configurations of steel moment connections. Eric Jacques is co-PI on a recently awarded $1 million DoD-funded project to develop the next generation explosives and propellants based on additive manufacturing technology. Carin RobertsWollmann is serving on code writing committees for the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the Precast/ Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), including ACI Committee 318 - Stuctural Concrete Building Code.

Sustainable Land Development

The Sustainable Land Development program will be renamed the Bowman Program for Sustainable Land Development. Other news for the program include the establishment of three endowments by John and Connie DeBell. The master’s program in sustainable land development launched in fall 2021 and it now in its second year with 17 M.S. and two Ph.D. students. Coordinator Kevin Young was promoted to Associate Professor of Practice. Assistant Coordinator Claire White received the CEE Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. Holly Casey joined the group as Assistant Professor of Practice, which will help in teaching the increasing number of students. In fact, more than 400 students completed at least one LDDI course during AY 2021-22. The program was excited to return to in-person events for the career fair mixer, design charette, field trips and resume review workshops. This year also marked a record Giving Day for LDDI, both in donors (more than 140) and revenue (over $20k)

Transportation Infrastructure and Systems Engineering

The TISE faculty and students have been recognized with honors throughout the past year. Hesham Rakha received the IEEE ITS Outstanding Research Award (2021) from the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society. Additionally, Ebenezer Fanijo, Ph.D. student of Alex Brand, was partially funded through the Ford University Research Program to research advanced in situ quantitative phase microscopy to measure real time corrosion kinetics at the nanoscale. This never-before-done research offers an unprecedented real-time quantification of spatiotemporal corrosion kinetics. Alex Brand was elected in April 2020 to be the Young Professionals Network Liason for the Cements Division of the American Ceramic Society and he also coorganized the first International Conference on Construction Materials and Structures (ICCMA-2021). The conference was hosted by St. Thomas Institute for Science and Technology where he was a keynote speaker. Susan Hotle and Kathleen Hancock were awarded a DRIVE grant to develop, redesign, innovate, vitalize, and enhance flexible online learning opportunities for Virginia Tech students.

Nick Hinze, Zhou Wang, and Antonio Trani collaborated with alumni Courtney Beamon and David Leech to develop a small aircraft runway length analysis tool (SARLAT) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The computer application replaces old methods to estimate runway length for small airports. Hinze and Trani also released a version 4.0 of Runway Exit Design Model for the FAA which is widely used to design and improve runways at airports.

Hosein Foroutan receives NSF CAREER award to understand how plastic particles are aerosolized

Each summer, many people head to beaches to play in the ocean and listen to the relaxing sound of waves crashing. However, the same rhythmic water movement that helps some beachgoers ease their minds might also be contributing to a worrisome human health risk: the aerosolization of tiny micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs).

Hosein Foroutan, an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to investigate air-sea interaction as a source of atmospheric MNPs.

MNPs are plastic fragments found in virtually all ecosystems. According to Foroutan, they can be easily ingested or inhaled by living organisms, causing inflammation and damage to cells. “Microplastics are one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time,” Foroutan said. “Numerous studies have highlighted the adverse impact of microplastics on human and ecological health, with recent research reporting the presence of microplastics deep in human lung and blood.” The danger of MNPs is compounded by the uncertainty surrounding their origin.

He noted that other studies have detected MNPs in atmospheric samples collected in urban, suburban, and even remote areas far from obvious sources. But how does it get there?

“Most research on MNPs has focused on marine environments,” said Foroutan. “However, the source of airborne microplastics is not well understood, and there are critical knowledge gaps in this area. We know MNPs have been found in marine atmospheric samples, but little is known about the processes and mechanisms that control the release and transfer of microplastics from oceans into the atmosphere,” he added.

Foroutan’s project will expand on existing research to determine if tiny MNP particles are aerosolized by oceanic wave breaking and bubble bursting. His team will investigate whether and how the size, shape, age, or material of the MNP particles affects the aerosolization. The experiment will not only allow for human risk assessment, Foroutan said, but it also may shed light on the “missing plastic paradox,” which states that 99 percent of plastic litter entering the open ocean is unaccounted for. To conduct its research, Foroutan’s team had to figure out how to

reproduce realistic breaking waves and the ensuing bubble bursting in a smallscale laboratory setup. Team members designed and built an aerosol generation tank that consists of a closed-circuit, air-tight tank and two concentric tubes generating a uniform plunging sheet of water to simulate sea-spray aerosols. The resulting aerosolized particles can then be sampled in the headspace.

Foroutan’s team will use the data to develop and parameterize a process model that could be used to estimate the surface flux of sea spray MNP aerosols. Finally, team members will integrate their MNP flux model into a large-scale atmospheric model to simulate and quantify the transport and deposition of sea spray MNP aerosols in relevant environmental compartments.

“Plastics are a significant environmental concern. They impact human, ecological, and environmental health,” said Foroutan. “This project could have a broad impact on human health, and our unique framework hopefully will provide a new way for environmental scientists and engineers to address this growing problem.”

Sherif Abdelaziz leads a large multidisciplinary team to develop Defense Resiliency Platform (DRP) for Extreme Cold Weathers

Sherif Abdelaziz, an associate professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, leads a large multidisciplinary team to develop a defense resiliency platform (DRP) for extreme cold weather. The research team includes researchers from Stony Brook University, University of Minnesota, University of North Dakota, and the Cold Regions and Research Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) of the Army Corps of Engineers.

This $17M project is funded by the Army Corps of Engineers as a collaborative effort between researchers from multiple disciplines including geotechnical engineers, construction and material engineers, material scientists, artificial intelligence experts, soil microbiologists, biogeochemists, geophysics, and geographers. The research team will work collaboratively with the sole aim of developing a comprehensive platform that can predict

deteriorations in the natural and man-made infrastructure in extreme cold weather and to further develop a new family of construction materials that resist the negative effects of cold temperatures.

The DRP will enable advanced data analysis, visualization, and modeling of diverse datasets to visualize the impact of extreme cold weather on performance of the terrain and supporting infrastructure. The project will investigate the impact of freezing and thawing cycles on soils, rocks, and various construction materials across the length and temporal scales. “To understand these impacts, we will rely on multiscale experimental and modeling approach aiming to establish robust predictive models in the end,” said Abdelaziz. Moreover, the team will design bio-inspired construction materials that have the potential to improve the performance of supporting infrastructure to mechanical and

dynamic loads in extreme cold weather.

“Our main goal is to develop an automated platform to maximize the Army’s performance of supporting infrastructure,” said Abdelaziz. “This, in turn, can help maximize the performance of the U.S. Army.”

VCEMP HOSTS FIRST CI AND CRC JOINT CONFERENCE

From March 9-12 in Arlington, Virginia, faculty and students from the Vecellio Construction Engineering & Management Program (VCEMP) at Virginia Tech co-hosted the first-ever ASCE Construction Institute (CI) & Construction Research Congress (CRC) Joint Conference. After over two years of planning, this conference brought together over 500 academic and industry professionals to explore how engineering practices, project delivery methods, policy, and technology are reshaping the construction industry in the 21st century. The conference featured technical presentations, plenary sessions, workshops, networking opportunities and receptions that facilitated wide-ranging discussions among academic and industry experts about finding real solutions to the top challenges in the construction industry.

Mike Garvin co-chaired the Joint Conference with Dan Becker of D. Becker Consulting. “This inaugural joint conference exceeded our expectations. Foremost, it was refreshing to be with each other again. The technical sessions included many excellent presentations of leading-edge research, and the interaction among faculty, students and industry professionals during breaks and receptions brought old

friends together and started new relationships,” Garvin commented. CI Executive Director Katerina Lachinova and CI Staff Monica Bradford and Rachel Settle played an integral role in the conference’s planning and implementation. “Quite simply, this conference would not have happened without Katerina’s leadership and commitment,” Garvin said. “Monica

all ASCE deadlines, so the conference proceedings were published by the start of the conference,” said Jazizadeh. “This was our intention from the outset, and I am quite pleased that we met this objective.”

and Rachel also contributed tremendously to the conference’s success. Working with them all was a pleasure.”

The CRC Technical Program included nearly 400 presentations in areas ranging from infrastructure sustainability and resilience to health, safety and workforce issues to advanced technologies and data analytics. Farrokh Jazizadeh and Tripp Shealy were co-chairs of the CRC Technical Committee that included 26 colleagues from 18 different universities. The Technical Committee managed the peer review process of over 400 conference papers. “Thanks to the efforts of our track chairs and reviewers, we were able to meet

Additionally, a cohort of VCEMP graduate students provided administrative and technical assistance throughout the conference. These students ensured that each technical session in the conference ran smoothly. “Our graduate students stepped up however they were needed” said Shealy. “These students did a phenomenal job of representing our program, the department and Virginia Tech. I am really proud of them,” Garvin added. MBP also treated the students to an evening out where the students and MBP representatives mingled in a local pub.

“The feedback from conference attendees was very positive,” Garvin commented. “This model of co-hosting with the Construction Institute has many advantages. I am not surprised that it will continue in 2024 when we gather again for dialogue and fellowship.”

Written by Michael Garvin

Bowman gift strengthens students’ path to sustainable land development design

In the late 20th century, Virginia Tech students and young professionals did not have many opportunities to explore land development design in college.

Establishment of the Land Development Design Initiative around 2005 changed that. Now, all civil engineering students learn about land development design early in their college experience, which allows them to make calculated decisions about entering this broad industry.

Gary Bowman, who graduated in 1980 with a degree in civil and environmental engineering, didn’t get to experience LDDI’s benefits as a student, but he is passionate about creating such learning opportunities for current and future engineers. Bowman has committed $5 million to the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to expand learning initiatives in sustainable land development.

The Bowman Sustainable Land Development Program will encompass the undergraduate and graduate academic components of sustainable land development, including the sustainable land development master’s

program, now in its second year. The Bowman Sustainable Land Development Program will now encompass the Land Development Design Initiative, which will be renamed but will continue to serve as a portal through which individuals and organizations in the land development industry can provide input on curriculum and engage with students through mentoring and other experiential learning opportunities.

“The Bowman gift solidifies Virginia Tech as the premier undergraduate and graduate programs in the field of sustainable land development.” said Via Department Head Mark Widdowson. “In partnership with the land development industry and through the generosity of Gary Bowman, our department has set the standard for curriculum innovation and experiential learning that will enrich the education of civil engineering students for years and decades to come.”

The Land Development Design Initiative began as a collaboration between the Via Department and

professionals across all sectors of the land development industry. Bill Knocke, Department Head at the time, and Randy Dymond, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the time, identified a need based on repeated calls from industry leaders. Dymond noticed in his interactions with students that they were entering the land development field with knowledge only from a single elective course taught by an adjunct professor.

Leaders for the initiative tapped into the large network of civil and environmental engineering alumni in industry. They held outreach “road shows” in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, and Roanoke to solicit alumni support for their mission. These small gatherings developed into a large network of industry support across the country, far exceeding original expectations. As a result, Virginia Tech has become a nationally recognized leader in undergraduate, and now graduate, land development design education.

“I played a relatively small role in

getting LDDI up and running,” Bowman said, referring to the initials by which the initiative had been known “Many others have put much more time and energy into it than I have. However, together our support over the years has resulted in something that is quite special and unique. It provides direction and education to students that they cannot get anywhere else.”

That direction and education comes from the engaged participation of Bowman and like-minded alumni and industry professionals throughout the college experience. Today, there are nearly 800 individuals representing 100 different organizations in the initiative’s industry-affiliated database. These industry affiliates contribute ideas for curriculum improvement, opportunities for practitioner engagement with students, and other suggestions for improving the program.

In addition to providing mentors inside the classroom, the initiative strives to acquaint students with different career opportunities within the broad land development industry, including municipal engineering, real estate, and specialized areas of sustainability.

“At the time of LDDI’s founding, and continuing to this day, few civil engineering programs have even a single course focused on land development design,” said Kevin Young, program coordinator and associate professor of practice in the Via Department “This program provides Virginia Tech students with five individual courses in this discipline, which is unique [compared] to other programs,”

Bowman founded Bowman Consulting in 1995 as a small firm focused on the planning and design of residential communities throughout Northern Virginia. Bowman Consulting, with Gary Bowman as the company’s chief executive officer, has grown into a 1,700-person publicly traded design

Sustainable Land Development Program will go far beyond making engineers simply aware of sustainable land development. Young, who will continue to lead the program, noted that the gift will provide more experiential learning opportunities, such as field trips and practitioner-led workshops, guest lectures, and product exhibitions.

Gary Bowman Class of 1980

and consulting firm with offices throughout the United States. The firm has been recognized for its growth over the years by numerous publications. But supporting this growth early on had its challenges, especially the limited numbers of students with land development and design education, Bowman said, adding that the program that now bears his name has helped change that dynamic for the better.

“When I began to recruit students from Virginia Tech 25 years ago, most students were unaware of land development design as a potential career path,” Bowman said. “The establishment of LDDI resulted in a sea change in awareness among Virginia Tech students of land development design as a desirable career choice. Clearly the industry, and our company, has benefited from the influx of well-prepared young talent.”

Bowman is grateful for his leadership role in industry and said he hopes his gift will allow young engineers to pursue this rewarding career path.

The growth of the Bowman

“This gift will help us move forward in the vision of the College of Engineering by providing access to handson, experiential learning opportunities for land development students,” said Julia M. Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering at Virginia Tech. “I want to thank the Bowman family for this gift that will create possibilities to attract the best students and provide dynamic experiences as they begin their careers in engineering.”

Bowman has a long history of giving back to the university. This includes serving on the College of Engineering Advisory Board and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Board. He is also a member of the Via Department’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni, which honors graduates for their accomplishments and commitment to the profession and the university. During the Land Development Design Initiative’s early years, Bowman served on the program’s leadership board. Bowman’s wife Terri and son Greg are both graduates of the Pamplin College of Business.

“The program has withstood the test of time and has blossomed into a mature program educating a tremendous number of students,” Bowman said. “My hope is that this gift will be the beginning of a new level of support for the program that will ensure its long-term durability and provide resources to enable it to continue to grow and evolve.”

Virginia Tech hosts National Student Steel Bridge Competition

Virginia Tech welcomed hundreds of engineering students from across North America to its Blacksburg campus for the National Student Steel Bridge Competition.

Virginia Tech’s hosting duties were announced at the 2019 Student Steel Bridge Competition at Southern Illinois University. Because of COVID-19, the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021.

The main competition and awards banquet took place in the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility. Turf that normally is covered with footballs and cleats was transformed to hold steel beams and hard hats, and the aesthetics judging area of the competition was located in the concourse of Lane Stadium.

The Student Steel Bridge Competition is sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction, which works with host schools to plan the regional events and national finals. Top teams made up of undergraduate and graduate students from over 20 regional events qualified to compete at the

national finals in Blacksburg. The competition challenges student teams to develop a scale-model steel bridge. This build starts ahead of the competition in the design and fabrication of a team’s bridge and includes a thorough plan for efficient assembly under timed construction at the competition. Once it is built during the competition, the bridges are load tested and weighed. The competing teams are judged in seven categories: construction speed, lightness, aesthetics, stiffness, cost estimate, economy, and efficiency.

“The steel bridge competition is a unique experience for students because it presents them with an uncomfortable problem to solve, one which their professor does not have the answer to,” said Zachary Coleman, a graduate student who helped organize the event.

Coleman competed in the steel bridge competition as an

undergraduate student a few years ago and said the experience was an opportunity for significant personal growth. “For many students, this competition is the first time they must leverage their engineering judgement, research skills, and ingenuity to work toward a solution as a team,” he said.

Virginia Tech not only hosted this year’s event, but also contributed its own steel bridge team, made up of five students who competed and several others who helped in the behind-thescenes planning and design of the bridge. Tech’s team earned a spot at nationals by placing first in all seven categories at its regional competition in April. While the team didn’t place in the top spots at the national event, it was still a learning experience for all that were involved.

“I cannot think of a better educational experience to help prepare students for careers in design and to help them develop independent thinking,” Coleman said.

Hesham Rakha helps weigh the cost options between gaspowered vehicles and electric vehicles

At the start of the fall semester, the national average price of a gallon of gas was over $5.00. With gas prices on the rise, many have wondered if they can save money by using an electric vehicle.

For those who are comparing gas and electric vehicles in terms of sustainability, there are significant differences in this area. Electric vehicles do not have any emissions (assuming electricity is generated from a clean source) and do not require routine oil changes. Overall, according to Dominion Energy, electric vehicles require less preventative maintenance.

However, the New York Times stated that electric vehicles are hard to come by because of supply chain issues and the higher cost compared to gas-powered vehicles.

Despite this, demand is on the rise for electric vehicles and owners are willing to take the

challenges, which include finding places to charge them. Dominion Energy says the number of electric vehicle charging stations across Virginia is more than 800. According to ChargeHub.com, only 14 of those are in Blacksburg, Virginia. Moving forward Virginia is getting more than $15 million from the federal government to assist in building a network of electric vehicle charging stations.

However, going green may be worth the extra challenges, wait time, and initial purchase cost, according to Hesham Rakha, Professor in civil and environmental engineering and director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI).

“Many people are driving around town each day much more than they are on the freeway,” said Rakha. “While gas vehicles tend to be more energy-efficient on the freeway, electric cars

are the opposite. They are more energy-efficient in the stop and go conditions of daily driving.”

Rakha and his research team created a calculator to help those make the decision of cost between gas powered or electric vehicles based on yearly mileage, electricity cost in the area, gas prices, and miles per gallon of the vehicle. You can find this calculator at https:// www.vtti.vt.edu/icev-bev-cost/.

Rakha’s additional research work includes the development of calibration methodologies of transportation modeling tools, the development of various energy and emission modeling frameworks, the development of safety modeling tools, and the large-scale modeling of the interdepencies of the communication and transportation systems.

MEET THE VIA SCHOLARS

The Via Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Marion Bradley Via of Roanoke, Virginia, and her family. In 1987, Mrs. Via contributed $5 million each to the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors subsequently named the ECE department in honor of Mrs. Via’s deceased father, Harry Lynde Bradley, and the CEE department in honor of her late husband, Charles E. Via, Jr. Mrs. Via died in 1993.

Both departments use a portion of the endowment to award scholarships to qualifying students. These scholarships are among the most competitive in the country. Since the Via endowment was created in 1987, the department has received more than $20 million in support.

We are proud to acknowledge that this is the 34th year of the Via endowment and the Via Report. We want to take this opportunity to recognize the current Via scholars as well as alumni that have come through the program for the last 33 years and continue to fulfill the mission set by the Via family.

VIA SCHOLARS

UNDERGRADUATE

Justice Forster

Hometown: Salem, Virginia

Career Goals: Following graduation, I would like to serve as a structural design engineer and eventually earn my PE. Long term, I would like to start and manage my own construction firm that focuses on infrastructure development in communities that lack the resources to meet their needs. With this basis, I would also like to optimize the process in which the community can become involved in this development.

Sarah Helms

Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia

Career Goals: My desire for pursuing civil engineering comes from my passion for helping people through construction. I plan on pursuing a career in the construction industry as a project engineer working in residential or commercial construction.

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Career Goals: I aspire to approach the next generation of civil engineering challenges with a focus on efficiency, sustainability, and the human consequences of my work. America’s road network is critical infrastructure and I would like to maintain and improve it. Transportation also motivates me because it connects people, places, and opportunities.

MASTERS

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Michigan

Career Goals: My goal is to pursue a career in forensic stuctural engineering. I particularly wish to focus on the restoration and preservation of historic buildings. I also plan to earn my professional engineering license.

John Stern

Heather Brouwer

VIA SCHOLARS

MASTERS

Riley Doyle

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Olney, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Bucknell University

Career Goals: After earning my degree, I hope to earn my PE license by working at a consulting company or government on projects evolving around wastewater management.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Midlothian, Texas

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Texas at Austin

Career Goals: I would love to continue to study water and wastewater treatment for as long as I can before moving into a career of engineering consulting or humanitarian work for the benefit of underdeveloped societies.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Wallingford, Connecticut

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Lafayette College

Career Goals: After earning my master’s degree, my goal is to work for a geotechnical design company focusing on large-scale and challenging coastal resiliency projects. I plan on obtaining my professional engineering license and being actively involved in professional organizations.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Marianna, Florida

Location of Undergraduate Studies: The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina

Career Goals: After earning my Master’s Degree my goal is to work for a structural engineering firm that specializes in complex bridge or building design while also pursuing my professional engineering license. I also hope to become an adjunct professor later in life.

Caitlyn Harris

Elise Hummel

Hunter Hutton

MASTERS

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech

Career Goals: After earning my master’s degree, I plan to work as a climate adaptation engineer and develop resilience solutions for urban coastal communities grappling with climate change.

Olivia Janney

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Wenatchee, Washington

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Franciscan University of Steubenville/Catholic University of America

Career Goals: I plan on obtaining my P.E. license and working for a geotechnical design firm, providing technical support for innovative geostructural engineering projects. I aspire to be a leader in my field and a mentor for young engineers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Smithsburg, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Maryland, College Park

Career Goals: After getting my master’s degree I hope to work for a company as a water resources engineer, focusing on pollutant remediation in our waterways as well as watershed and stream restoration while working towards obtaining my P.E. license.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Elkridge, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Maine

Career Goals: My goal after completion of my master’s degree is to work in the industry or a government agency on projects involving stream restoration and watershed management.

Harrison Jaehn

Alexandra Miller

Morgan Oehler

MASTERS

David Provost

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Pittsburgh Career Goals: Upon completion of my master’s degree, I aim to resume my career as a geotechnical engineer working on highway, bridge, and other transportation infrastructure projects while gaining enough experience to earn my professional engineering license.

Benjamin Winter

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Wall, New Jersey

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Rutgers University Career Goals: I hope to find a career applying research in water reuse to solve large-scale problems such as groundwater depletion.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Newark, New Jersey

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Wellesley College Career Goals: I am pursuing a graduate degree in order to gain entry to and work in the drinking water industry. Once in the drinking water industry, I aspire to aid in strengthening national water security and public understanding of our water systems.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Military Institute Career Goals: I hope to eventually obtain my P.E. licensure and work for a public entity where I can help develop sustainable water infrastructure for our communities and environment.

Katherine Scott

Chantaly Villalona

Ann Albright DOCTORAL

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Louisville, Colorado

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Washington Career Goals: I hope to continue within the field of academia. I plan to investigate reinforced concrete structures under variable loading through field and laboratory research while teaching and mentoring aspiring civil engineering students.

Megan Beever

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Stratham, New Hampshire

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: I hope to explore research opportunities in coastal resilience by working for the federal government or a university. After gaining work experience I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in civil engineering with a coastal engineering focus.

Brooke Baugher

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: Once I finish my Ph.D., I want to work on international development projects and teach engineering students about international engineering practices. My goal is to help create a more effective system within engineering which benefits student learning and impacts communities around the world.

Matthew Blair

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Clear Spring, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Mississippi State University Career Goals: After graduation, I would like to continue my work with water reuse systems and ultimately work in both industry and academic settings.

VIA

DOCTORAL

Nick Brilli

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: Obtain an M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering and eventually make a career doing research in coastal engineering.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Lake Milton, Ohio

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Youngstown State University Career Goals: After graduating, my goal is to continue in academia as a professor. As a professor, I would like to positively impact the civil engineering community by furthering the understanding of structural engineering through research and teaching future generations of civil engineers.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Lafayette College Career Goals: After obtaining from Ph.D. my Virginia Tech, I aim to work in the engineering industry for a company specializing in the forensic analysis and repair of civil infrastructure. After this time, I may pursue a career in academia to help educate the next generation of young engineers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Leawood, Kansas

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Pittsburgh Career Goals: I want to pursue an academic career through teaching and researching environmental microbiology.

Zachary Coleman

Thomas Carnes

Abraham Cullom

VIA

DOCTORAL

Amanda Darling

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Aurora, Illinois

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Career Goals: After earning my degree, I hope to pursue research opportunities applying technologies for sustainable development of water infrastructure, including systems for wastewater treatment and water supply.

Megan Harris

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Pembroke Massachusetts

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Wentworth Institute of Technology Career Goals: After completing my Ph.D. I want to continue work in research. My plan is to either continue in academia and work as a professor, or to work for a research facility.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Location of Undergraduate Studies: The University of Texas at Austin Career Goals: I want to work internationally and locally for city governments on water resources models and eventually return to academia.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Kentucky Career Goals: I would like to perform research and help educate young engineers as a university faculty member.

Steven Hoagland

Fred Falcone

DOCTORAL

James Hurley

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Durango, Colorado

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Colorado at Boulder

Career Goals: Research scientist or engineer focusing on air pollution and air quality

Joseph James

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Clemson University

Career Goals: After graduate school, I would like to stay in academia, become a professor, continue researching my field of interest, or travel the world to help people visualize their data.

Krista Liguori

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Landenburg, Pennsylvania

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Johns Hopkins University Career Goals: After earning my doctorate degree, I would like to pursue a career in research, potentially in academia or the public sector.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Penn State University

Career Goals: I hope to become a professor to continue working with motivated students and formulating original research with global impact.

Rebecca Kriss

DOCTORAL

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Oakland, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Bucknell University Career Goals: After earning my doctorate, I would like to work at a national laboratory to continue to pursue research into issues concerning public health and the air.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Miami, Florida

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Florida State University Career Goals: I plan to become a professor to continue conducting research on aquatic contaminants and shape the learning experiences of young engineers. I also aim to become involved in environmental policy.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Liberty Township, Ohio

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Case Western Reserve University Career Goals: I plan on conducting research in academia or the private sector after completing my doctorate degree. My end goal is to teach and mentor the next generation of environmental engineers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Mount Rainier, Maryland

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Maryland, College Park Career Goals: I plan on continuing my research in academia or in a national laboratory.

Alexandra Longest

Kathryn Lopez

Christian Lytle

DOCTORAL

Clayton Markham

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Syracuse, New York

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University at Buffalo

Career Goals: I would like to be a professor of environmental engineering, concomitantly performing cutting-edge research and educating the next generation of environmental engineers to protect both planet and people.

Tolulope Odimayomi

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Sterling, Virginia and Aiken, South Carolina

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: To work in the drinking water industry and help provide clean drinking water to communities in a safe and equitable manner.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Abilene, Texas

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Abilene Christian University Career Goals: Upon completing my degree, I plan to pursue consulting as a wastewater treatment process engineer. My goal is to help communities on the municipal scale to have access to sustainable wastewater treatment. Later in my career journey, I hope to become a professor in an effort to lead future generations of rising engineers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Purdue University Career Goals: My interest in researching water quality improvement and sustainability in the built environment is geared towards fostering safe and informed communities, both domestically and globally. As a professor, I hope to address modern environmental concerns and equip rising engineering professionals to do the same.

Frank Mazzola

Lilian McIntosh

DOCTORAL

Kase Poling

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Beckley, West Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: I hope to work as a professor, legislator, and Christian apologist.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Newport News, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: I hope to explore opportunities in flood hazard management to improve the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of communities impacted by hazardous floodplains and coastal zones. I look forward to exploring new perspectives on the relationships between water and society throughout the master’s program and my future career.

Alan Smith

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Buena Vista, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: I would like to work in either a research setting or structural forensic analysis.

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT

Hometown: Manassas, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: My interests are split. I’m very interested in continuing research but I’m also considering my future in industry. I’m excited to see where this year takes me as I explore more of my research and experience academia.

Benjamin Roston

Joshua Trump

DOCTORAL

Kory Wait

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES

Hometown: Seymour, Indiana

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Purdue University

Career Goals: Continue my Ph.D. research investigating potential sources of groundwater contamination and specifically focusing on the effects of contamination on drinking water supplies from private wells.

Kaleigh Yost

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Kalona, Iowa

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Iowa Career Goals: Contribute to the US Army Corps of Engineers mission by providing technical support through practical and cost effective means.

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Hometown: Princeton, New Jersey

Location of Undergraduate Studies: University of Notre Dame Career Goals: I plan on dedicating my career to furthering the understanding of earthquakes and reducing earthquake risk worldwide. I aspire to become a leader in the field of geotechnical earthquake engineering and plan to pursue a career in academia.

Abril Yu-Shan Chevez

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

Hometown: Lexington, Virginia

Location of Undergraduate Studies: Virginia Tech Career Goals: I plan on continuing in academia as a professor so I can perform research as well as teach and mentor future engineers.

Lucas Walshire

Nominate a CEE alumni for the Virginia Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni

In 1998, the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the CEE Alumni Board formally initiated the CEE Alumni Achievement Awards Program as a means of honoring both younger alumni and those who have graduated from the department years ago. Two award categories were created within this program.

Alumni may be selected for induction into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni based upon a review of their overall career accomplishments and contributions to the profession, their community, and service to Virginia Tech. Also, younger alumni (within 15 years of graduation with their BS degree) may be selected to receive an Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

For a list of alumni that have been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni and to nominate an alumni, go to https://cee.vt.edu/Alumni-menu.html.

THE CHARLES E. VIA, JR. DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

750 DRILLFIELD DRIVE

200 PATTON HALL

BLACKSBURG, VA 24061

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID

Blacksburg, VA 24060 Permit No. 28