Category: Research Highlights

Denise R. Simmons, Ph.D., an Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment (ESSIE) civil engineering associate professor, has received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award to support her research in “Co-Curricular Participation of Students Underrepresented in Engineering.” This prestigious CAREER Award is the highest award bestowed from the National Science Foundation to new […]

Federal, state and local governments have been investing millions to restore coastal wetlands and oyster reefs degraded by centuries of pollution, development and resource extraction. Their goal is to regain the benefits communities once derived from these vital, living ecosystems, such as clean water, productive fisheries and protection from storms and flooding. A recent study […]

More than 40% of the world’s population lives in a coastal community. Are we adequately protecting and restoring our coastlines? ESSIE environmental engineer, Dr. Christine Angelini, helped us answer this question. Angelini and her team of fellow researchers conducted a study on oyster reef restoration efforts. Because oyster reefs have the ability to clean water, […]

ESSIE environmental engineer Dr. Chang-Yu Wu was featured on FOX 13 Tampa Bay News this week for the development of an innovative flu-detection device. Wu and his team of researchers at the University of Florida have developed a first-of-its-kind air sampler to detect the tiny influenza virus particles in the air in public spaces. This […]

A UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ENGINEERING STUDENT WAS ONE OF SIX PEOPLE CHOSEN TO SPEAK AT A UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC. Jenny Olmsted, a 22-year-old environmental engineering senior, presented her proposal at the Students Seeking Solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) conference. SGDs are a collection of 17 global goals identified by the United Nations […]

Today at the Student Experiential Learning Conference, Mayank Periwal, an undergraduate researcher in the Simmons Research Lab, presented a poster based on the leadership in construction research he is conducting. The Student Experiential Learning Conference showcased VT-shaped learning through a celebration of the work of the Virginia Tech undergraduate student body.

This month, the Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) journal, selected the manuscript, Understanding Students’ Incentives for and Barriers to Out-of-Class Participation: Profile of Civil Engineering Student Engagement for its editor’s choice recognition. The manuscript is based on work from a NSF CAREER project [Award […]