Areas of Research

Below are strategic research thrust areas. 

Energy. Both generation and efficient use of power and energy are at the center of a wide variety of engineering and societal problems that will persevere throughout the upcoming century.

Power and Energy Systems. With the electric power system poised to undergo major changes in the industry over the next decade, researchers in the College of Engineering and Architecture are working to develop and incorporate new technologies aimed at improving the efficiency and reliability of electric power and energy systems.

Environment. Tackling regional, national, and even international problems in a cooperative framework to solve environmental issues.

Design Materials and Building Innovation. Working to develop novel solutions for building materials, design and constructability and providing innovative approaches to benefit the public by pioneering changes to the design and construction of the built environment. 

Bioengineering. Blending engineering methodology with the physical and the biological sciences to open the way for new technologies of the 21st century.

Center for Intelligent and Networked Systems (CINS). Certain aspects of our lives are no longer assumed unassailable, such as the security and stability of the nation’s power grid, or the safety and reliability of our seaports and international borders. 

Engineering Education. Facilitating research into innovative and effective educational practices and technologies that advance engineering education.

Listed below are additional research areas within departments in the College of Engineering and Architecture.

Bioengineering. Bioprocessing, musculoskeletal disease and functional restoration, biomedical imaging, biocomputing, and biomaterials.

Chemical Engineering. Bioprocessing; biosensors; bioseparations; plant cell culture; bioremediation; extremophiles; hazardous waste; and applied catalysis.

Civil and Environmental Engineering.

• Structures. Structural wood components and systems; wood composite materials; structural dynamics; earthquake engineering; and instrastructure improvement.; nondestructive evaluation of structural materials and systems.
• Geotechnical Engineering. Highway materials; pavement-vehicle interaction; geo-seismic analysis.
• Environmental Engineering. Air quality; atmopsheric modeling; biogenic hydrocarbon emissions; chromium reduction; global warming; particulate matter emissions, transport, and dispersion.
• Hydraulics. Stream channel instability; deposition and removal of sediments from reservoirs; watershed assessment.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Computer engineering; software engineering; control communications and signal processing; electrophysics; energy and power systems; micro-electronics; algorithms; computer graphics; computer network and distributed systems; knowledge discovery and databases; numerical modeling and computation.

Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Biotechnology; nanotechnology; dynamics and controls; fluid mechanics; manufacturing/design; MEMS; Solid Mechanics; Thermal Sciences; Virtual Reality; Ceramic Materials; Electronic materials; mechancial and physical metallurgy; polymeric materials.

Architecture and Construction Management. Architecture and the Urban Landscape; Architecture Theory and Culture; Landscape and Environment; Ecology, Context and Materials; Design Build Delivery Systems; Constrcution Methods and Procedures; Forensic Engineering.