Civil and Environmental Engineering

“The ultimate objective,” atmospheric scientist Jesse Kroll says, “is to understand what policies could help, and what changes policymakers could make to minimize the negative health and climate effects of particulate pollution.”

Zeroing in on the chemistry of the air

Jesse Kroll examines how pollutants change chemically as they waft around the globe.

February 1, 2017

MIT Institute Professor Sallie (Penny) Chisholm poses with the first two books in the “Sunlight Series,” a collection of children's books that teach Earth's natural processes from the point of view of the sun.

How the smallest, most abundant bacteria inspired a children's book series

Institute Professor Penny Chisholm teams up with author and illustrator Molly Bang to write environmental children’s book series.

January 31, 2017

A Syrian refugee child in Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp in June 2015

For refugee camps, a waterless toilet to improve health and safety

As camps swell, change:WATER Labs aims to bring toilets into individual homes.

January 31, 2017

MIT's Maria T. Zuber and Conservation International's Peter Seligmann

MIT, Conservation International announce collaboration on climate adaptation and mitigation

Collaboration will explore ways of working with natural systems to address climate change.

January 27, 2017

Caitlin Mueller, a professor in the MIT departments of Architecture and Civil and Environmental Engineering (left), and architecture grad student Nathan Brown have performed analyses showing how a computer simulation can help architects optimize energy consumption when they’re defining the shape of a building early in the design process.

Energy-efficient design

MIT researchers are helping architects optimize both design and energy efficiency.

January 23, 2017

Professor John Ochsendorf and his freshman seminar students stand in front of Henry Moore's "Three-Piece Reclining Figure, Draped."

Art, engineering, and architecture

Freshman seminar inspires students to see the world with fresh eyes.

January 19, 2017

The SMAP observations are providing an unprecedented level of detailed, worldwide information on the amount of water in the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of soil, collected globally every two to three days.

Study tracks “memory” of soil moisture

First year of data from SMAP satellite provides new insights for weather, agriculture, and climate.

January 16, 2017

Kevin Patrick Simon (left) sets solar panels in place with villagers at a pilot site in Jharkhand, India. Simon, an MIT PhD candidate in mechanical engineering, is studying solar irrigation.

How engineering students are seeking to solve major food and water security problems

Students with a common passion for food and water security share their research at the MIT Water and Food Security Symposium.

January 9, 2017

3-D-printed gyroid models such as this one were used to test the strength and mechanical properties of a new lightweight material.

Researchers design one of the strongest, lightest materials known

Porous, 3-D forms of graphene developed at MIT can be 10 times as strong as steel but much lighter.

January 6, 2017

MIT scientists have found that extreme precipitation events in California should become more frequent as the Earth’s climate warms over this century.

Study finds more extreme storms ahead for California

New technique predicts frequency of heavy precipitation with global warming.

January 3, 2017

At Innovation@ONE, the Most Inventive Business Idea was presented to Jingjie Yeo (left) of Accuro Pressure Silk; the Business Pitch Champion was awarded to Justin Chen (center) of Motus View; and the Best Early Stage Idea was awarded to Paige Midstokke (right) of Safe Tap.

Alumni and entrepreneurs team up to guide young startups

Innovation@ONE business pitch competition features startups and ideas out of Course 1.

December 29, 2016

Debris and damage from Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola, Florida, Sept. 17, 2004

New approach calculates benefits of building hazard-resistant structures

Calculation developed by MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub shows that when building in areas prone to natural disasters, it pays to make informed decisions.

December 21, 2016

Keynote speaker George Hawkins, CEO and general manager of DC Water, presents at the fifth annual MIT Water Summit, hosted by the MIT Water Club.

Students, academics, and entrepreneurs join forces to tackle the future of water utilities

Fifth annual MIT Water Summit brings together interdisciplinary panelists to give multiple perspectives on major issues surrounding the water sector.

December 21, 2016

“Everybody uses concrete; even the Romans used it, it just wasn’t the same kind we use today,” says Steven Palkovic, a graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “I’m currently studying volcanic ash as a more environmentally friendly option than the industry standard, and I’m creating a framework to study alternative materials to lessen the environmental...

3Q: Seeking concrete solutions to an environmental issue

Civil and environmental engineering graduate student Steven Palkovic looks at sustainable solutions for cement paste.

December 13, 2016

Ali Jadbabaie is the JR East Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the associate director of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), and the director of one of its parts, the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center. “Our focus is on addressing large societal problems, whether they be power systems and energy systems, or social networks, or...

Tackling society’s big problems with systems theory

Ali Jadbabaie seeks to optimize large-scale systems, from social networks to teams of people or devices.

November 14, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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