Warren Distinguished Lecture Series
The Warren Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by a generous, renewing gift by Alice Warren Gaarden in 1961. Since 1989, we have been bringing in accomplished researchers and speakers from around the world to share their work with students, faculty, and friends of CEGE. Please join us for these lectures!
- Join us in person in the George J. Schroepfer Conference Theater, 210 Civil Engineering Building, Fridays at 10:10 a.m., unless otherwise noted. Coffee and refreshments served.
- Join us via Zoom. Registration is required. Link information will be sent when you register.
- Recordings are available on the CEGE YouTube channel, Warren Lecture Series playlist , where you can also search past lectures.
Upcoming Events
We wrap up the spring season on April 26 with the Robert Dexter Lecture with Dimitrios Lignos, Resilient Steel Structures Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne (Switzerland). The series will resume after a summer break.
There are no upcoming events matching your criteria.
Past Warren Lectures
Max-pressure traffic signal timing: integrating theory and practice
Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Michael Levin, University of Minnesota
Traffic signals are major bottlenecks for urban networks, and traffic signal timing has been studied for decades. However, in 2013, a new paradigm of max-pressure signal timing was introduced, which uses a Markov chain store-and-forward queueing model of traffic flow to mathematically prove that max-pressure control achieves maximum throughput of vehicles. This throughput optimality is shown for a network of max-pressure intersections, not just for individual intersections.
Sustainable Travel through Smart and Engaged Communities
Friday, April 28, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Srinivas Peeta, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
This talk will discuss ongoing work related to developing a systematic framework and associated innovative methods and models to provide formal pathways for communities to achieve their sustainable travel goals. Solutions to achieve sustainability objectives related to enhancing travel mobility, safety, equity, and access will be discussed using the City of Peachtree Corners (GA) as an immersive living lab.
Reaction-Induced Fracturing Under Subsurface Conditions
Friday, April 21, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Wen-lu Zhu, Geology, University of Maryland
The rate and extent of serpentinization and carbonation of ultramafic rocks are a subject of debate. Zhu and team conducted dynamic microtomography experiments to investigate the effects of confinement and pore fluid pressure on hydration of periclase MgO to brucite Mg(OH)2 at subsurface conditions. Their experimental results have important implications in understanding microseismicity in the serpentinization of oceanic crust.
Data-Driven Computational Design of Engineered Material Systems
Friday, April 14, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Wei Chen, Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University
Design of advanced material systems requires integrating knowledge and representation from multiple domains such as materials, manufacturing, structural mechanics, and design optimization. Chen discusses the challenges and opportunities in designing engineered material systems.
Replacing the Dale Street Bridge over I-94
Friday, April 7, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Matthew J. Christensen, P.E., Vice President of the Surface Transportation Division, TKDA
Matthew Christensen will discuss the replacement of the Dale Street bridge over I-94 in St. Paul and working with citizens from the historic Rondo neighborhood on the project.
Net-Zero Cement Industry by 2050? Potential Pathways Forward
Friday, March 31, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
Recording not available
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Claire White, Princeton University
White provides an overview of the main approaches being pursued to reach a net zero cement industry by 2050 and will touch upon the various opportunities and challenges of these cement decarbonization approaches and technologies. White also presents her group’s recent research on alternative cements.
Formation of Elevated Temperatures in Municipal Solid Waste Landfills: These are not your typical Smokey hill tops or mountains!
Friday, March 24, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Joel Ducoste, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University
Research has been performed to help quantify the contributing factors that may lead to the formation of elevated temperature landfills (ETLFs). In this presentation, Ducoste discusses a numerical model that was used to predict heat generation, transport, and accumulation from biological and chemical reactions that occur in landfills.
Biofilm Based Bioremediation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Sediment and Stormwater
Friday, March 17, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Birthe V. Kjellerup, Civil and Environmental Engineering & Bioengineering, University of Maryland
Kjellerup’s research group has developed a novel approach to address PCB contamination. They co-localize PCB-degrading microbes onto surfaces of sorptive particles as biofilms, which can be used as a delivery system. This approach can also be modified for treatment of contaminated stormwater and wastewater effluent prior to discharge. The effect of stormwater containing PCBs on sediment quality was evaluated for multiple locations in Baltimore Harbor. Sediment core samples were evaluated and compared to historical PCB concentrations. Kjellerup discusses these experiments along with current strategies for bioremediation of PCBs in stormwater retention cells and in sediment.
Plastics, Particles and Additives: An abrasive relationship
Friday, March 3, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Mark R. Wiesner, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University
Wiesner reviews some recent work examining the release of nanomaterials from plastic composites, methods for evaluating plastic abrasion, calculations of non-nano additive release and possible consequences of plastic fragmentation for human health and the environment.
The Role of Turbulent Coherent Structures on the Evolving Seabed
Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, 10:10 a.m.
a Warren Distinguished Lecture with Tian-Jian Hsu, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware
Dr. Tian-Jian Hsu (Tom) is currently Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD) and the Director of the Center for Applied Coastal Research. In this presentation he discusses his research and preliminary results in the area of estuarine and coastal modeling.