News
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Environmental engineering major wins Bizpitch
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The Biz Pitch Contest offers University of Minnesota undergraduate students an opportunity to present their new business ideas to a panel of entrepreneurs and investors. Brian Balquist, an Environmental Engineering major in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, proposed a company that applies existing wastewater surveillance technology to new areas. His business idea and his pitch led to him taking home two prizes. Balquist won for the Most Innovative idea and the Overall Grand Prize, which came with a check for $2,000.
CEGE magazine, Fall 2023
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Read a roundup of news from the summer and fall of 2023 in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering
Inspired and Innovative Teaching in CEGE
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Training inspired and innovative engineers requires inspired and innovative teaching. Here we share with you some of our teachers and some new classes and programs that are inspiring CEGE students.
Study explores impacts of a warming climate on global snowfall patterns
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NASA awarded Ardeshir Ebtehaj $2.9 million to provide the longest and the most accurate satellite record of global snowfall. Ebtehaj is an associate professor and researcher in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering (CEGE) at the University of Minnesota.
Summertime is fieldwork time: Stream sampling
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Summertime is fieldwork time! Here researchers and students step into a stream for a lesson on the United States Geological Survey protocols for stream sampling. Students learned how to collect samples from the thalwag, the line that connects the deepest points of the stream. They also learned how to measure a stream's velocity, depth, cross-section, and how to log that information into a mobile GIS data collection program.
Trees affect stormwater
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Have you noticed trees in St. Paul parks wearing foil cumberbunds? The foil is protecting instrumentation designed to monitor the flow of sap within the trees. That data, along with several other data points about the trees, will help researchers learn more about the role trees play in urban watersheds.
How is our environment affected by wide use of antibiotics?
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When the COVID-19 pandemic arose, the use of antibiotics soared. Levels of use evened out as we learned more about how the virus is transmitted. People concerned about water, however, are still concerned about the large amounts of antibiotics introduced into the environment and how they might move into and through our water systems. Zihang Wang, a graduate student advised by Bill Arnold, is taking aim at this question with support from a Hsiao Shaw-Lundquist Fellowship.
The next generation of transportation engineers: Ben Rosenblad
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Starting at the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering, Benjamin Rosenblad (BCE 2023) was not even aware that transportation was a specialty within Civil Engineering. Four years later, he found himself heading off to graduate school to study Next Generation Transportation Systems with the benefit of a competitive and highly prestigious fellowship from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP).
CAVs are coming; $15 mil will ease the transition
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Assistant Professor Raphael Stern is part of the team of researchers awarded $15 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help lead the transition to connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). Led by the University of Michigan, the team includes UMN’s Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) and will leverage the experience of the MnCAV Ecosystem, drawing on UMN’s unique strengths to conduct transportation research concerning equity, public perception and trust, the connected environment, vulnerable road users, and cold weather conditions.
Protecting Clean Water: Faculty awarded $2.1 million to study opportunistic pathogens and disinfection byproducts in US drinking water systems
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Pathogens (i.e., microorganisms that can make people sick) and disinfection byproducts (DBPs; potentially toxic chemicals formed when disinfectants like chlorine are added to water) are two classes of contaminants that are of concern in public water systems. Hozalski, et al., will examine opportunistic pathogens or OPs and contaminants that occur as byproducts of disinfection.