Letter from the chair — June 2, 2025

Dear CEAE alumni, friends and colleagues,

In this spring edition of our alumni newsletter, I'd like to highlight how our research  benefits people in their everyday lives. It’s the subject of a story package in the upcoming edition of CU Engineering magazine, which includes four CEAE-related research features—highlighted by a cover story on Assistant Professor Cristina Torres-Machi. One of these stories features our Construction Safety Research Alliance team and its work with industry partners to reduce job site injuries. 

Beyond the magazine, a research team led by Professor Abbie Liel has studied post-wildfire rebuilding since the 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 structures here in Boulder County, Colorado. Drawing on interviews with homeowners and builders, along with permit data, the team developed recommendations to help Los Angeles residents and others who lost homes to wildfires rebuild more resilient homes.

CU Boulder researchers, led by Associate Professor Shideh Dashti, found that 75 percent of Colorado prisons and jails face climate risks—like extreme heat or cold, wildfires and floods—disproportionately impacting incarcerated individuals, especially Black and Latino inmates. 

While prisons face overlooked climate threats,data centers powering AI could double global electricity use by 2030, outpacing other industries, according to the International Energy Agency. Associate Professor  Kyri Baker and electrical engineer Bri-Mathias Hodge propose that smart siting and energy storage could allow these centers to run on 100 percent clean energy—supporting climate goals without overloading the grid.
 
Switching focus to our alumni, I'd like to congratulate our 2025 Engineering Alumni Award Winners, which include Donald R. Clark (CivEngr BS'72, MS'79), who received the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, and Clark Lindsay, (CivEngr’96), who was honored with an Alumni Engagement Medal. The Clark Endowed Faculty Fellowship, held by Professor Abbie Liel, is named in Don Clark's honor.

I'd also like to let you know about five upcoming conferences that CEAE is hosting and that alumni are welcome to join—a great way to connect with each other and our department. You can also connect with our department by following our new University of Colorado Boulder Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering LinkedIn page. We're always looking for alumni news, and LinkedIn is a great way for us to showcase your accomplishments.

I’d also love to connect if you have other ideas for getting involved or want to share how CU Boulder experience shaped your journey. Feel free to drop me a line at ceaechair@colorado.

While CEAE is proud to be one of the top-ranked departments in the nation, your support is vital to sustaining our momentum. Contributing to one of our giving funds is a simple and impactful way to help us enrich student experiences, provide undergraduate scholarships and attract and support top graduate students.

Wishing you a wonderful summer,

Karl G. Linden, PhD
Chair and Mortenson Professor in Sustainable Development