CEAE Department News Highlights - Alumni Newsletter — June 2025
Department Headlines
How the US foreign aid freeze is intensifying humanitarian crises across the globe
Professor Evan Thomas discusses the worldwide impacts of the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze and the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions
Associate Professor Kyri Baker, of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, and Professor Bri-Mathias Hodge, of electrical, computer & energy engineering, propose that strategically located data centers with energy storage could operate entirely on clean energy.
Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars
CU Boulder researchers found that 75 percent of Colorado prisons and jails face climate risks—like extreme heat, wildfires and floods—disproportionately impacting incarcerated individuals, especially Black and Latino inmates.
Wil Srubar’s lab is full of living materials
Wil Srubar's aim is to break the reliance on fossil fuels in concrete production by developing a nature-inspired alternative that eliminates the need for fossil fuels and significantly reduces carbon emissions.
Alumni News
Two civil engineering alumni receive CU Engineering awards
Donald R. Clark, CivEngr’72; MS’79, was honored with the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award, and Clark Lindsay, CivEngr’96, was honored with an Alumni Engagement Medal Award.
Faculty News
Four with ties to CU elected to 2025 class of National Academy of Engineering
Dan Frangopol, distinguished professor emeritus, was elected to the 2025 class of National Academy of Engineering for advancing life-cycle civil engineering and leadership in its global development and adoption.
Professor receives ASCE Peurifoy Construction Research Award
Professor Amy Javernick-Will received the highest academic honor in construction engineering and management from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
AWWA honors Professor Karl Linden with 2025 A.P. Black Research Award
Professor Karl Linden received the American Water Works Association's 2025 A.P. Black Research Award for his pioneering contributions to UV water treatment technology.
Rajagopalan Balaji joins elite group of honorary fellows in meteorology
Professor Rajagopalan Balaji was named an honorary fellow of the Indian Meteorological Society for his pioneering research on Indian monsoon variability and its impacts on public health and flood preparedness.
Shideh Dashti named 2025 EERI Distinguished Lecturer
Associate Professor Shideh Dashti received the 2025 EERI Distinguished Lecture Award for her groundbreaking work in geotechnical earthquake engineering.
Student News
CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team places third overall
CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team placed third overall at the ASCE Rocky Mountain Symposium, with a record 28 students participating in this year’s event.
Students' building designs presented at Expo
Seven teams from the architectural engineering capstone class presented their 20,000-square-foot student support building designs at the 2025 Engineering Projects Expo.
Four civil and architectural engineering undergraduates win college awards
Each of these civil and architectural engineering undergraduates received an award recognizing excellence in one of four areas: community impact, global engagement, academics or research.
Congratulations to our 2025 undergraduate department awardees!
Meet this year’s CEAE department award recipients—recognized for their academic excellence, research, perseverance and community impact.
Research News
Iran faces widespread land subsidence amid escalating water emergency
Associate Professor Shideh Dashti highlights how land subsidence from excessive groundwater extraction for farming threatens Iran's critical infrastructure, like transportation and pipelines. The rapid land sinking adds to earthquake risks, compounding the danger.
LA fire rebuilding recommendations for homeowners
Researchers from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering share key lessons from post-Marshall Fire rebuilding to help Los Angeles homeowners and others navigate recovery after wildfires.
CU Boulder researchers harness nature to create living optical materials
CU Boulder’s Living Materials Laboratory contributed to groundbreaking research showing how engineered microbes can create bioglass microlenses, paving the way for advanced imaging technologies in medicine and materials science.