Radisav D. Vidic

Dear alumni, friends, and colleagues, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the second issue of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering e-newsletter.

I am very excited to inform you about another recurring achievement of our department: for the second year in a row, our annual research expenditures have nearly doubled and are now at approximately $2.4 million.

Continue reading the chair's message.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was front-and-center in its response to the August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Kent Harries, assistant professor and William Kepler Whiteford Faculty Fellow, was widely sought by the media in response to this tragedy and the broader infrastructure crisis facing the nation.

Read more about Harries and other faculty achievements.

For the past several years, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has strategically positioned itself to focus its research and educational efforts on the transportation sector. The result is the new Center for Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (CSTI).

Read more about CSTI and other department successes.

Bhavna Sharma (PhD 2010) was awarded an NSF IGERT Fellowship through the Mascaro Sustainability Initiative.

Made possible by a $3.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the IGERT fellowship, which stands for Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, will allow engineering doctoral students to journey to São Paulo, Brazil, for eight-month research rotations at the University at Campinas (UNICAMP), one of the top engineering schools in South America. Students conduct research in green construction and sustainable water-use technology.

The program, which is the first IGERT grant led by Pitt, involves faculty from all six engineering departments at the University. The curriculum emphasizes team-based design that crosses departmental lines. Unlike most graduate engineering programs, it will include a capstone sustainable design course, so that engineers from different specialties can learn a common framework for sustainable design.

Applications for additional doctoral fellows are currently being accepted. To read more about the IGERT program or how to apply for a fellowship, please visit the MSI Web site.

Read more about the outstanding accomplishments of Pitt CEE students.

The Engineering News-Record (ENR) inaugural rankings of contractors has placed Pitt CEE alumnus Jack C. Mascaro (BSCE '66, MSCE '80) third in the retail market rankings and 24th overall.

Read more about the rankings and other alumni news.

Five alumni recently established Engineering Legacy Funds to benefit the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. These funds are unrestricted endowments and will permanently generate flexible resources for years to come to help the department meet its many changing needs. More than 60 funds have been established overall for the School of Engineering and the other departments since this initiative began in 2005.

The five funds for CEE have a cumulative value of more than $102,000 and were established by these generous alumni:

• Anonymous
• Ronald L. Lewis (BSCE '71)
• James J. Lombardi (BSCE '72)
• Lester C. Snyder (BSCE '79)
• Raymond A. Volpatt (BSCE '61)

If you are interested in establishing an Engineering Legacy Fund, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at alumni@engr.pitt.edu or 412-624-5932.

Read more about Foundations for Greatness: the Campaign for Engineering.