Radisav D. Vidic

Dear Alumni, Friends, and Colleagues,

On December 5, 2007, the University of Pittsburgh announced the largest individual gift in its 220-year history would result in the naming of the engineering school in honor of alumnus and trustee John A. Swanson. His spectacular gift of more than $41.3 million will continue to advance Pitt engineering's recent record of accomplishments.

Continue reading the chair's message.

Some of the world's most prominent scholars in civil and environmental engineering can be found right here.

Read more about our faculty's achievements.

Willie Harper, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently has made a significant breakthrough in the understanding of the biochemistry and microbial ecology of bacteria that remove ammonia from wastewater.

Harper has been studying nitrification, which is the process of biologically removing ammonia from wastewater. Working closely with colleagues in microbiology and chemistry, Harper discovered that hydroxylamine, a key intermediate formed during nitrification, can cause the microbial communities to become inhibited and disaggregated, ultimately interfering with the removal of ammonia. This exciting discovery may explain why nitrification suddenly fails.

Read more about CSTI and other department successes.

There is no formal method for testing the strength of bamboo for building structures, so Derek Mitch had to invent one. His conundrum—and opportunity—stemmed from a May trip to the Indian Himalayan regions of Darjeeling and Sikkim, where he investigated the design and construction of bamboo buildings.

Fellow students who accompanied him tackled issues ranging from slope stability to clean energy. Together, the aspiring Pitt engineers, led by Pitt civil engineering professor and William Kepler Whiteford Faculty Fellow Kent Harries, cut their teeth on problems like these while helping an Indian engineering group, Sustainable Hill Engineering and Design (SHED), create and promote a plan for sustainable construction in an area desperate for new approaches. Harries hopes to make the journey to India's Himalayan foothills an annual event.

Read more about Mitch's discovery.

For the past year, Pitt civil engineering graduate student Dave Torick has worked on a simple mission—invent a faster way to break rocks.

Read more about Torick's rock crusher.

The fellowship will provide three years of funding.

David V.P. Sanchez, a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, also was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) from the National Science Foundation this past spring. In addition to the GRF, Sanchez received an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) and the Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship last academic year. The nationally competitive fellowship is awarded based on a student's abilities and accomplishments as well as their potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise.

Read more about the fellowship.

Engineering and Business Students Conduct Joint Sustainability Projects in Brazil

Students taking product realization classes last spring learned new engineering procedures while helping the international community.

Read more about the Brazilian projects.

Pitt to Induct Civil Engineering Alumnus into Cathedral of Learning Society

Passion for education defines the alumnus, who has given lifetime gifts totaling over $1 million.

Read more about the generosity of this alumnus.

Thinking about donating money to the Swanson School of Engineering, but unsure of where the money would best be put to use? Consider donating to the Benedum Hall Transformation.

Detailed information, including floor plans, architectural renderings, and bios on your fellow colleagues can be found on our new Web site.