Wired: LA is doing water better than your city. Yes, that LA

With climate change on the horizon, Los Angeles is rushing to pull water from surprising sources. Professor Amy Childress discusses the desalination process used to treat wastewater before it returns to the tap.

USC Viterbi Flickr: 2018 Sonny Astani Department Commencement Reception

View photos of the 2018 Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Commencement Reception

Keeping Her Promise

Glenda “Milly” Rodriguez, president of the USC chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, assured her parents she would become the first in her family to graduate from college. That day is coming soon.

Meet Celeris, the first interactive coastal wave modeling software that runs faster than real-time

While currently available models can take hours to run, this open-source nearshore modeling software runs faster than real-time with concurrent visualization and an interactive environment

The Viterbi Algorithm at 50

In a noisy world, it allows you to be heard.

What Do Civil & Environmental Engineers Do?

Our standard of living depends on our civil infrastructure, a sophisticated system of buildings, bridges, dams, airports, transportation networks, water and power distribution systems, and environmental protection systems.

Civil and environmental engineers are responsible for designing, maintaining and enhancing our civil infrastructure. They help to sustain the living standards and quality of life of the population. Civil engineers are also master builders. They create structures that stand as timeless symbols of our civilization. Environmental engineers identify and design solutions for problems involving the environment. To do so, they have to be broadly educated and technically trained to address a wide spectrum of issues.

Civil & Environmental Engineering @SC

Spring 2018
Newsletter

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Research Labs
and Centers

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Resources for
Current Students

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Featured Research Assistant

Stephanie Gee

Research Focus: Developing piezoelectric activation as a low-energy fouling mitigation strategy for polymeric nanofiber membranes in anaerobic membrane bioreactors
Advisor: Prof. Adam Smith
Previous Education: B.S. in chemical engineering from Northeastern University
Hobbies: Swimming, gardening, and reading

Research Areas

Sustainable Development

Sustainability in the context of civil engineering targets long-term viability of natural resources and engineered civil systems.

Water Quality, Access, and Distribution

Providing an adequate supply of potable water, considering population growth and climate variability.

Disasters and Extreme Events

All aspects of an event, from a fundamental understanding of the physical processes controlling its evolution to the resulting environmental and social reaction.

Coupling of Complex Systems

Efforts aim to integrate research across the Sonny Astani Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, as well with all outside disciplines that interact with civil systems.

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Events

Announcements

IN MEMORIAM: Prof. Asadollah (Asad) Esmaeily

Asadollah (Asad) Esmaeily, 59, passed away peacefully at the KU Med Center on June 3, 2018, after a short battle with lung cancer. Esmaeily earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Southern California. After graduation he briefly worked for the California Department of Transportation before joining Kansas State University in 2002. Read more

Featured Research Assistant for June 2018: Stephanie Gee

Stephanie Gee is a second year Environmental Engineering Ph.D student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow at University of Southern California advised by Professor Adam Smith. Her research focuses on developing piezoelectric activation as a low-energy fouling mitigation strategy for polymeric nanofiber membranes in anaerobic membrane bioreactors. Gee received her B.S. in chemical engineering from Northeastern University before coming to USC. Her … Read More

PhD grad Trevor Krasowsky receives the William F. Ballhaus, Jr. Prize for Excellence in Graduate Engineering Research

PhD graduate Trevor Krasowsky received the William F. Ballhaus, Jr. Prize for Excellence in Graduate Engineering Research at the 2018 Viterbi Ph.D. Hooding and Awards ceremony on May 10. His research, under the direction of Assistant Professor George Ban-Weiss, looks at climate and health issues caused by air pollutants known as black carbon particles produced by diesel engines, coal power plants and biomass burning. His work aids scientists and … Read More

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