Launching The Das Family Innovate LA CEE Student Competition

On September 30, we kicked off the Das Family Innovate X LA CEE Student Competition.  Student teams will compete for a chance to win $15,000 to further develop the most innovative solution to Los Angeles’s biggest challenges: disaster resilience, urban livability, environmental stewardship, transportation systems and extreme habitats.

Dr. Kelly Sanders, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and her Ph.D. student, Stepp Mayer, discuss the benefits of pre-cooling your home – both for the environment and for your wallet. 

“Lives, Not Grades” Wins Emmy for Best Independent Programming 

"Lives, Not Grades" has been awarded the Emmy for Best Independent Program at the 74th Los Angeles Emmy Awards.

Born out of our flagship course (CE 486) and minor "Innovation in Engineering and Design For Global Crises," the PBS documentary film takes viewers behind the scenes as our students design and build innovations to improve the lives of refugees fleeing wars and natural disasters.

A new platform for research collaborations between students

The inaugural CEE Research Symposium held on September 22, 2022 was organized by Ph.D. students to showcase the latest in research in the department. The students are building a platform to foster interdisciplinary collaborations between various research groups.

Our faculty and students at the Romanian-Ukranian Border

In early September, students enrolled in (CE486) "Innovation in Engineering and Design for Global Crises" traveled to the Romanian-Ukrainian border to conduct field research on the ongoing conflict and how might engineering solutions alleviate the suffering of those affected in the region. They built relationships with refugees, government agencies and international aid organizations on the frontlines of response.

The delegation also met with Romanian government officials including Minister of Innovation and Digitalization, Sebastian Burduja, and organized a joint-summit with faculty and students from the Politehnica University of Bucharest. Ukrainian, Romanian and American students workshopped solutions to disinformation, war shelters, digital medical records and aid distribution. The teams will return in early March, 2023 to test their prototypes.

Dr. Farzad Naeim (Ph.D. '82, M.S. '79 Structural Engineering) is the President of Farzad Naeim, Inc., and an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of California-Irvine. A registered California civil and structural engineer as well as patent attorney, Dr. Naeim has published five textbooks and over 160 peer-reviewed papers, and developed 45 software systems for earthquake engineering design and education. In 2022, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for advancing performance-based seismic design of tall buildings and other structures with instrumentation, isolation, and energy dissipation devices.

“Civil engineers are vanguards of human civilization. Their mark is on every human landmark, and it is an honor to be learning and practicing in the field that symbolizes civilization and progress.”  - Dr. Farzad Naeem