This month’s newsletter shares new research from the Kroll Group on consumer-grade air cleaners and the exciting launch of the fully autonomous robotic boat on the Amsterdam canals, which Prof. Andrew Whittle is one of the principal investigators on the research team.

Also in this issue, Prof. Michael Howland talks with BBC Radio Four about the potential of harnessing more renewable energy from wind turbines and Prof. Heidi Nepf discusses her research models for coastal protection and restoration. We also held our fourth Rising Stars in Civil and Environmental Engineering Workshop that prepares early career researchers for a career in academia.

Lastly, I encourage you to sign up for some of our upcoming events.

At the end of October, CEE hosted its fourth Rising Stars in Civil and Environmental Engineering Workshop with 20 outstanding womxn. The two-day event kicked off with remarks from Dean Anantha Chandrakasan and Department Head Ali Jadbabaie. Participants presented their research and listened to panel discussions, engaged in small group discussions on the job search process and networking, and learned strategies for navigating the early stages of an academic career to succeed and flourish as a civil and environmental engineering professor.

Consumer-grade air cleaners that promise to reduce indoor levels of volatile organic compound (VOC) pollutants using chemical oxidation can be a source of VOCs themselves, according to a new study led by MIT researchers in the Kroll Group.

In this CEE Faculty Seminar Series, Prof. Heid Nepf explains a method for understanding wave damping by coastal vegetation to protect shorelines and coastal ecosystems.

Speaker: David Cwiertny, University of Iowa

Speakers: Director of the Transportation Program, Jinhua Zhao, and Admissions Staff

Speakers: CEE graduates and postdocs