Dear CEE Community and Friends,

I can’t believe commencement is just a week away. I’m honored to be sharing this upcoming momentous occasion with all our CEE graduates this year. We’ll share commencement highlights in next month’s newsletter. 

This month, new research from Assistant Professor Cathy Wu and her students use a machine learning approach to help autonomous vehicles avoid idling at red lights, reducing fuel consumption and emissions. Prof. Charles Harvey is interviewed for a new PBS Frontline documentary about the fossil fuel industry and the Plata Lab is interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about their latest methane research. Postdoc Matti Gralka shares his valuable experience gained from the CEE Comms Lab and congratulations to Prof. Franz Josef-Ulm for his election to the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Our profile story highlights postdoc Lurong Yang who shares her research, tips for new postdocs and more in our latest community spotlight. Lastly, we share photos from our CEE Annual Research Day hosted by Assistant Professors Michael Howland and Cèsar Terrer that brought together faculty, students and postdocs in a round of speed talks about their latest CEE research. 

Sincerely,

Ali Jadbabaie

JR East Professor

Department Head, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering

Core Faculty, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

Professor Desiree Plata is one of the instructors facilitating a new Climate and Sustainability Scholars Program that will engage MIT undergraduates in a unique, year-long, interdisciplinary experience both developing and implementing climate and sustainability research projects. 

Prof. Charles Harvey featured in "The Power of Big Oil" documentary

In a Frontline PBS three-part documentary that investigates the decades-long failure to confront the threat of climate change and the role of the fossil fuel industry, Prof. Charles Harvey shares his expertise on the fossil fuel industry’s push for carbon capture technology and why it’s not a solution to stop climate change or prevent global warming. 

Peer-to-Peer Coaching as a Collaborative Effort

What value does the CEE Comms Lab bring to students and postdocs? Postdoc Matti Gralka who has been with the Lab since its inception shares his experience in a Q&A article.

Wall Street Journal  spotlights Plata Lab Methane research

Prof. Desiree Plata and PhD student Rebecca Brenneis talk with reporter Ryan Dezember about their research findings that have the potential to greatly reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere.

Franz Josef-Ulm elected to the Austrian Academy of Sciences

Prof. Franz-Josef Ulm was elected as a corresponding member abroad of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The OeAW is Austria’s largest non-university research and science institution. 

In a new study, Prof. Cathy Wu and her students demonstrate a machine-learning approach that can learn to control a fleet of autonomous vehicles as they approach and travel through a signalized intersection in a way that keeps traffic flowing smoothly. 

Postdoctoral associate, Lurong Yang shares her research, tips and resources for MIT postdocs, and a fun fact that involves mushrooms in our latest community spotlight.

CEE Annual Research Day: Climate Solutions and Integration of Sustainability at Scale

CEE held its popular annual research event that brought together faculty, students and postdocs in a round of speed talks and poster sessions to share the different research happening in the department. The annual event provides a view of the departments integrated approach to sustainability from the nano to planetary scale while fostering intradepartmental collaboration. Congrats to Michael Martello and Luke Bastian for best talk and Stephen Bell, Meghan Blumstein and Yagmur Yegin for best poster sessions. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Civil 

and Environmental Engineering

77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 1-290 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 

(617) 253-7101

CEE.MIT.EDU