Congratulations to all our graduating and graduated Civil and Environmental Engineering students!
The College of Engineering Commencement ceremonies will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. The Doctoral degree ceremony will be on Saturday, May 18, 2024, and the College of Engineering will host the Ph.D. reception after the ceremony at the Campanile.
The UC Berkeley Research IT Consulting team bridges the gap between technology and people, serving as the first point of contact for UC Berkeley researchers seeking to leverage computing and data resources. This diverse group of experts includes Research IT and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab staff, librarians, adjunct and graduate student domain specialists, and undergraduate students. With their varied expertise across many domains and disciplines, the consulting team facilitates access to the most suitable computing and data resources, enabling researchers to drive their work forward seamlessly.
Research IT Domain Consultants are experts embedded in departments across campus. Many of them are graduate students, and as researchers, they understand their domain's specific issues and needs. One such consultant we would like to spotlight is Christian White, a 6th-year Ph.D. student in the department who is also involved in the Black Graduate Engineers Group.
White earned his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at Yale University, then a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree. Becoming an expert in environmental engineering was a driving passion for him, leading him to pursue a doctorate. Currently, he is involved in research on biological nutrient nitrogen removal from wastewater. Studying the interactions between microbes fascinates him, and he is glad to bring an engineering perspective to his study.
As a domain consultant, White specializes in software solutions and bioinformatics software. His role is crucial to understanding and matching researchers' needs with the appropriate Research IT resources and tools. White finds this work gratifying, as it allows him to support the diverse research community on campus. One of his memorable experiences was helping with the Savio training, where he taught researchers how to access and use helpful Research IT tools. White's favorite part of being a consultant is collaborating with his talented colleagues at Research IT, appreciating the diverse perspectives they bring to problem-solving.
Beyond his work as a consultant and PhD studies, White enjoys a variety of hobbies that help him maintain a work-life balance, including boxing, gardening, cooking, and biking.
The SEMM Graduate Student Luncheon is an annual tradition where SEMM faculty and friends gather to acknowledge the achievements of graduate students who will commence in May and to wish them well in their future endeavors.
The May 3 event at the Berkeley Faculty Club featured SEMM alumnus Emily Guglielmo (CE MS '04), Principal Structural Engineer at Martin/Martin Inc., as their technical leader on earthquake and wind engineering.
On April 24, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosted a banquet celebrating the end of the semester. The department awarded undergraduate student awards to exemplary students, recognizing their accomplishments in the Civil and Environmental Engineering field through coursework and extracurricular activities. It was an excellent opportunity to acknowledge our undergraduate students' hard work, and the event's highlight was celebrating everyone's achievements.
The Environmental Engineering (ENV) Program recently hosted an alumni, student, and faculty networking event on Friday, April 12, organized by CEE Professor Kara Nelson! Activities included a field day event with indoor and outdoor games such as badminton and board games and a speed networking activity with attendees grouped by specialty networking in three-minute intervals with each other through prompts, followed by dinner and socializing.
Are inventors born or made? Berkeley engineers explore that question in the award-winning documentary Pathways to Invention, premiering on PBS stations nationwide in May. The documentary, featuring CEE professor Ashok Gadgil, is a 60-minute special that follows eight "modern inventors of diverse backgrounds and their journeys as they develop life-changing innovations."
This year, UC Berkeley's Cal Seismic Design team attended the annual Seismic Design Competition hosted by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) held in Seattle, Washington, from April 9th to April 12th. The student teams had to build a complex wooden building model that could withstand simulated earthquakes by being tested on a shaking table.
Professor Arpad Horvath was selected as one of the 13 finalists for the Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA) hosted by the Berkeley Center for Teaching and Learning. More than 140 student, faculty, and staff nominations were received campus-wide. While all 13 finalists had outstanding and inspiring records and firm nomination and support letters, five instructors ultimately received the award.
In honor of Earth Day, students from Professor Tina Chow's CE105 class and MS/PhD students in Environmental Engineering teamed up with Edison High School in Southwest Stockton to build and distribute air purifiers in their community. On April 13, students from the two campuses teamed up to construct 120 box fan air purifiers from essential household items, serving to protect vulnerable community members from the effects of harmful air pollutants.
CEE Professor Shaofan Li recently published his new book, "Introduction to Computational Nanomechanics," from Cambridge University Press. The book provides a comprehensive guide to computational nanomechanics, discussing basic concepts and implications in computational physics, materials, mechanics, and engineering, among many other disciplines.
