Dear Colleagues and Friends,
We’re excited to share our successes from this past year with you as we begin a new era in our program.
After the unexpected passing of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Chair Balasingam Muhunthan last June, our faculty and staff have pulled together, displaying a great spirit of teamwork and collaboration as we move forward and carry on our mission. We have witnessed the Cougar spirit of our faculty and staff during this time of transition and many of them went above and beyond their normal duties to help the department. In particular, Dr. Tim Ginn has filled in as associate chair of graduate education and led the tenure and promotion process, and Dr. Dave Pollock has stepped up as associate chair of undergraduate education and spearheaded the ABET accreditation.
In spite of challenges related to the pandemic, our program has continued to grow and thrive. Our faculty brought in more than $20 million in research grants last year, including a National Science Foundation Career award and several multi-million-dollar federal grants. Our researchers are studying the movement of contaminants through river systems, conditions that affect ice loss in Greenland, better sealers for concrete structures, how kangaroo rats might help us build better structures, to name a few.
Meanwhile, we have made some adjustments in our educational programs, including key improvements to our senior capstone design course and to some other curricula, the result of which has been a more engaging learning journey for our undergraduate students and a steady improvement in our student scores on the national FE exam. Working with the School of Design and Construction, we have also begun work to get accreditation for our construction engineering (ConE) degree program. Recently, we have started planning and groundwork to offer an online master’s degree in civil engineering (1st focus: Water and Environmental Engineering) and an online certificate program in Pavement Durability & Sustainability, respectively.
We’re proud that the CEE department is providing a diverse, collegial and supportive environment for our students, faculty, and staff. We have a relatively high level of gender and ethnic diversity among faculty and students, providing a great experience for our students. While we congratulate the retirement of a few senior faculty members, we look forward to growing our program next year with the hiring of three professors in structural engineering and one in transportation engineering.
The mission is to serve our stakeholders (students, sponsors, alumni, staff and faculty), thus benefiting the State of Washington and the society as a whole. Together we strive to provide a rewarding experience for our Cougs and produce the next-generation civil engineers and environmental engineers who re-imagine, construct and preserve the built and natural environments.
I greatly appreciate the support that we receive from our many loyal alumni and friends. Your gifts truly make a positive impact on the lives of our students, faculty, and staff. Please stop by whenever you’re on campus or send me a note.
Thank you so much, and Go Cougs!
Xianming Shi