Engineering Science

Engineering Science is an Interdisciplinary Program that combines analytical, computational and experimental methods

Purpose:

The graduate CEAE Engineering Science program is intended to provide an advanced education and stimulating environment to students who seek careers and education beyond a specific civil engineering subdiscipline, and are interested in learning and applying advanced analytical, computational and experimental methods to tackle modern engineering and technological problems. Students from civil, environmental, architectural engineering, as well as those from other engineering and applied science disciplines (e.g., applied mathematics, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, geophysics, computer science) are all welcome to apply. A particular focus of the program is on inter- and cross-disciplinary research which often requires a sound fundamental scientific and engineering training. The emphasis is on both depth and balance.

Core Curriculum Requirements:

  • 3 units in a fundamental course in continuum mechanics/physics
  • 3 units in applied/engineering mechanics (solid, fluid, geo, structural, material, thermo, bio)
  • 6 units in advanced engineering mathematics/analysis
  • 3 units in computer/numerical methods (e.g., FEM/FDM/CFD)
  • Choice of additional graduate course within the CEAE department or the College of Engineering and Applied Science commensurate with the goals and interest of the students under the guidance of the E.S. faculty.
  • All exams (M.S., Ph.D. preliminary, comprehensive and thesis defense) will be composed and administered by the CEAE Engineering Science faculty group. The policy can be reviewed here.
  • For M.S. degree, a 30 hour thesis- or course work option is available.

CEAE-ES Core Faculty Group:

Moncef Krarti, Ground-coupled heat transfer from buildings, modeling and control of thermal energy storage systems, indoor air quality, building energy, new building materials.

Roseanna Neupauer, Groundwater flow and transport modeling, characterization of contaminant sources in aquifers and water distribution systems, spatial variability of aquifer properties, wavelet analysis.

Ronald Pak, Dynamic soil-structure interaction, elasticity, wave propagation, soil and structural dynamics, geotechnical earthquake engineering, foundations, pavements, geomechanics, constitutive modeling, poroelasticity, boundary element methods, finite element methods, experimental modeling.

Hari Rajaram, Fluid Mechanics and Transport Phenomena in Environmental and Geological Systems, Stochastic Theories of Flow and Transport in Disordered Media, Coupled Processes, Self-Organization and Pattern Formation in Reaction-Transport Systems.

Richard Regueiro, Computational multiscale mechanics for heterogeneous porous materials. Single phase (dry) and multiphase (partially-saturated and saturated, multi-constituent) porous materials, such as geomaterials (soil, rock), concrete, and soft biological tissues. Damaged polycrystalline metals. Generalized continuum theories for multiscale modeling of inelastic deformation. Applications include modeling geotechnical, geological, and structural engineering failures, high strain rate loading of polycrystalline metals, and visco-poroelastic response of ocular tissues.

Dianne McKnight, Limnology, aquatic ecology, reactive transport of metals and organic material in streams and rivers

Mettupalayam V. Sivaselvan, Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Nonlinear structural analysis, Numerical methods, Integrated computing and testing – hybrid test systems, Control systems for structures and testing, Large-scale experimentation

Stein Sture, Geotechnical engineering, geomechanics, computational geotechnics, analytical and experimental modeling, constitutive modeling of geomaterials, fracture mechanics

Franck Vernerey, Computational methods and multiscale methods in engineering and science, continuum mechanics, fracture mechanics. Current research activities include constitutive modeling and micromechanics of fracture and failure, biomimetics and failure of nanocomposites.

Kaspar Willam, Computational Failure Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis, Interface Modeling, Mechanics of Materials, Plasticity, Elastic Damage, Poromechanics, Thermohydromechanics, Localization Analysis of Cohesive-Frictional Materials, Thermal Degradation of Concrete Materials, Seismic Response of Masonry Infill Walls.

John Zhai, Computational Fluid Dynamics and its Applications in Building and Environment, Heat Transfer and Energy Analysis of Building Systems, Building Indoor Environment Quality: Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality, Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Systems, Building Vulnerability and Safety, Renewable Energy and Sustainable Building Design