Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries are crucial for the transition to electric vehicles, and global demand for lithium is set to grow rapidly over the next 25 years. A new analysis from the University of California, Davis, published May 29 in Nature Sustainability, looks at how new mining operations and battery recycling could meet that demand. Recycling could play a big role in easing supply constraints, the researchers found.
The CEE Department recently celebrated our amazing undergraduate and graduate students with student scholarship and fellowship awards. Congratulations to all our awardees!
Undergraduate Awards:
Department Citation 2024-25
Given to graduating seniors in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement. This year we have ten recipients:
We spoke with the environmental engineering major to learn more about how her dad's background in electrical engineering sparked her interest in engineering, the value of independent research and where she sees herself after graduation.
We spoke with the civil engineering major to learn more about his interest in geotechnical engineering, advice he would give to incoming first-years and what he aims to accomplish as an incoming master's student at UC Davis.
The University of California Pavement Research Center, or UCPRC, in collaboration with CalRecycle and Caltrans, repaved 1.1 miles of road on campus last week with innovative pavement materials made from end-of-life tires.
A paper by former UC Davis graduate student Sumeet Sinha, along with Professor Katerina Ziotopoulou and Professor Emeritus Bruce Kutter, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the ASCE Norman Medal. The Norman Medal recognizes one paper from across all ASCE publications that makes a contribution to either practical or research aspects of engineering disciplines, with the practical value of the work and its impact on practice particular considerations.
Picnic Day 2025 brought excitement, innovation, and hands-on learning to Ghausi Hall, where students, faculty, and visitors gathered to celebrate engineering in action. The day featured a series of engaging exhibits and interactive experiences both inside and outside the hall.
The festivities kicked off at 9:00 AM outside the front of Ghausi Hall, where guests enjoyed morning activities, student showcases, and refreshments in a relaxed, social atmosphere.
Now you have yet one more reason to clean your house. In recent work, former UC Davis postdoc Christoph Moschet and Prof. Tom Young showed that household dust contains hundreds of chemicals, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, and organofluorine compounds. Around 90% of the chemicals they identified are human-made. Prof.
UC Davis researchers have developed low-cost, portable sensors to help California communities detect harmful air pollutants. Their goal is to provide real-time data on toxic metals, empowering residents and regulators to identify pollution sources and push for cleaner air.
Dean Corsi and his team have tested the durability and effectiveness of his codesigned Corsi-Rosenthal Box, a low-cost DIY filter that removes harmful air particles from wildfire smoke and indoor air pollutants. He’ll share his team’s new findings at the ACS Spring 2025 Spring Digital Meeting.
The water quality of Clear Lake — California’s largest natural freshwater lake — suffers from low-to-no-oxygen conditions that contribute to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and other issues, according to a report from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the U.S. Geological Survey and that was led by Civil & Environmental faculty and researchers.
Lei Zhou is a PhD candidate at UC Davis specializing in performance-based multi-hazard engineering with a focus on structural aging and climate change. Under the mentorship of Dr. Michele Barbato, Lei is dedicated to advancing research and education in structural engineering. His work integrates innovative methodologies to address critical challenges in building resilience and sustainability.
The Safety Star Program recognizes employees who improve safety at UC Davis
The Safety Star Program was implemented to recognize campus employees who are making contributions to improve the safety culture at UC Davis. The award is quarterly, and nominees are eligible for three voting periods (9 months). Winners receive an engraved paper weight and are honored in the DSC Update newsletter and at the DSC quarterly meeting.
Construction materials such as concrete and plastic have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to a new study by civil engineers and earth systems scientists at the University of California, Davis and Stanford University. The study, published Jan. 9 in Science, shows that combined with steps to decarbonize the economy, storing CO2 in buildings could help the world achieve goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Producing materials such as steel, plastics and cement in the United States alone inflicts $79 billion a year in climate-related damage around the world, according to a new study by engineers and economists at the University of California, Davis. Accounting for these costs in market prices could encourage progress toward climate-friendly alternatives.
Improving indoor air quality is the goal of a new video series developed by experts at the University of California, Davis in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health. Aimed at building and facility managers, the videos distill the science of air quality into steps building and facility managers can take to remove pollutants, including viruses, from the place we spend most of our time -- indoors.
Assistant Prof. Michael Gardner is co-leading a team that is headed to Florida to investigate the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and to understand how we can design and build more resilient infrastructure that can handle such extreme events. Learn more about the effort below.
