News | Civil and Environmental Engineering

Two construction workers in yellow helmets pouring and leveling concrete over rebar, top-down.

Concrete More Resource-Intensive than Previously Thought, UC Davis Researchers Find

Recent News

Chromium-6, Nanosilver Detected in LA Fire Cleanup Zones

by Kat Kerlin
September 25, 2025

Research

Air quality scientists have detected elevated levels of hexavalent chromium and silver in air samples collected from the debris cleanup zones for the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, which occurred January 2025 in Los Angeles County.

Alissa Kendall Appointed Director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies

by UC Davis Office of Research
September 17, 2025

Alissa Kendall, the Ray B. Krone Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering, has been named the new director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, or ITS-Davis, the Office of Research announced today (Sept. 15). Kendall succeeds founding director Dan Sperling, who has led the institute since its establishment in 1991.

Photograph of professor Jason DeJong smiling and standing in front of some bushes

Prof. Jason DeJong selected for UC Davis 2025 Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award

by CEE
June 23, 2025

Prof. Jason DeJong has been honored as one of two extraordinary faculty members receiving this year's Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentorship Awards. These awards shine a light on the power of mentorship in shaping the academic and professional journeys of UC Davis graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

Miguel Jaller Named Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering

by Jessica Heath
June 17, 2025

Professor Miguel Jaller is appointed chair of the UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Jaller is the co-director of the Institute of Transportation Studies' Sustainable Freight Research Program, where he researches sustainable transportation systems and humanitarian logistics.

Photograph of lithium being extracted from brine at Silver Peak, Nevada, currently the only active lithium resource in the U.S.

EV Battery Recycling Key to Future Lithium Supplies

by Andy Fell
June 03, 2025

Research

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.

Photo of people standing holding certificates

CEE Student Awards

by CEE
May 29, 2025

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:

Outstanding Senior Spotlight: Sydney Griffin

by Matt Marcure
May 29, 2025

Students

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.

Outstanding Senior Spotlight: Simeon Buttery

by Matt Marcure
May 29, 2025

Students

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.

Repaving Tests New Road Materials

by Katie Hetrick
May 06, 2025

Research

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.

Illustration of mechanisms affecting the axial response of piles in liquefiable soils

Sinha, Ziotopoulou, and Kutter receive ASCE Norman Award

by UC Davis CEE
April 30, 2025

Awards & Recognition

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.

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