Sep. 11, 2022
Civil engineering team at Mizzou completes NSF I-Corps, earning Spirit Award
Bill Buttlar A team of Mizzou Engineers recently completed the National Science Foundation I-Corps program, earning a Spirit Award and gaining important insights as the researchers launch a new company. Civil engineering faculty members Bill Buttlar and Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, along with post-doctoral fellow Hamed Majidifard, formed Tiger Eye Engineering, LLC, last year. The company offers transportation departments, cities and counties the service of monitoring road distresses. “We decided to write a grant proposal to the highly competitive National NSF I-Corps program after having a very positive experience with a more regional ‘mini-I-Corps’ program in 2022, which…
Aug. 31, 2022
Engineering team evaluates evacuation in event of earthquake near St. Louis
While minor earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault occur regularly without incident, there’s a small chance another large quake could rattle Missouri and surrounding states. That’s why Mizzou Engineering has teamed up with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to begin to understand how residents in St. Louis could best evacuate the area. Praveen Edara, professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering, received funding from MoDOT to see how roads, bridges and other infrastructure might be impacted by a major earthquake. The St. Louis region has two seismic zones, including the New Madrid Fault line, which last caused…
Aug. 30, 2022
Civil Engineering research looks at concrete under sustained loads
For the most part, buildings held up with reinforced concrete columns have the capacity to withstand the test of time. In a few cases, however, construction errors, material deterioration and misuse can lead to overloading, and at some point, that overloading can cause buildings to collapse. Sarah Orton, an associate professor of civil engineering, has spent the past year working with colleagues to understand why. In a recent series of papers, she and collaborators released findings from physical testing and computational modeling of reinforced concrete behavior subjected to sustained loads. These so-called gravity loads are mostly…
July 25, 2022
CEE Spring 2022 Capstone Projects
Civil engineering education at Mizzou concludes with a capstone project. These capstone projects allow students to apply what they’ve learned in their classes and work together in teams to study real world challenges and offer recommendations to those problems.
June 24, 2022
Mizzou collaboration leads to national award
The Missouri Center for Transportation Innovation (MCTI) received a High Value Research award for its Pollinator Habitat Project from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
June 16, 2022
Cracking the code: Engineering team devises improved way to predict cracks
Rogelio Muñeton-Lopez, left, receives congratulations during the Engineering Mechanics Institute conference earlier this month where he was a finalist in the student paper competition for his work on predicting cracks. Cracks can cause serious problems on roads and bridges, as they compromise the strength and soundness of a structure. A Mizzou Engineering team has devised a way to better predict not only where a crack will occur but also the path it could take as it progresses. The work earned Rogelio Muñeton-Lopez, a master’s student in civil engineering, runner-up status at the Engineering Mechanics Institute conference earlier this…
June 7, 2022
ZouSim uses simulated environment to study driver behavior
Ericka Zhou participates in a traffic study using a simulated environment with graduate student Qingzhong Zeng in Professor Carlos Sun’s ZouSim Lab. Erika Zhou is “driving” 50 in a 60-mile-per-hour zone. When she approaches road work, her speed drops to about 15 below the posted limit. A few days later, Stuart Aldrich speeds down the same stretch of interstate, slowing slightly within the work zone. Here, there’s no right or wrong way to drive. Welcome to the ZouSim Lab at Mizzou Engineering, where highways and traffic come to life in a virtual setting. The lab has a driving simulator built…
May 23, 2022
Engineer develops underwater imaging system to investigate natural seeps
A still image from Binbin Wang’s research into natural seeps. It’s estimated that roughly 160,000 tons of oil and gas naturally enter North American waters each year. These so-called “natural seeps” are hydrocarbons that come out of plant or animal fossils under the seafloor. Depending on where they are, the bubbles of oil and gas can dissipate or, in more shallow spots, rise to the surface, sending methane into the atmosphere. But how do they behave and impact surrounding water at the point they arise from the ocean floor? That’s what Binbin Wang hopes to find out. Wang, an…
May 13, 2022
Mizzou celebrates opening of MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute
A new institute at Mizzou will advance collaboration around materials research and education across campus. University and College leaders celebrated the grand opening of the MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute (MUMSEI) at a symposium and ribbon cutting event on Friday.
April 14, 2022
Engineering team receives $3M to develop improved blast-resistant curtain walls
A Mizzou Engineering team is investigating ways to keep large glass exteriors from shattering.