According to a new study by Professor Stefano Schiavon, women are inequitably impacted by air temperature in office settings. Published in Scientific Reports, the report finds that women are more likely than men to experience discomfort from overcooling, in which air conditioning systems cool down rooms more than is necessary. It concludes that there is a need to rethink the approach to air-conditioning office buildings, to both address this inequity and the energy expense from wasteful cooling.

Congratulations to nine UC Berkeley ITS-affiliated students who received Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program awards for the coming year, including six students affiliated with CEE.

Winners and their research include:

Covid-WEB, an arm of Professor Kara Nelson's research lab, has been helping to track the spread of the COVID-19 disease in waste facilities across California, including sites in the Bay Area. Covid-WEB monitors wastewater for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which can indicate the presence of the COVID-19 disease in a community. This early detection can help communities respond to the virus or new variants before an outbreak. 

Research by Professor Susan Shaheen and PhD student Jessica Lazarus is featured in the latest issue of Transfers Magazine. In "To Pool or Not to Pool," Shaheen and Lazarus examine how pooling, when multiple travelers share a ride in the same vehicle, can alleviate some of the challenges resulting from on-demand mobility services and transportation network companies (TNCs), like Uber and Lyft.

We are delighted to share that CEE Graduate Advisor, Shelley Okimoto, is a recipient of UC Berkeley's 2020 and 2021 Excellence in Advising & Student Services Award! The award recognizes the positive and innovative impact that recipients have on student learning, engagement, and belonging on the Berkeley campus.

Dr. Hsieh Wen Shen, professor emeritus of environmental engineering, passed away on December 2, 2021. He was 90 years old.

Professor Shen received his PhD from UC Berkeley in 1961. He served on the faculty at Colorado State University for 18 years, before coming to Cal in 1985. He was a leader in the areas of environmental hydraulics, river mechanics, and basic sediment transport.