Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization advised people to disinfect surfaces as a key way to limit the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. More recently, researchers are finding that transmission through surfaces does not pose as great of a risk as initially thought. Instead, studies show that the majority of transmissions occur when individuals breathe air that contains spewed droplets from infected individuals.

Professor Arpad Horvath is chairing the 2nd Food-Energy-Water Nexus Conference, sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Professor Jonathan D. Bray, Ph.D., P.E., NAE has been appointed as a member of the Seismic Advisory Board for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The Seismic Advisory Board was created as a recommendation of the Governor’s Board of Inquiry following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Caltrans established the Caltrans Seismic Advisory Board to provide advice on seismic safety policy as it applies to the design of transportation structures in California.

Professor Emeritus Alex Horne (CEE 1971-2003, B. Sc. University of Bristol, England, Ph. D. University of Dundee, Scotland) and co-authors were awarded the “Best paper of 2018-19” by the editorial board of the N. American Lake and Reservoir Management Journal – the top one in the field. 

The Exploration of Social Equity and Justice in CEE Seminar Series promotes theory, science, and dialogue on social equity and racial justice in the built and urban environment. It features speakers of various academic disciplines and activism groups working on different aspects of equity and justice in civil systems, such as air and water quality, transportation, vulnerability to extreme weather, climate change, health disparities, mitigation measures, community development, resilient cities, and environmental justice policy.

Professor Amy Pickering is part of a team of researchers to develop a novel and inexpensive chlorine dispensing device to improve the safety of drinking water in regions lacking resources and infrastructure.

The device releases measured amounts of chlorine into water as it exits the tap, eliminating water-borne pathogens and reducing the spread of fatal diseases like cholera, typhoid fever and diarrhea.