The ambitious challenge of leveraging engineering and systems thinking to understand how humanity can optimally change our infrastructure and lifestyles to respond to climate change is a driving force across our water research agenda. Our faculty and student research is at the forefront of developing technology and strategies to address water quantity and quality challenges that threaten our ability to maintain healthy societies and healthy environments. We welcome researchers and students from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines to join us in addressing this 21st century challenge.
Faculty Research Areas
Research Groups
CEE faculty oversee research groups and laboratorys, where they investigate a variety of pressing challenges in the water sciences and water resource engineering. Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to participate in research.
Featured Graduate Students and Post-Doc Researchers
Caitlin Crossett
Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. dissertation topic: Understanding the Hydroclimatic Variability in the Northeastern US from 1979–2018.
Advisors: Arne Bomblies, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux
Kate Porterfield
Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. dissertation topic: Optimizing biogeochemical cycling through agroecosystems to enhance the environmental, social and economic sustainability of food systems.
Advisor: Eric Roy
Kamruzzaman Khan
Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. dissertation topic: Scaling and Biofouling Control in Crossflow Membrane Systems
Advisor: Appala Raju Badireddy
Dustin Kincaid
Post-Doc Researcher, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project: Multi-scale watershed data analysis to understand ecohydrological resilience
Advisors: Scott Hamshaw, Julia Perdrial
Lindsay Worley
Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. dissertation topic: Optimization Tools to Identify and Evaluate Effective Floodplain Sites and Restoration Techniques
Advisor: Kristen Underwood, Donna Rizzo
Amy DeCola
Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
M.S. thesis topic: Anaerobic digestion and bioremediation for agricultural residues.
Advisor: Matthew Scarborough
Featured Undergraduate Researchers
Olivia Mead
Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project: Sustainable Methods for Data Collection on Flood Inundation and Floodplain Sediment Deposition.
Advisors: Kristen Underwood, Rebecca Diehl
Kennedy Brown
Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project: Studying the potential of anaerobic digestion as an alternate waste management system in order to address animal agriculture and food waste issues.
Advisor: Matthew Scarborough
Calvin Blackwell
Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project: Estimation of total suspended solids using satellite-based remote sensing in the Lake Champlain basin.
Advisors: Scott Hamshaw, Luis Garcia
Linh Nguyen
Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Project: Exploring the detection and delineation of hydrological events from turbidity sensor data to study watershed sediment dynamics.
Advisor: Scott Hamshaw
Example Student Projects
Understanding hydrology and limiting phosphorus loss from agricultural lands in the Northeast
Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment affecting freshwater systems. However, limited data exists on the effects of best management practices (BMPs). To address this need, M.S. student Cameron Twombly developed edge-of-field monitoring sites that were used to compare water-related ecosystem services provided by conventional and alternative management regimes. He then utilized watershed models to test the use of phosphorus runoff risk identification tools and develop recommendations for improving them to better account for field-scale hydrologic processes.
Prediction and Mitigation of Scour Damage to Bridges
Over 300 Vermont bridges were damaged in the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene, many as the result of significant scour. Successfully mitigating bridge scour in future flooding events depends on the ability to reliably estimate scour potential, design safe and economical foundation elements, scour prevention and countermeasures, and reliable and economically feasible monitoring systems. PhD student Ian Anderson’s research addressed this need by leveraging extensive data sets of existing Vermont bridges and case studies of bridge scour damage and integrating available information from stream geomorphology into statistical analyses to aid in prediction of bridge scour vulnerability.
Partner Organizations and Companies
CEE's Water for the Future Initiative includes collaborations with many organizations and companies
