Research and Centers
In a world of shifting populations, dwindling natural resources, burgeoning manmade contaminants, unstable economies, and complex security issues, the scope of civil and environmental engineering is broader than ever before.
Northeastern’s strategic focus on urban engineering and global sustainability prepares future engineers for many of the greatest challenges of our time. In particular, the expansion of American cities and the rise of the modern megalopolis – giant, complex urban environments known as “Global Cities” – present vast opportunities for civil and environmental engineering education and research.
Urban Engineering comprises a promising generation of interdependent solutions. Legacy approaches are enhanced by new strategies for determining viability and solutions for larger-scale urban growth and renewal, sustainable construction and living, and environmental transformation. It forms the foundation of three key thrusts of education and research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Research Centers Headquartered in CEE
Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors (VOTERS) (Flyer)
Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors (VOTERS) is multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary $18M center funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and industry partners that is developing new sensor technologies, health monitoring algorithms, and data mining strategies to provide a continuous stream of accurate, up-to-date information about the state of roadways and bridge decks gathered by sensor systems mounted on vehicles of opportunity, while also eliminating the hazardous, congestion-prone work zones that are often set up to gather this critical data.
Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) (Flyer)
The Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) program is a $10M program funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program that comprises a collaboration of experts in engineering, public health, and biomedical and environmental sciences across multiple institutions, with the dual goal of reducing exposure to environmental contamination and reducing the preterm birth rate in Puerto Rico and beyond.
Affiliated Centers and Programs at Northeastern University:
- Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT) (Flyer)
- Bernard M. Gordon Center for Subsurface Imaging and Sensing (Gordon CenSSIS) (Flyer)
- Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN)
- Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology (NUCRET)
- Antimicrobial Discovery Center (ADC)
- Communications and Digital Signal Processing Center (CDSP)
- Center for Urban Environmental Studies (CEUS)
- Intelligent Diagnostics: Integrated Graduate Education and Research Traineeships (IGERT) (Flyer)
- Bioengineering Program
- OUR Charles - Opportunities for Undergraduate Research on the Charles River
- Northeastern University's ADVANCE Program
Facilities
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has a wide range of research and teaching facilities; see Facilities for more information.
