Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil engineers Nagarajaiah, Erazo awarded Takuji Kobori Prize

Research on earthquake protection system earns prestigious award from the International Association for Structural Control and Monitoring.

Rice helps give Houston early COVID-19 warnings

Scientists and statisticians at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering have worked long hours for months to help the city of Houston monitor the spread of COVID-19 through traces of the coronavirus found in wastewater treatment plants.

'This Place Called Houston': Jim Blackburn hosts webinar on the city’s past, future

Jim Blackburn sees Houston as a perfect reflection of the 20th century, an emerging but disorganized city at the turn of one century that boomed into a diverse economic powerhouse by the next.

Galveston Bay Park is a 'vision' of Houston's future

An ambitious plan to shield Houston from a devastating hurricane by creating Galveston Bay Park, a 10,000-acre public park on a chain of man-made islands, earned top honors in the international design competition Houston 2020 Visions.

Better wastewater treatment? It’s a wrap

A shield of graphene helps particles destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the free-floating genes in wastewater treatment plants.

Bird droppings carry risk of antibiotic resistance

Rice University engineers analyze the droppings of urban birds and show persistent levels of antibiotic-resistant genes and bacteria that may be transferred to humans through the environment.

Future Texas hurricanes: Fast like Ike or slow like Harvey?

Climate change will make fast-moving storms more likely in late 21st-century Texas.

Purifying water with a partly coated gold nanoparticle

Rice's Naomi Halas has collaborated with Yale University engineers on the creation of a light-activated nanoparticle for clearing water of pollutants. The research is part of an effort by NEWT, the Rice-based Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment.

COVID-19 research funds back six new initiatives

Grants to Rice faculty will support diagnostic, environmental and social projects.

Rice faculty part of Baylor Superfund program

A $10 million federal grant establishes a center to study how toxic chemicals from Superfund sites impact preterm births.

Rice engineers: Make wastewater drinkable again

Delivering water to city dwellers can become far more efficient, according to Rice University researchers who say it should involve a healthy level of recycled wastewater.

Rice reacts to critical shortage of COVID-19 protective gear

Rice is responding to the critical shortage of COVID-19 protective gear with creativity, generosity and tenacity.

Rice researchers look to ‘trap and zap’ coronavirus

Rice University researchers plan to reconfigure their “trap and zap” wastewater-treatment technology to capture and deactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.

Rice awards first COVID-19 research grants

The Rice University COVID-19 Research Fund Oversight and Review Committee announced it will support projects to develop affordable diagnostic tools, seals to maximize the efficiency of surgical masks, a system to identify signs of the coronavirus in Houston wastewater and methods to ensure voter safety this fall.

Griffin named interim engineering dean

Rob Griffin, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and senior associate dean for the Brown School of Engineering, will begin serving as the school’s interim dean July 1.