- What's new?
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Dr. Essam Radwan and Mr. Jack Selter were invited by the International Association of Management of Technology (IAMOT) to be part of a panel that presents their experience with managing university technology centers. The meeting was held in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil and attended by consultants, university academician, and government officials representing thirty countries. They made a joint presentation about CATSS’ establishment and management as a model for technology transfer center. -
Dr. Necati Catbas was invited to attend a summit which was organized by Royal Academy of Engineering. RAE announced that "On the 12-13 March 2013 over 450 leading engineers, artists, economists, designers, philosophers, scientists, politicians, industry leaders, educators and policy makers from across the globe gathered in London to attend the inaugural Global Grand Challenges Summit. -
ASCE-UCF student chapter had one of its best performances ever in the ASCE Southeast Student Competitions that were held in Miami this year. -
Inaugural Dinner Lecture
Wednesday April 3, 2013
Please join us for the Inaugural Dinner Lecture in honor of S.E. "Jim" Jammal, P.E. Geotechnical Engineer remembered as Sink Hole Expert
Time: 6pm - 9pm
Location: Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs
350 S. Northlake Blvd, Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
Pricing: $40 per person, includes dinner
Registration: www.ucfknightsnetwork.com/jammallecture
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UTC Symposium at UCF
February 14-15, 2013
The University Transportation Center of the University of Central Florida, Florida International University, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Alabama Birmingham gathered for a two day symposium focusing on Traffic Safety & Simulation. In total, the event drew over 50 attendees and showcased advances in technologies and traffic safety approaches. The symposium also became an interactive environment for attendees to share thoughts and promote discussion among the different backgrounds that each university brought to the table.
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UCF Faculty Featured in ASCE’s 10th Anniversary of New Faces of Civil Engineering Program
Dr. Kaveh Madani is one of the 10 individuals highlighted by ASCE in the 10th anniversary of the New Faces of Civil Engineering Program which recognizes 10 New Faces of Civil Engineering each year. In recognition of his achievements, ASCE News writes about the UCF’s HEESA research group, UCF-EWB, and WaterSISWEB.org.
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As a speaker in the "Safer Road by Design Across Six Continents" workshop organized by the International Road federation, Dr. Radwan lectured in days four and five of the ten-day event. Delegates attending the workshop came from eight countries including Zambia, Libya, Mexico, Zambia, Antigua, Sierre Leone, Nigeria, and the USA. Experts from a variety of countries presented best practices and state of the art technologies in Roadside Safety, Work Zone Safety, Vulnerable User Safety, Traffic Management and Road Safety Audits. -
International Hydroscience Conference Hosted by UCF
Some of the world’s most recognized scholars in water science and engineering met in Orlando earlier this month to absorb the latest research related to the world’s water supplies and how they are responding to a changing climate.
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On Nov. 7 Dr. Aty served on a PhD committee at the University of Hasselt in Belgium. The dissertation focused on model-based safety evaluation of traffic safety policy measures.
On Nov. 9, Dr. Aty was a key note speaker at the ICTCT safety conference in Belgium where he talked about Pro-Active Roadway Safety and the Future of Research and Practice. 
On Nov 12 Dr. Aty spoke at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) about Changing the way we think about Traffic Safety and the Current Safety Research Initiatives. He was invited by the Greek Institute of Transportation Engineers and NTUA. -
UCF and NEXCO-West of Japan and its USA subsidiary have partnered on research, development and implementation of video and infrared based non-destructive evaluation technologies for bridge and structural engineering assessment and decision making. They have been conducing studies on concrete building and bridges in Florida. One of the new technologies that is being implemented is the integrated infrared and line camera sensors for bridge deck top evaluation without interrupting the traffic. Very recently, NEXCO-West team visited UCF and two teams conducted demonstrations, had meetings to exchange ideas. They are expecting to expand their collaboration with new studies with applications on Florida's bridges.
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Mr. Mike Dreznes, the Executive Vice President of International Road Federation, delivered a seminar under a joint sponsorship between the CECE Department and CATSS. Mr. Dreznes talk covered the topic of road safety and “Forgiving Highways”. He is an international authority on design of guardrails and crash attenuators and IRF has sponsored in the past and continues to sponsor fellows to pursue graduate degrees at UCF.
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Dr. Abdel-Aty was invited to speak at the plenary session of the 3rd Sino-German Symposium on Urban road traffic safety and the 7th symposium on road traffic accident research in China. The Symposiums were held jointly on Oct. 8 and 09 in Shanghai.
The session was dedicated to discuss the traffic safety situation in China, US and Germany.
Dr. Aty presented the American experience in research and practice in traffic safety. -
University of Central Florida Professor
in the newsCECE Professor Ni-Bin Chang among the Top 10 Most Cited Google Scholars in Terms of H-index in Civil Engineering Community in the World.
He is currently working as the Program Director of the Hydrological Sciences Program at National Science Foundation in Washington DC.
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Dr. Radwan’s Trip to visit UDC University in Brazil 
Professor Fabio do Prado at the Uniao Dinamica de Faculadades Catarats (UDC) invited Dr. Essam Radwan to visit the main campus of the university in Iguacu Falls, Brazil. The purpose of the visit was to explore establishing a program between the two institutions for offering joint undergraduate and graduate degrees in civil engineering.
The UDC campus is uniquely located near the Iguacu Falls and the Itaipu Dam, which is the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. It is located at the cross road of three countries namely Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Transportation of people and goods in that region is being viewed as a great and promising graduate study discipline.
The Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies at UCF currently has an agreement with UDC that will bring thirty high school students for one month to UCF to learn English. Professor Prado is planning a second visit in May 2013 to the Department during which he plans to bring 15 undergraduate students to visit laboratories on campus and construction sites in the Orlando metropolitan area. -
University of Central Florida researcher Dr. Kaveh Madani
in the news
California's Hydropower Stations to Generate Less Electricity in Summer as Climate Warms (ScienceDaily)
California Gathers Facts to Plan for a Hot, Dry Future (Environment News Service)
California’s Hydroelectricity Production is Vulnerable to Climate Change (UCR Today)
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University of Central Florida researcher Mohamed Abdel-Aty in the news.
University of Central Florida researcher Mohamed Abdel-Aty, who directs a transportation safety technology program there, is studying what equipment is used in other states to detect fog. An example is the detection equipment used on Interstate 10 across the Mobile Bay, which automatically lowers the speed limit during fog.
Abdel-Aty also is looking at Florida crash data from the past decade to identify and prioritize locations with the biggest risk of crashes in low visibility. The study will make sure devices could be used effectively, he said.
"This is a very sensitive issue, because you are intervening and affecting the traffic in a certain way," he said. "You want to make sure that you are absolutely doing it in the right way." read more
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Dr. Aty has just returned from visiting Korea and China.
In attendance were professors from the US, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Korea. -
Env. Engr graduate student recognized
Stephanie Bolyard exemplifies the multiple areas of expertise essential for effective environmental practice. Ms. Bolyard serves as an academic, in her role as a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Central Florida where she is engaged in the study of the fate and transport of engineered nanoparticles in municipal solid waste landfills. Ms. Bolyard serves as a consultant, in her role as a permit writer for Brown and Caldwell where she contributes to solid waste management plans, landfill closure stabilization evaluations, waste characterization studies, permit applications for solid waste management facilities, and permit writing for environmental compliance projects.
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Dr. Essam Radwan presented a paper on Augmented Reality technology applications to traffic engineering at the International Association of Management of Technology (IAMOT 2012) meeting held at Hsinchu, Taiwan in March 19.
He visited the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a nonprofit R&D organization engaging in applied research and technical services. Numerous well-known, high-tech companies in Taiwan, such as leaders in the semiconductor industry TSMC and UMC, trace their origins to ITRI.
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- Announcements
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Stephanie Bolyard Has received official notification that she has been accepted for the East Asia and Pacific Summer 2013 Institutes Program (NSF) in China. -
Dr. Manoj Chopra was elected Chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates. This also means he will serve on the Florida Board of Governors beginning in August 2012.
Congratulation Dr. Chopra for your dedication to higher education in Florida.
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Drs. Hagen, Chopra, Madani & Wang are serving as the local organizing committee and hosting the 10th International Conference on Hydroscience and Engineering (http://iche2012.org), which will be held in Orlando from Nov. 4-7, 2012. ................
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Dr. Mustafa Gül, a former doctoral student and post-doctoral research associate at CECE took a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Alberta, which is one of the top universities in Canada and well-regarded in the world as well. Dr. Gül‚s research interests mainly lie in the area of Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) for improving their performance by means of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM).
SHM is a highly interdisciplinary research area integrating different cutting edge technologies. In civil engineering, SHM systems can be implemented to different CIS, such as bridges, buildings, power plants and pipelines, to improve their safety and reliability as well as to optimize the management operations.
SHM systems are considered as one of the critical components of future‚s sustainable smart CIS. Dr. Gul received a doctoral degree in civil engineering as well as an MS in Electrical Engineering, and worked under the direction of Dr. Necati Catbas of CECE. -
Peter Bacopoulos, Ph.D., a former CECE doctoral student and post-doctoral research associate has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at the University of North Florida in the Civil Engineering department of the School of Engineering. Dr. Bacopoulos will also join the UNF Taylor Engineering Research Institute. Pete received all of his degrees at UCF and worked in the CHAMPS Lab under the direction of Dr. Scott C. Hagen of CECE.
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Mr. Ozerk Sazak, one of the graduates of CECE, has started his own company and projects are already lined up. He was an MS student of Dr Necati Catbas and he returned back to Turkey after completing his graduate studies.
Ozerk, who had not much idea of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) when he first came to UCF, had curiosity and entrepreneurial sprit and now he is implementing his knowledge to practical cases in Turkey. His company OPTENG Project Engineering provides structural health monitoring applications including design service to its clients with a dynamic team following up new technologies and methodologies in all engineering cases.
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- Awards
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Congratulations
Stephanie Bolyard
The Air & Waste Management Association has awarded Stephanie Bolyard, second place for her Masters Dissertation.
Her accomplishment will be recognized at the 106th Annual Conference & Exhibition, in Chicago, Illinois.
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Congratulations
Dr. Madani
The ASCE-EWRI Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management has selected Dr. Kaveh Madani to receive the 2013 Best Policy-Oriented Paper Award for "California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Conflict: From Cooperation to Chicken".
He will be presented with this award during the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2013, May 19 - 23, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Planning & Management Council Breakfast & Awards Ceremony.
Congratulations
Dr. HagenDr. Scott Hagen received the Dean’s Research Professorship Award. This award is intended to recognize the efforts of our most research productive faculty and the outstanding value that they bring to their classroom teaching, as well as to the unambiguous value of the research mentorship that they offer to undergraduate and graduate students that are apprentices in their labs. Award recipients will receive an annual allotment of $10,000 that can be used for purposes allowable for PI research overhead funds. The allotment of support will be available to the recipients at the start of the 2013-2014 academic year. -
Congratulations
Dr. DuranceauDr. Duranceau received the American Membrane Technology Association’s (AMTA’s) 2013 Recognition and Service Award at the joint conference of AMTA and the American Water Works Association recently held in San Antonio, Texas. The award was presented in recognition of Dr. Duranceau’s commitment to educate and share his wealth of membrane technology knowledge for the advancement of AMTA’s members, students and event attendees. Dr. Duranceau had served on AMTA’s Board of Directors from 2004 until 2012. -
Congratulations Taylor!
Greetings all: Please join me to congratulate Taylor Lochrane, a Ph. D. candidate in the transportation program in our department, for being selected the Student of the Year Award for the UTC competition. Dr. Al-Deek should be equally congratulated for being an excellent mentor for Taylor.
For the past 21 years, the U. S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has honored an outstanding student from each UTC at a special ceremony held during the TRB Annual Meeting. Each student is recognized during the ceremony by a Departmental official; the Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration made the presentation last year.
CATSS is a member of the Tier 1 UTC group headed by Georgia Tech. Other members are FIU and UAB. Taylor was the winner representing all four universities, a great honor to have.
Dr. Essam Radwan
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Dr. Steven J. Duranceau, was awarded SEDA’s (Southeast Desalting Association) Lifetime Achievement Award
"For his dedication and outstanding service in the development and continued support of the organization"
Awarded June 19, 2012, Bonita Springs, FL -
Stephanie Bolyard received the EREF Doctoral Scholarship. This a nationally competitive scholarship. Congratulation Stephanie! read more
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Two Construction Engineering graduate students were recognized by the Florida Concrete and Products Association (FC&PA). Reza Akhavian (Dr. Behzadan's student) received the second place award and Murat Kucukvar (Dr. Tatari's student) received the third place award of the FC&PA Essay Contest for their essays on the environmental, economic, sustainable, and social benefits that Florida can enjoy when concrete is used. The awards were presented on June 22, 2012 during the FC&PA meeting in Palm Beach, FL.
Dr. Ni-Bin Chang had received the "Fulbright Scholar Award" from the Department of State, USA in 2011 and he will be hosted and honored by the Institute of Bio and Geoscience (IBG) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany in July 2012 to complete the award. -
American Concrete Institute ACI-UCF Student chapter achieved "Excellent University" status for the 2011 year, for University Student Activities. This is the highest possible ranking for our chapter. We are one of 22 universities nationwide in this recognition. Read more...
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American Concrete Institute (ACI) 1st place award Bowling Ball Student Competition. Congratulation ACI-UCF!
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Mr. Ali Noorollahi, P.E., also a graduate of UCF, was recently recognized for his Exemplary Support for Bridge Engineering Education at the University of Central Florida.A certificate of appreciation was presented to Mr Noorollahi by the the Departmentment Chair Dr. Essam Radwan with a mini-ceremony during Dr. Necati Catbas' Bridge Engineering and Health Monitoring class. -
Robert D. Kersten, PE, Founding Dean of the UCF College of Engineering and CECE Faculty Emeritus was recently honored by Union Pan-Americana de Asociaciones de Ingenieria (UPADI) for his work with the organization at the biennial convention in Havana, Cuba. read more 
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Two of our PhD students –
Stephanie Bolyard (Dr. Reinhart’s student) and
Kurt Westerlund (Dr. David Cooper’s student)–have received scholarship awards from the International Air & Waste Management Association!
There were only 9 graduate scholarships awarded by AWMA this year. This reflects great honor not only for the two students but also for our program at UCF!
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The EWRI-ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management has selected Dr. Dingbao Wang & co-authors to receive the 2012 Best Research-Oriented Paper Award for "Value of Probabilistic Weather Forecasts: Assessment by Real-Time Optimization of Irrigation Scheduling" Ximing Cai, Mohamad I. Hejazi, and Dingbao Wang, Vol. 137, No. 5, pp. 391-403, 2011.
The award will be presented during the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2012, May 20 - 24, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
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Dr. Ni-Bin Chang has received the "Bridging the Gaps Award" from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, United Kingdom and he will be hosted and honored by the University of Exeter in England in Mid-May 2012.
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Dr. Ni-Bin Chang was invited to give a presentation entitled "Sensor and Data Fusion for Monitoring Changing Environment and Ecosystems: the Evolutionary Pathway" by the The Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Nicaraguan Geosciences Institute, INETER), Nigaragua in early May 2012. He will also help review the INETER research programs in GIS and remote sensing.
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Dr. Behzadan received the "2012 Distinguished New Faculty Award" During the 23rd International Conference on College Teaching and Learning. The Award pays tribute to new educators who are guiding the millennial students into the future. This award is designed to recognize new faculty by celebrating their current contributions to advancing education, and to encourage their future contributions to the teaching profession.
Dr. Behzadan received the "2012 Outstanding New Teacher Award" from the Southeastern Section of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). This Award recognizes a faculty member who has less than four years of teaching experience and has demonstrated excellence in the classroom.
For the second year in a row, Dr. Behzadan was selected as an Outstanding Reviewer of the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management for his outstanding service to the Journal. He has been serving as the Assistant Specialty Editor in the area of Quantitative Methods and a technical reviewer for the Journal since 2009.
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Drew Rossi, President of ASCE Student Chapter at UCF, was recently recognized for his on-going efforts to establish a “Hot Works” area for welding for the Steel Bridge Team.This process has taken several years, the end result is that Drew has been recognized by the University of Central Florida for his and the ASCE student chapter’s contribution to making advancements in Safety. The “Hot Works” policy that has been developed is being used as a template for other areas of campus that seek to establish such an area.
Congratulations Drew!
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The Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Simulation (CATSS) were awarded a one-year grant.On January 17, 2012, the Research and Innovative Technologies Administration (RITA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the winners of the recent University Transportation Centers (UTC) competition. The Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Simulation (CATSS) at in the College of Engineering and Computer Science joined by Georgia Tech (as the consortium leader), Florida International University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham were awarded a Tier 1 center funded as a one-year grant at a funding level of $3.5 million. This grant is to be expended over a two-year period and it requires a Dollar-for-Dollar match from non-federal sources.
Dr. Scott C. Hagen is PI on a five year, $3M project to study the Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (EESLR-NGOM). Funding is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Center for Sponsored Coastal and Ocean Research. This project involves a large multidisciplinary team including, from CECE, Dr. Dingbao Wang, Prof. Emeritus Gour-Tsyh Yeh, and from UCF Dr. Denise DeLorme (School of Communication), Profs. Linda Walters and John Weishampel (Biology), as well as partners from the University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Carolina, the Northwest Florida Water Management District and Dewberry, Inc.
The project is examining the EESLR-NGOM by using first principle models of physics for hydrodynamics and transport, and laboratory and in situ analyses for better understanding the ecology of local ecosystem engineering species including marsh grasses, oysters, and submerged aquatic vegetation.
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