- VOTERS Participates in Kostas Research Institute Opening Ceremony
May 14, 2012
Northeastern held a formal opening ceremony on Thursday for the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security at the University’s Burlington, Mass., campus.
Read More >>
- VOTERS Participates in CEE Industry Night
November 29, 2011
On November 29, 2011, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the CEE Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) hosted Industry Leadership Night. Over 80 alumni, friends, faculty and students of the department attended. The keynote speaker was Richard A. Davey, Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, who highlighted the new intern program being started at MassDOT. Secretary Davey encouraged students to consider innovative opportunities available with a career in government. The primary host for the event Christine Keville, President, Keville Enterprises and a member of the CEE Industrial Advisory Board. Jerry Hajjar, chair of the department, provided an overview of the department activities, highlighting the focus of the department to have strong ties with industry for a wide range of activities. Special thanks to everyone who attended the event to help make it a success.
Read More >>
- Republicans push drilling plan to pay for roads, bridges
November 17, 2011
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Republicans-push-drilling-plan-to-pay-for-roads-2275124.php
- Upcoming SPIE Smart Structures/NDE
October 8, 2010
A multidisciplinary forum that seeks to advance research in adaptive structures and mechanisms, smart sensors, NDE, civil infrastructure, aerospace systems, energy harvesting, and more.
Read More >>
- Newark Rough Roads Cost Area Drivers
September 22, 2010
Fifty-three percent of urban roads in the New York City / Newark urban area are in poor condition, costing area drivers $640 each year in additional vehicle operating costs. The New York City / Newark urban area ranks seventh among large cities (500,000+) in the percentage of roads in poor condition and ninth in the annual cost to motorists of driving on rough roads.
Read More >>
- TEASe Returns from testing
September 21, 2010
The TEASe team has just returned from a test run at The National Center for Asphalt Technology Pavement Test Track.
The unique test facility provides 46 test sections over 1.7 miles of track, each section consisting of 200 feet of sponsored track. Each section has different properties depending on the research objectives of the sponsoring group. The condition of each section is constantly monitored with strain, pressure, and temperature sensors embedded in the track.
NCAT >>
- We Ignore Our Infrastructure at Our Peril
September 20, 2010
The explosions were horrifying. A quiet residential subdivision south of San Francisco was consumed by a massive fireball in the early evening of September 9. Firefighters who rushed to the scene initially thought that an airplane had crashed into the neighborhood.
No airplanes crashed, but the thought was understandable. By the time the fire was contained, fifteen acres of suburban San Bruno had burned, with thirty-seven homes destroyed. Within one week, six people were confirmed dead and more than four dozen were hospitalized. The damage to people and property was on a scale of an air tragedy.
The cause of the fireball was not an airplane, nor a bomb, but the kind of infrastructure Americans reply upon every day to feed our creature comforts. The fuel for the explosion was natural gas, the gas San Bruno residents relied upon to heat their homes and light their stoves. A pipe built in 1956 to deliver that gas had ruptured, releasing highly flammable fuel into the air. While an investigation into what triggered the fireball is ongoing, residents had complained for years about possible leaks producing odors in the neighborhood.
Read More >>
- Northeastern's School of Architecture speaks up about infrastructure
September 16, 2010
he nation’s aging infrastructure has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, most notably following the collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis in 2007. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has made infrastructure one of its top priorities, with the president most recently calling for a multibillion-dollar investment in roads, rail lines and airports.
But a new book published by Northeastern University’s School of Architecture urges policymakers to keep future infrastructure needs in mind, as well as remediation.
Full Article >>
- Northeastern breaks ground on state-of-the-art facility for security research
September 10, 2010
Northeastern University held a historic groundbreaking at its Burlington campus for the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security, a secure, state-of-the-art facility funded by a $12 million investment from alumnus George J. Kostas, E’43, H’07.
“This is one of the happiest days of my life,” said Kostas. “It is a dream come true.” The Kostas Institute continues to accelerate Northeastern’s momentum as a national leader in security-related research. The 70,000-square-foot facility will give the university the capacity and clearances to conduct secure, interdisciplinary research in areas critical to national security, including cryptography, data security, information assurance, detection of explosives, and energy harvesting. Speaking at the ceremony, President Joseph E. Aoun and David Luzzi, dean of the College of Engineering, described Kostas as a true patriot with a profound love for his country and a strong desire to protect Americans from terrorism. President Aoun lauded Kostas for his bold vision to build a homeland security facility that will strengthen the national defense and serve as a model for other universities to emulate. “We are delighted, excited, and committed to make your vision a reality,” President Aoun told Kostas. U.S. Congressman John Tierney and Lieutenant General Ted F. Bowlds, commander of the Electronics Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, also spoke at the groundbreaking.
Full Article >>
- Congratulations to J. Gregory McDaniel - Metcalf Award Winner!
May 3, 2010
Students who learn from J. Gregory McDaniel come away with an unusually broad sense of the applications of engineering: McDaniel’s research has ranged from automotive brake squeal to the hatching behavior of red-eyed tree frogs, two dissimilar subjects that are united, in his mind, by mechanical vibrations and acoustics. Baiting his line with such diverse lures to reel in students’ attention — being a “student of the student,” he calls it — has brought McDaniel, an associate professor at the College of Engineering at Boston University, this year’s Metcalf Cup and Prize, the University’s highest teaching honor.
Read More >>
- Pedaling bridge safety in the commonwealth
April 8, 2010
Reaching the foot of the Neponset River Bridge on bike each morning, Jasmin Burke thinks, “My nemesis!” before navigating potholes, debris and, worst of all, rush hour traffic that dumps into perhaps the most nefarious rotary in the city.
“It’s the one portion in my ride that’s most difficult and I usually ride on Morrissey Boulevard,” the Quincy resident said of her eight-mile commute to her South Boston office. “And that’s not as bad.”
Read More >>
- Recent Thaw and Rain is Wreaking Havoc on Boston Roads
March 15, 2010
An Article from the Boston Globe detailing how this season has been one of the best for pot holes in the Hub for a long time.
Read More >>
- Renovating American Infrastructure, Step 1: Transportation
January 28, 2010
"Chicago road crews are scrambling to fill 67,000 potholes a month. Communities in Pennsylvania rely on 100-year-old water pipes made of wood. Squirrels still cause widespread blackouts. The country’s 600,000 bridges, four million miles of roads, and 30,000 wastewater plants desperately need attention. The solution isn’t patches, it’s an overhaul. Soon roads and power lines will fix themselves, and we’ll mine energy from sewage. America’s 21st-century tune-up won’t happen overnight, but we could start reaping the benefits (faster broadband! cleaner water!) within the next few years."
Read More >>
- Northeastern Wins Multi-million Dollar Grant
January 19, 2010
"Northeastern University has been awarded a $9 million federal research grant to develop new multi-sensor technology systems for cars and trucks that will allow for real-time assessment of road and bridge infrastructure across the country."
Read More >>
- Northeastern Wins Multi-Million Dollar Grant
December 1, 2009
“This multi-million dollar federal grant is an investment in one of Northeastern’s greatest strengths: the discovery and development of knowledge that benefits society,” said Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun. “We are pleased to take the lead on this important project, which will do a great deal toward improving our nation’s infrastructure and advancing public safety.”
Read More >>
- Northeastern researchers pursue engineering "Grand Challenge"
November 18, 2009
"On August 1, 2008, 13 people were killed when the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour. A year later, a building in Brooklyn, New York, crumbled to the ground as firefighters arrived on the scene in response to a report of falling bricks.
Both incidents were sobering reminders that the nation’s aging infrastructure—bridges, roads, buildings and more—needs closer monitoring and intervention."
Read More >>
- Seeing below the surface to advance safety
November 16, 2009
"Researchers at Northeastern University are developing technologies to protect the United States from a variety of external threats."
Read More >>
- Bridging the safety gap
September 22, 2009
"If you’ve ever idled in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a bridge, wondering just how much weight the structure could withstand, chances are that Northeastern’s Ming Wang could tell you. His monitoring system might even be in place on that very structure."
Read More >>
- Searching for a smoother ride
March 20, 2009
"BOSTON – Potholes had better watch out. Their days of delivering jarring jolts to cars could be shortened if sensor technology being developed under a grant to Northeastern University pans out. The goal is to develop inexpensive sensors that will be attached to common vehicles. A combination of acoustics and radar will monitor conditions below and on the surface of roads. When a problem is detected, global positioning technology will fix the general location of the vehicle."
Read More >>
- VOTERS: Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors
January 19, 2009
"Develop a novel system based on instrument packages that can be installed on a wide variety of private and public vehicles to assess the conditions of bridges and roadways through several different and complimenting methods at regular driving speeds during the course of ordinary use of the vehicles."
Read More >>
- NIST Funds Sensor Research
January 16, 2009
"GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 16, 2009 – The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced nine awards for new research projects to develop advanced sensing technologies.
Development would enable timely and detailed monitoring and inspection of the structural health of bridges, roadways and water systems that comprise a significant component of the nation’s public infrastructure."
Read More >>
- NE University Wins Grant to Develop Infrastructure Sensors
January 14, 2009
"Northeastern University has been awarded a $9 million grant to develop a new multi-sensor Bridge technology system that will allow ordinary vehicles to map the condition of roads and bridges in real-time, the university announced."
- Northeastern lands $9M for road-infrastructure research
January 8, 2009
"Northeastern civil engineering professors Ming Wang and Sara Wadi-Fascetti will co-direct the project. The university will collaborate with others including the Massachusetts Highway Department, Analogic Corp. and researchers at Boston University."
Read More >>
- Kerry, Kennedy Announce Northeastern to Receive More than $1.6 Million for Natl Infrastructure Study
January 7, 2009
"BOSTON - Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy today announced that Northeastern University will receive $1,647,068 over the next five years in federal funding to develop advanced sensing technologies that would enable timely and detailed monitoring and inspection of the structural health of our nation's bridges, roadways and water systems."
Read More >>
