In her new book, Kathryn Rogers Merlino, University of Washington associate professor of architecture, argues for the environmental benefit of reusing buildings rather than tearing them down and building anew.
As small Iowa towns continue to lose population, a strong social infrastructure – rather than economic or physical factors – determines whether residents report greater quality of life, according to new research out of Iowa State University.
Psychology Professor Wally Boot, an expert on cognition and perception, led a research project that examined "smarter" highway signs and identified the most effective ones to prevent wrong-way driving crashes. His research recommendations are now being used by the Florida Department of Transportation in the construction of new highway interchanges in the state and will guide future design, too.
Columbia Engineers show for the first time that runoff extremes have dramatically increased in response to climate and human-induced changes. Their findings demonstrate a large increase in precipitation and runoff extremes driven by human activity and climate change.
The Urban Adaptation Assessment is an open-source, free measurement and analysis tool that explores a city’s ability to adapt and readiness for adaptation to climate change.
Stony Brook University researchers are trying to determine key links between economic development, technology, politics and human decision making in the context of climate change. Their research published in two peer-reviewed journals helps shed light on the complex topic.
Improving shale energy productivity and reducing the environmental footprint of the natural gas industry are the goals of a West Virginia University partnership at a second Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Lab to be located in western Monongalia County.
Residents and property owners are more likely to adopt some green stormwater infrastructure practices if they have experienced flooding or erosion on their property or in their neighborhoods, according to new research from the University of Vermont. With the number of extreme weather events rising, more people may seek ecologically friendly practices to manage stormwater.
Ivory Innovations has announced the new $200,000 Ivory Prize in Housing Affordability, an award that will honor innovations in design, financing and policy that seek to increase access in housing affordability.
Researchers at New York Institute of Technology, as part of a multinational consortium to enhance sustainability of the food/energy/water nexus in urban environments, have received a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop a 3-D data modeling tool known as IN-SOURCE.
Article describes PPPL research to help General Electric design a high-voltage power switch for converting DC current to AC current over long-distance power transmission lines.
A group of researchers led by Sanya Carley of Indiana University closely examined the history and evolution of state renewable portfolio standards and interviewed more than 40 experts about renewable portfolio standards implementation. The researchers' findings are newly published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Energy, in an article titled “Empirical evaluation of the stringency and design of renewable portfolio standards.”
Although the popularity of solar energy has surged, the unpredictability of a weather-dependent technology has kept even more people from embracing it. A new project hopes to change that by improving our ability to forecast sunshine and backup power needs.
Thousands of miles of buried fiber optic cable in densely populated coastal regions of the United States may soon be inundated by rising seas, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Oregon.
The U.S. electric system is adapting to a new wave of distributed energy resources, such as solar panels and energy storage. Some of these work together in localized networks known as microgrids — nearly 2,000 are now operating or planned across the country, according to one estimate. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory study the impact of microgrids and analyze ways to assimilate them smoothly within the larger electric system.
Research by Jeff Schwartz, a professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, has laid the foundation for legislation designed to promote the formation of venture exchanges as a way to rejuvenate struggling markets. The U.S. House of Representatives will discuss the Main Street Growth Act this week.
Improving the durability and extending the life of transportation infrastructure will be the primary focus of a multi-university transportation research program led by Penn State, as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) 2017 Region 3 University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program.
Kostas Papakonstantinou, assistant professor of civil engineering at Penn State, will advance innovation in optimal structural engineering decision-making, thanks to a respected National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career (CAREER) award.
Four NASA spacecraft have observed magnetic reconnection in a turbulent region of the Earth's outer atmosphere known as the magnetosheath, the planet's first line of defense against the intensity of solar wind. The new insights could help us understand how such phenomena affect Earth's atmosphere.
Vikram Prakash of the University of Washington College of Built Environments says his weekly "ArchitectureTalk" podcast got its start, as many things do, from a student's idea.
Northern California's next big earthquake could kill 800 people and cause more than $100 billion in economic losses. One in four buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area could be unsafe to re-enter after a major earthquake or would be otherwise limited in their usability.
In testimony delivered today (April 18) to the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Hota GangaRao, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University, discussed the importance of investing in advanced materials to continue to lead the world in composite research, development and implementation.
Many highways and railways are built near natural or manmade slopes or on top of soil conditions, which during an earthquake or rain-induced landslide, could cause major damage to roads and tracks.
A “cognitive” ground-penetrating radar system could radically change the construction inspection process in cities, saving big money in the process.
Using augmented reality goggles, a construction or utility worker will be able to peer six to 12 feet down on a dig site to see the welter of obstructions underneath – water, sewer and gas pipes, electric lines and electric generators – some dating to the 19th century, radically speeding the permitting process, which can 18 month or more now.
Notre Dame Law Professor Judith Fox, who directs the law school’s Economic Justice Clinic, says while much has been accomplished, the battle is not yet won and the issues minorities face today are simply less obvious.
DHS S&T completed in September 2017, a four-year Underground Transport Restoration project in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that studied and performed exercises to see how disease-causing microbes spread through subway systems; how they can be sampled and cleaned; and how long it takes to be cleaned.
In the face of more frequent and deadly events, University of Georgia disaster management expert Curt Harris argues that more regular citizens need to be prepared to help others in the event of a disaster.
The North Carolina economy continues to grow, and legislators will soon consider whether infrastructure spending is around the corner, UNC Charlotte professor and economist John Connaughton says.
More than 66,000 football fans poured into U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this past February and were able to enjoy the nation's 52nd Super Bowl in a safe and secure setting thanks to a few DHS S&T programs, which enhanced the overall security efforts were fielded before and during the big game.
Rutgers’ Xiang Liu heads the only academic rail engineering and safety program in the entire region – one of less than a dozen nationwide – at Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s School of Engineering.
ISU personnel have designed a virtual reality simulation of the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge, currently under construction between Davenport and Moline. The simulation allows users to find out what it will be like to drive across the completed bridge, scheduled to be finished in 2021.