News | December 10, 2019
‘Carpentry Compiler’ turns 3D models into instructions on how to build them
Even to an experienced carpenter, it may not be obvious what the best way is to build a structure they’ve designed. A new digital tool, Carpentry Compiler, provides a way forward, converting the shapes of the structure to a step-by-step guide on how to produce them. It could help your next carpentry project get off the…
News | August 5, 2019
‘I’d drink my jacuzzi’: how earthquake scientists prepare for the ‘big one’
Two back-to-back earthquakes, of magnitude 6.4 and 7.1, hit southern California in less than 24 hours last month, and seismologists have warned of an increased chance of more shaking in the near future. We spoke with four earthquake scientists living in high-risk areas to see what the people who think about earthquakes the most plan to do…
News | July 24, 2015
1st International Workshop on Smart Cities & Urban Analytics (UrbanGIS)
Now Taking Submissions! CALL FOR PAPERS: The 1st International Workshop on Smart Cities and Urban Analytics (UrbanGIS) 2015 in conjunction with ACM SIGSPATIAL 2015 Seattle, WA, USA – November 3, 2015 http://engineering.nyu.edu/urbangis2015/ IMPORTANT DATES: Paper Submission: September 1, 2015 (midnight PT) Notification of Acceptance: September 19, 2015 Workshop date: November 3, 2015 Paper Submission Site:…
News | October 18, 2018
4 fresh ideas to ease Seattle’s coming traffic nightmare
Seattle is doomed — at least in terms of its traffic for at least the next three years. Already, morning and evening gridlock seems to start earlier and end later. I-5 through downtown is nearly always jammed up. Overloaded buses wait through multiple light cycles attempting to inch through intersections at rush hour. And it’s…
News | March 31, 2020
A decade of punishment and heavy traffic catches up to the West Seattle Bridge
Most mornings in the last decade, travelers on the West Seattle Bridge could see a menagerie of box trucks delivering food, 25-ton buses aligned nose to tail, flatbeds of steel rebar and hordes of cars, vans and pickups. It turns out, we may have loved the concrete span to death. The Seattle Department of Transportation…
News | July 7, 2020
A/B Streets game lets you create the Seattle street grid of your dreams
It seems like a lifetime ago when we could just leave the house and go places, whether on foot or bike or (if we must) car. And as much as one might long for a return to normal-times, let’s not forget that normalcy also involved such headaches as congestion, traffic sewers, long waits for buses,…
Scholar
Ahmed Abdel-Aziz
Visit scholar websiteNews | February 18, 2020
Air Pollution Crosses Borders
Mount Marcy, the highest peak in New York State’s Adirondack Park, offers breathtaking views to hikers on a clear day. But despite being hundreds of miles from the nearest smokestack, summer air pollution levels here can sometimes be worse than in Times Square in New York City. “Often you’re going to feel lung burn in…
Course | CEWA 557
Air Resources Management
Technical, administrative, and legal aspects of air conservation. Topics include urban and regional scale air quality measurement and modeling systems, receptor modeling based on chemical fingerprinting of sources and current case studies involving engineering analysis, air-quality modeling, and regulatory aspects at local, state, and federal governmental levels.Course | ENVH 461 / CEE 490
Air-Pollution Control
Fundamental concepts of air pollution Control including emission sources, atmospheric dispersion, ambient concentrations, and emission standards, with emphasis on processes and equipment for controlling emissions.Scholar
Alan Borning
Visit scholar websiteCourse | CEE 101
Amazing Infrastructure, its Impacts and the Roles of Civil and Environmental Engineers
This seminar course will cover an overview of world infrastructure and the roles for civil and environmental engineers perform in planning, design and construction.News | September 23, 2019
Americans would rather drive themselves to work than have an autonomous vehicle drive them, study says
Many Americans use a ride-hailing service — like Uber or Lyft — to get to and from work. It provides the privacy of riding in a personal car and the convenience of catching up on emails or social media during traffic jams. In the future, self-driving vehicles could provide the same service, except without a…
Scholar
Amy Kim
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Anat Caspi
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Anne Goodchild
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Anne Vernez-Moudon
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Barb Ivanov
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Batya Friedman
Visit scholar websiteNews | October 26, 2018
BECU and CoMotion partner to create Seattle fintech hub
UW CoMotion has partnered with BECU, Washington’s largest community credit union, to create a fintech hub in the Seattle region, which includes the launch of the BECU FinTech Incubator at CoMotion Labs. Fintech startups, Noonum and Warren, are the first two members. The collaboration combines BECU’s expertise in broad-based financial services, data analysis, and customer experiences with CoMotion’s…
Scholar
Behçet Açikmeşe
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Bill Howe
Visit scholar websiteNews | February 20, 2020
Building Codes for ‘The Really Big One’ in Seattle
Earthquake experts say current building codes don’t reflect the riskiest features of the Seattle area’s geology — but the outlook for survivability looks a lot better if the Really Big One can just hold off for a few more years. The Cascadia subduction zone, centered along a submarine fault just off the West Coast, is…
News | September 17, 2018
Bus battle: Do private shuttles affect the reliability of public transit?
While many Puget Sound residents have to choose between taking public transit or personal vehicles to work, Microsoft and Seattle Children’s Hospital employees have an additional option: private commuter buses. Last year, King County Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation started a pilot program that allowed these shuttles to pick up employees at a few public bus…
News | July 18, 2019
Bus PASS: Testing pedestrian collision avoidance technology
Already, many cars have sensors on board that help drivers avoid collisions. But not many commercial vehicles do. With pedestrian fatalities due to collisions, on the rise, the Federal Transit Administration is working on a “Pedestrian Avoidance Safety System: ‘PASS’ for short. And it picked Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute to give it a test drive….
News | December 4, 2018
Can an app help avoid bike-car collisions on the Burke-Gilman Trail? UW students are testing it
The possibility of a crash occurs every few minutes at the Burke-Gilman Trail: A bicyclist is cruising past alders and maples that conceal traffic. A motorist has just turned toward Lake Washington, and can’t see trail users approaching the road from either side. In the future, a navigation app might warn them both, if an…
News | August 21, 2019
Can Project Sidewalk use crowdsourcing to help Seattleites get around?
Jon Froehlich distinctly remembers the moment when Google first unveiled Street View in 2007. The computer scientist spent hours virtually wandering through distant city streets and immersing himself in parts of the world he had yet to visit in real life. Then Froehlich had a thought: “What else could we use this for?” Within a decade, he’d developed…
Scholar
Cecilia Aragon
Visit scholar websiteNews | August 24, 2018
Certified healthy buildings? Bellevue and UW are working on it
Considering that most people spend one-third of their day at work, UW Civil and Environmental Engineering researchers are advocating for healthier buildings. And they aren’t wasting any time. The first government building in Puget Sound, Bellevue City Hall, recently gained Fitwel Certification thanks to their help. “Since the built environment affects human health, the certification symbolizes the city’s commitment…
Scholar
Charles W Roeder
Visit scholar websiteNews | January 5, 2018
Cities face a surge in online deliveries
By the time veteran UPS driver Thomas “Tommy” Chu leaves work, he will have picked up and delivered hundreds of packages in New York City, making some 16 stops an hour as his company hurries to meet the online shopping rush. But what may be his most impressive feat of the day precedes that scramble:…
News | April 27, 2017
Cities Seek Deliverance From the E-Commerce Boom
With a major increase in residential deliveries, new urban delivery challenges have also arrived. That’s due in part to the failures of urban planning and the nature of the trucking business. While matters of public policy like public transit, bike lanes, and walkability fall within the purview of planning boards and municipal departments of transportation,…
Degree Program
Civil and Environmental Engineering (PhD)
Students in the UW CEE Ph.D. program work closely with distinguished faculty on research and pursue their own innovative projects, preparing them to make a difference in the world. Students who pursue Ph.D. degrees often obtain high-level jobs in industry or go on to work in academia. Students focus their studies on one of the…
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Civil Engineering (BS, MS)
At the University of Washington, civil engineering students are preparing to take on the challenges presented by aging national infrastructure and the pressing needs of both urban and developing communities around the globe. Civil engineers design, build, operate and maintain urban environments to improve people’s lives. From transportation to water quality to earthquake preparedness, resilient…
Visit program websiteNews | March 16, 2020
Climate Debate Over Washington State Decarbonization
On March 11, KUOW’s That’s Debatable highlighted a goal, based on the state’s own policies and recommendations — “Washington State Can Decarbonize in a Decade” — and featured Schwartz, Simonen, and local youth activists Julia Barnett and Sarah Starman. The event was broadcasted live from the KUOW studios at 7 p.m. The event was originally…
Course | CEE 418 (URBDP 429)
Computer-Aided Planning of Urban Systems
Survey of on-line planning applications; use of various on-line systems to solve urban systems design problems; investigation of hardware/software trade-offs; human factors in man-computer systems design theory as it relates to problem-solving activity.News | June 26, 2015
CoSSar presented by Scott Miles
Presented at June 1st Urban@UW Launch Meeting
News | November 21, 2019
Could drone deliveries help the environment? Let’s unpack that
In the era of e-commerce, it takes a single click to order anything you’d like. But it takes a lot of energy to bring it to your door. Items are shipped from factories, shuttled between warehouses and finally trucked to your home. This convenience comes at an environmental cost — transportation accounts for 29% of U.S….
News | October 25, 2018
Could parcel lockers in transit stations reduce traffic congestion in Seattle?
UW researchers want to know if parcel lockers that aren’t owned by a specific company could alleviate traffic congestion in Seattle.Matt Hagen Seattle is one of the most congested cities in America. Delivery trucks take up space on already crowded roads and idle in parking spots and loading bays. And if no one is available…
Scholar
Cynthia Chen
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Daniel Kirschen
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Daniel Schwartz
Visit scholar websiteNews | July 7, 2016
Data Science for Social Good 2016
This summer we are thrilled to be supporting the eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) program. Modeled after similar programs at the University of Chicago and Georgia Tech, with elements from eScience’s own Data Science Incubator, sixteen DSSG Student Fellows have been working with academic researchers, data scientists, and public stakeholder groups on…
Scholar
Dawn Lehman
Visit scholar websiteCourse | CEE 484
Decentralized and On-Site Wastewater Management and Reuse
Design and performance of on-site and decentralized wastewater treatment. Determination of appropriate alternatives based on endpoints of water reuse, economics, policy, management, water quality, and ecological considerations. Meeting sanitation and water reuse for situations including, individual homes, rural areas, developing countries, and high density urban dwellings.News | December 17, 2019
Delivering the goods: Drones and robots are making their way to your door
The reality today is that delivery is a bigger business than ever. With online shopping, it’s estimated the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS will process, sort and deliver more than two billion packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Amazon’s own fleet of delivery trucks is expected to handle 275 million holiday season shipments. And Amazon…
News | May 14, 2019
Delivery bots could make cities more accessible for everyone
Last week, Washington’s governor Jay Inslee signed a bill allowing robots to roll through the state, delivering goods and food orders. Washington joins seven other states that have legalized bot deliveries, and other cities and college campuses have allowed companies to pilot their services. Perhaps new tech could be what spurs more accessible city design, creating more navigable public spaces…
News | October 27, 2017
Developing ‘breakaway’ tsunami resistant buildings
The best designs can also be the most surprising. A promising new concept for tsunami resistant buildings features breakaway walls and floors on lower levels that, when removed by forceful waves, strengthen the structure and better protect occupants seeking safety on higher floors. Thanks to a $1 million National Science Foundation Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing…
News | November 7, 2019
Does Seattle’s dockless system offer a glimpse of the future of bike-sharing?
In downtown Seattle, if you’re trying to find the nearest shared e-bike, you could check an app. But, typically, all you really need to do is look down the sidewalk six feet in front of you. They’re on every street, standing next to light posts, up against railings on bridges and occasionally in the middle…
Scholar
Don Mackenzie
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Dorothy Reed
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Drone vs. truck deliveries: Which creates less carbon pollution?
Delivering packages with drones can reduce carbon dioxide emissions in certain circumstances as compared to truck deliveries, a new study from University of Washington transportation engineers finds. In a paper to be published in an upcoming issue of Transportation Research Part D, researchers found that drones tend to have carbon dioxide emissions advantages over trucks…
News | May 20, 2020
EarthLab announces Innovation Grant recipients for 2020
Research projects funded for 2020 by EarthLab’s Innovation Grants Program will study how vegetation might reduce pollution, help an Alaskan village achieve safety and resilience amid climate change, organize a California river’s restoration with tribal involvement, compare practices in self-managed indigenous immigrant communities and more. EarthLab is a University of Washington-wide institute connecting scholars with community…
News | October 10, 2017
Earthquakes are inevitable but catastrophe is not
Written by University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering professor Marc Eberherd, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering associate professor Jeffery Berman, and Department of Human-Centered Design senior scientist Scott Miles. Many older buildings provide vital, low-cost housing. But we must find a way to make these structures safer. It should not be…
Scholar
Ed Lazowska
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Edward McCormack
Visit scholar websiteNews | May 23, 2019
Employees are pressuring Amazon to become a leader on climate. Here’s how that could work.
Amazon is preparing to do something it’s never done before: disclose its companywide greenhouse gas emissions. Amazon, with its diverse portfolio of energy-hungry businesses, faces a challenge in calculating and reducing emissions. Some recent moves, such as its push toward ever-faster delivery speeds for its core Prime customers, raise questions about its ability to do…
Course | CEE 420
Engineering with Developing Communities
Introduces key technologies, theories, and challenges of infrastructure design for development. Covers technologies for energy, water, sanitation, and disaster response in low-resource contexts. Explores development theory and cross-cultural communication as they pertain to global infrastructure design.Degree Program
Environmental Engineering (BS)
Environmental engineers work to both safeguard and improve the quality of the environment. By utilizing a combination of both scientific and engineering principles, environmental engineers work to protect the world and its people from negative environmental impacts caused by both natural and human activities. The work of environmental engineers is increasingly important, as healthy environments…
Visit program websiteNews | June 17, 2015
eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good Projects Announced
eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good Projects Announced Bringing together data scientists to work on focused, collaborative projects designed to impact public policy. This Summer teams will be looking at: Assessing Community Well-Being Through Open Data and Social Media – providing neighborhood communities with a better understanding of the factors that impact their well-being….
Scholar
Faisal Hossain
Visit scholar websiteNews | June 22, 2020
Fighting climate change means fighting racial injustice
“You can’t let one segment of society become a sacrifice.” Michael Méndez, an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine, was on the phone talking about the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd beneath a white police officer’s knee. But he was also talking about environmental justice and climate change. And he could…
News | September 28, 2018
Glacier melt likely to impact Pacific Northwest water supply
In light of global warming, more glaciers means more melting. And for the Pacific Northwest, which is home to the most glaciers in the contiguous 48 states, that also means increased vulnerability. For the first time, a team of researchers has evaluated the hydrological impact of receding glaciers in the region, which is expected to…
News | October 22, 2019
Global climate action motivates King County Council push for zero-emissions public transit by 2035
Back when King County first began to test electric buses in 2016, officials hoped to build a “zero-emission fleet” by 2040. But recent activism calling for aggressive measures to cut carbon emissions — especially from Indigenous demonstrators and students — has helped push forward proposed legislation that aims to accelerate that transition to 2035. Cities that truly aim for zero-emissions status…
Degree Program
Green Stormwater Infrastructure Design and Management (Cert)
Expand your technical skills with training in green infrastructure practices that improve water quality by using the natural environment, soil and vegetation to reduce pollution caused by untreated stormwater entering our waterways. Study sustainable strategies, such as low impact development and urban retrofits, that reduce stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflow and water demand. Explore the…
Visit program websiteScholar
Greg Miller
Visit scholar websiteCourse | CET 567
Health and Sustainable Transportation
Examines how transportation policy is driven by human health impacts. Highlights water and air impacts on health along with the health benefit of human powered transportation. Presents legal and regulatory issues. Case studies provide examples of application of these principles to real world transportation issues.News | May 17, 2015
High speed battery charging for smart grids.
SCL (Michael Pesin) and UW Electrical Engineering (Daniel Kirtchner). Develop new energy storage technologies that facilitate variable energy output, which more closely mirrors how electricity is used in modern grid scenarios.
News | March 8, 2017
Honoring Women Collaborators at Urban@UW
In honor of International Women’s Day, we are highlighting just some of UW’s brilliant female professors, scholars, and and change-makers with whom Urban@UW is proud to collaborate. Click on their names to explore their work. Leadership: Thaisa Way, Executive Director, Urban@UW; Department of Landscape Architecture Executive Committee: Margaret O’Mara, Department of History Susan P….
News | October 15, 2019
How bike sharing in Seattle rose from the ashes of Pronto’s failure
In October 2014, Seattle launched Pronto, a docked bike-share program. But Pronto had problems shifting into a higher gear, and the city ended the program in 2017, making Seattle one of the few cities in the world to shut down a modern public bike sharing system. Then, four months later, Seattle became the first city…
News | August 29, 2019
How tech keeps Seattle’s transit system running — and why more innovation could be coming
Amid a sea of green rectangles on a computer monitor, one had turned red. A RapidRide bus — the red rectangle — was traveling a bit too rapidly. It was almost 11 a.m. on Friday, August 23 in the King County Metro Transit Control Center (TCC). Coordinators sat in front of large monitors, tracking the…
News | October 22, 2019
How the Urban Freight Lab seeks to fix the last 50 feet of shipping
The very last step of shipping packages in a city — not the end mile but the “final 50 feet” — bedevils delivery drivers. Every day, they face the task of driving and parking safely and legally in urban environments not built for the brick-and-asphalt end journeys of e-commerce. For these workers every hour is rush hour,…
News | November 5, 2019
How Washington’s toll lanes help low income communities
A recent study sought to discover how toll lanes like the ones implemented on Washington’s 405 freeway affect low-income communities. And while those communities are the ones who most often can’t afford the toll lanes, one expert argues that they benefit everyone. “(Drivers) are voluntarily choosing to subsidize the operation and the construction and the maintenance of…
Course | CEE 481
Hydraulic Design for Environmental Engineering
Introduction to the theory and the practice of planning and design of urban water supply distribution, pump stations, and sewage and storm-water collection systems. Evaluation of service areas and service requirements and their relationships to urban and regional planning activities. Engineering methods and computer programs for designing basic system elements.News | March 13, 2017
In the smart cities of the future, posters, signs and clothing may talk back
New research from University of Washington has shown for the first time that ambient FM radio signals can be used as a signal source for wireless communication. The technology, developed by engineers in the Networks & Mobile Systems Lab and Sensor Systems Lab, creates backscatter transmissions that can be decoded on any FM receiver, including…
Course | CEE 404
Infrastructure Construction
Basic concepts of large transportation infrastructure construction projects including planning, scheduling, life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA), construction cost, logistics, productivity and, where applicable, traffic impacts. Term project is designed around a large-scale I-5 pavement reconstruction project involving construction, traffic, and the interaction between the two. Involves presentations on local transportation infrastructure projects.Scholar
Jeff Berman
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Joe P. Mahoney
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John Stanton
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Joseph Wartman
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Joshua Blumenstock
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Joshua Smith
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Julian Marshall
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Julian Marshall
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Julian Yamaura
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Justin Hamacher
Visit scholar websiteNews | July 18, 2019
Lessons from California earthquakes: What Seattle should know about ‘basin effects’
Ridgecrest, California was hit with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on the morning of July 4, followed by a magnitude 7.1 quake in the same area on July 5. Despite being 125 miles from the epicenter, people in Los Angeles felt long-lasting shaking. This is because of something called “basin effects” — and Seattle should take…
Scholar
Lillian J. Ratliff
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Linda Ng Boyle
Visit scholar websiteNews | June 13, 2019
Livable City Year celebrates partnership with City of Bellevue
This year’s Livable City Year partnership with the City of Bellevue mobilized 285 students from a variety of schools and colleges, representing all three UW campuses, to work on 30 projects in the city. The students’ research, findings and recommendations were on display at a celebration at Bellevue City Hall on Monday, June 3. The Bellevue City…
Course | CET 562
Livable Communities and Design
Explores the positives and negatives affecting livability. Covers sprawl and compact cities, energy issues and environmental quality, transit-oriented and traditional neighborhood development, and mixed-use and mixed income developments. Includes context-sensitive solutions to transportation projects.News | December 13, 2019
Mapping jet pollution at Sea-Tac airport
Communities underneath and downwind of jets landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are exposed to a type of ultrafine particle pollution that is distinctly associated with aircraft, according to a new University of Washington study that is the first to identify the unique “signature” of aircraft emissions in Washington state. Researchers at the UW Department of Environmental &…
Scholar
Marc Eberhard
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Mark Hallenbeck
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Mark Haselkorn
Visit scholar websiteNews | May 21, 2020
Measuring traffic performance during COVID-19
It’s not a surprise that traffic, like many things, has been impacted by COVID-19. But by how much? Researchers in UW CEE’s STAR Lab now have an answer to that question after employing a new scoring algorithm they developed to measure fluctuations in traffic. “We felt a strong need and thus started to develop an…
Scholar
Meg Drouhard
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Michael T. Brett
Visit scholar websiteNews | August 1, 2016
Midsummer in Full Swing, A July Recap
While we are in the midst of a beautiful summer, things at the University of Washington and at Urban@UW are moving right along. We’ve seen some original writing, research, and even a podcast come out of community covering topics from marine noise pollution to data science and minimum wage to police reforms. The eScience Institute…
Scholar
Mike Gomez
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Mike Motley
Visit scholar websiteNews | January 31, 2016
Monthly Wrap up January 2016
It’s been a great start to 2016. UW Alumni association and History Department put together a woderful history lecture series: Excavating Seattle’s histories: Peoples, politics, and place check out details and videos here> The CBE also hosted a number of great speakers and events including SUSTAINING JAPAN: 3.11 FIVE YEARS ON lecture and panel discussion…
Degree Program
MS in Civil Engineering: Construction Engineering
Learn to combine the engineering principles and management techniques needed to lead major infrastructure efforts. Prepare for new challenges in the heavy construction industry with a program designed for professionals who have an undergraduate degree in engineering.
Visit program websiteDegree Program
MS in Civil Engineering: Energy Infrastructure
The country’s existing energy systems are transforming at a rapid pace, driven by technological advances and factors such as the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. The new online Master of Science in Civil Engineering: Energy Infrastructure program, offered by the University of Washington, prepares you for the growing opportunities in this field. This engineering…
Visit program websiteNews | February 3, 2017
New route-finding map lets Seattle pedestrians avoid hills, construction, accessibility barriers
Transportation routing services primarily designed for people in cars don’t give pedestrians, parents pushing bulky strollers or people in wheelchairs much information about how to easily navigate a neighborhood using sidewalks. On Wednesday AccessMap – a University of Washington project spearheaded by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology — launched a new online travel planner…
News | October 13, 2016
New Seattle freight lab tackles urban delivery congestion
SEATTLE (AP) — In this city where residents can get practically anything delivered to their doorsteps — often within hours — trucks, bikes, cars and buses regularly jostle for space on Seattle’s streets. The rise in e-commerce and on-demand delivery has put increasing pressure on fast-growing cities like Seattle to rethink how they manage traffic…
News | February 11, 2020
New Study Abroad Program focused on Sustainable Building in Indonesia
It’s possible to learn about sustainable building materials in a classroom setting. But now, it’s also possible to learn about this important topic while immersed in a bamboo “Green Village” in Indonesia, where villas are constructed almost entirely from bamboo. In addition to residing in a Green Village for a week, students in the new Engineering…
News | May 7, 2019
New study finds Seattle is even less prepared for mega quakes than previously thought
Scientists have found that the shaking likely to be generated by a massive earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone is worse than previously thought—and Seattle’s current building codes aren’t equipped to handle it. The study, which was presented at the 2019 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting last month, is based on the work of…
News | July 14, 2016
New Tech Could Restore Some Quiet To Noisy Oceans
Forty feet below the surface of Puget Sound, a marbled murrelet dives for its catch. The water is cold, dark — and incredibly noisy. A ping-ping-ping emanates from the shore over second-long intervals and continues on for the next several hours, sending a series of pressure waves through the ocean. For the endangered bird, these…
News | January 30, 2020
New Technique Finds 64 New Chemicals in Puget Sound
The waters of Puget Sound support many species, including mussels, salmon and killer whales. But researchers know that runoff from land in the urbanized areas might contain chemicals that could harm these creatures, even if it’s not always clear which chemicals are the most harmful. Existing methods track specific chemicals of known concern. Until recently, however,…
News | August 29, 2019
No minorities, no meat? Gig economy deepens cities’ divides
When an Indian customer of online food delivery service Zomato tweeted that he had canceled his order because it had been assigned to a non-Hindu worker, and his request for a Hindu denied, thousands weighed in. Last month’s incident was among a long series of allegations of discrimination related to religion, race, gender or sexual…
News | June 26, 2015
Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing: PNNL & UW presented by Thom Dunning
Presented at June 1st Urban@UW Launch Meeting
News | November 16, 2016
NYC, Chicago mayors join Seattle’s Ed Murray is support of “sanctuary cities” for immigrants
SEATTLE — Democratic mayors of major U.S. cities that have long had cool relationships with federal immigration officials say they’ll do all they can to protect residents from deportation, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s vows to withhold potentially millions of dollars in taxpayer money if they don’t cooperate. New York’s Bill de Blasio, Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel…
News | October 28, 2016
October Recap: Urban Transporation, Health, and Justice
October has seen a lot of research and engagement surrounding urban design, health, and transportation from University of Washington’s urban scholars and practitioners. Here at Urban@UW we’ve kicked off our Livable City Year program, reflected on our first full year of work and collaborations, and are planning for our symposium on Urban Environmental Justice in…
News | September 30, 2019
On the ground in disaster’s wake
From flood-damaged Houston to fire-ravaged Paradise, CA, Nicole Errett’s research takes her into the heart of communities trying to recover after catastrophe strikes. As a disaster researcher and lecturer in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Errett works with communities struck by hurricanes, floods and other disasters to gather data on how disasters…
News | August 21, 2017
One-third of Seattle drivers ‘cruising’ for parking, rides, study finds
More than one-third of drivers in Seattle are either searching for parking or are ridesharing drivers waiting for ride assignments. That’s according to a study by a group of University of Washington students looking at traffic sensor data. The four students involved called this practice of searching for parking or rides “cruising.” The project used…
News | August 10, 2017
Opportunity abounds as Washington builds the modern electricity grid
The Horn Rapids Solar, Storage, and Training Project—which would be the largest solar installation in Washington, and one of a relative few anywhere with a significant amount of energy storage incorporated—embodies a long chain of public and private sector efforts that have positioned the state, and the broader Pacific Northwest, as a leader in the…
News | January 7, 2020
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and UW creating app to make package delivery easier for drivers
The holidays may be over, but that means shipping and returns season has begun. Right now the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is developing a project that could potentially help us send and receive our packages sooner. The $1.5 million project is funded by the D.O.E’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies and…
Scholar
Paolo Calvi
Visit scholar websiteNews | December 10, 2019
Park it, trucks: Here come New York’s cargo bikes
Delivery trucks and vans laden with online packages are putting a stranglehold on New York City streets and filling its air with pollutants. Now a new city program aims to replace some of these delivery vehicles with a transportation mode that is more environmentally friendly and does not commandeer street space: electric cargo bikes. It…
News | June 27, 2017
Partnership with CMMB launches new center on smart, connected communities
China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting – Vision (CMMB) has awarded the University of Washington Department of Electrical Engineering (UW EE) a $1.5 million gift to establish a new research center. The CMMB Vision-UW Center on Satellite Multimedia and Connected Vehicles will focus on the development of the next generation of smart cars and ubiquitous connectivity. “UW…
Course | URBDP 576 / CEE 586
Pedestrian Travel, Land Use, and Urban Form
Seminar concentrating on walking as a mode of transportation in cities and city-regions, including social, cognitive, and perceptual dimensions of pedestrian movement and behavior theory.Scholar
Pedro Arduino
Visit scholar websiteCourse | CET 511
Planning for People and Freight
Introduces transportation planning as a process integrating and balancing the needs of diverse users, including automobile drivers, freight carriers, public and private mobility service providers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Addresses the purpose and goals of the transportation system, the planning process and governance, use of road and curb space, land use - transportation interactions, and tools for analyzing impacts.Course | CET 569
Policy Development, Finance, and Sustainable Transportation
Covers the development and implementation of transportation policies to support sustainable transportation systems. Reviews regulations and finance opportunities at the local, state, and federal level highlighting those that promote sustainable transportation.News | April 25, 2019
Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities
About 3.6 million adults in the United States use a wheelchair to get around, according to census data. But unless you’re one of those people, you might not know how hard it is to get around your city. Now people can help map out accessibility here in Seattle. University of Washington researchers have led the development…
Scholar
Radha Poovendran
Visit scholar websiteNews | February 28, 2018
Reducing failed deliveries, truck parking time could improve downtown Seattle congestion
In Amazon’s hometown, people turn to their computers to order everything from groceries to last-minute birthday presents to the odd toothbrush or medication forgotten from the store. If online shopping continues to grow at its current rate, there may be twice as many trucks delivering packages in Seattle’s city center within five years, a new…
Scholar
Santosh Devasia
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Scott Miles
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Seana Davidson
Visit scholar websiteNews | November 7, 2019
Seattle’s next traffic challenge: Thousands of tunnel drivers will switch to city streets when tolls start Nov. 9
Whether you drive Highway 99 or not, the tunnel tolls starting Nov. 9 will disrupt your travel in downtown Seattle through higher costs, slower trips or more aggravation. That’s because thousands of toll-dodging motorists will crowd city streets, rather than pay for a 2-mile tunnel drive between Sodo and South Lake Union. State officials warn as…
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Seema Clifasefi
Visit scholar websiteNews | May 21, 2016
Seismic Neglect: Buildings and Earthquakes
Seismic Neglect | In the first part of a continuing series, The Seattle Times examined officials’ neglect of the most vulnerable kind of building: old, brick structures called unreinforced masonry. Here are answers to some common questions about those buildings. The Northwest is threatened by earthquakes far more destructive than anything Washington state has experienced…
News | May 28, 2019
Self-driving cars: Heaven or hell?
Self-driving vehicles are expected to significantly change the way people move between cities and suburban neighborhoods in Washington state, but it is yet to be seen whether those will be positive changes for congestion and the environment. Fully-automated vehicles could allow large fleets of company vehicles to whisk people around city centers where space for…
News | January 25, 2018
Shocker: It’s mostly men moving to Seattle for tech jobs
For every four men who moved to Seattle for a tech job in the last decade, only one woman did, too, according to a recent analysis that looked at the trend of tech transplants nationwide.To industry experts and academics, the findings from the careers website Paysa.com came as no surprise. The data is more of…
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Shyam Gollakota
Visit scholar websiteNews | November 25, 2019
Some communities feel the effects of air pollution more than others
Power plants are prolific particulate producers. To generate energy, power plants burn fossil fuels, and the combustion spews gases and fine specks of pollution into the air. Air pollution affects everyone, but experts are now warning that exposure levels can weigh heavier on certain racial and ethnic communities, independent of their income levels. And even…
News | October 16, 2018
Something’s killing coho salmon in Seattle, and car tires are a prime suspect
When autumn rains return to western Washington, so do coho salmon. But in many of the creeks they swim up, something in the water leaves fishes gasping for air. They die quickly, before they manage to spawn. A new study points at chemicals from tiny bits of car tires as a prime suspect in the…
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Stephen J. Burges
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Steve Muench
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Steve Tanimoto
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Steven Kramer
Visit scholar websiteCourse | ENVIR 415 / CEE 495 / ME 415
Sustainability and Design for Environment
Analysis and design of technology systems within the context of the environment, economy, and society. Applies the concepts of resource conservation, pollution prevention, life cycle assessment, and extended product responsibility. Examines the practice, opportunities, and role of engineering, management, and public policy.Course | CEE 429
Sustainability in Building Infrastructure
Provides an overview of how to plan, design, construct, and manage high performance building infrastructures. Topics include integrated project delivery, green building rating systems, green building design codes and energy standards, measurement and verification of building performance, and retrofitting existing building through building energy audit.Course | CET 564
Sustainable Transportation from a Systems Perspective
Covers tools to evaluate and develop sustainable transportation systems. Emphasizes design approaches that support sustainable transportation, methods to evaluate the full life cycle impacts of transportation systems, and tools to assess transportation networks as resilient systems.Degree Program
Sustainable Transportation: Planning and Livable Communities (Cert)
Examine the important issues involved in sustainable transportation planning. Review policies and programs that encourage mixed use development and higher density levels in order to promote modes of transportation other than the single occupancy vehicle. Study the impact different transportation options have on the environment and sustainability. Explore the movement of goods as well as…
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Tadayoshi Kohno
Visit scholar websiteNews | May 14, 2020
The cost of fast and free shipping
Would deliveries dropped off to everyone pollute less than all of us driving to stores? Yes, in principle, but probably not in practice. Anne Goodchild, founding director of the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center at the University of Washington, has found that consolidating deliveries in one area produces fewer climate-harming emissions than the same people driving back…
News | August 22, 2019
The future of the global shipping industry is… bikes
In the rush to get packages to your doorstep faster, delivery companies are experimenting with far-out technologies like drones and robots that can circumvent traffic—and that, most importantly, don’t need a conventional place to park while they deliver. But companies like UPS and the U.K.-based company DPD are considering a low-tech option, too: bikes. DPD is rolling out a pilot program…
News | August 7, 2019
This startup wants to tame the chaos of city street parking
From the summer haze, and the cars and Ubers and bicycles and scooters and cement trucks and delivery vans and city buses that operate within it, emerges a white truck, the words “Belair Foods” and the image of a carrot plastered on its side. As a small crowd watches, the truck pulls into a parking spot….
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Timothy V. Larson
Visit scholar websiteNews | November 21, 2016
To Californians: The Hours You Spend in Traffic May Soon Be Used to Generate Electricity
LOS ANGELES, CA – If you’re a Los Angeles native, resident or even visitor, you will probably cringe at the combination of “LA” and “rush hour.” Sitting in LA traffic is an excruciatingly painful task, and not just because of the hours you spend putting pressure on your lower back. If your brakes aren’t screeching…
News | August 1, 2019
To help the environment, should you shop in-store or online?
Is cyber-shopping terrible for the environment? Some say yes, with all those trucks heading out into suburbia to deliver your latest gadget, fashion garment or book. But online retailers insist theirs is the greener delivery route — much better than you driving to the store. So, who is right? And are there even better ways? This…
News | April 24, 2017
Toward greener construction: UW professor collab sets markers for carbon across life of buildings
A University of Washington-led research group has taken an important step toward measuring — and ultimately reducing — the global carbon footprint of building construction and long-term maintenance. The Carbon Leadership Forum is a collaborative effort among academics and industry professionals based in the UW’s College of Built Environments that studies reducing carbon emissions over…
Course | CEE 589
Transit Systems Planning
Planning, operational methods for urban public transportation. Review of technological, operating characteristics of vehicles and systems; financing, management, institutional aspects. Paratransit. Short-range planning, operational strategies, revenue-fare structures. Service monitoring. Mode choice, transit demand relating to service. Computer-aided methods for planning, design of transit systems.Course | CET 563
Transportation Choices and Technology
Explores the range of sustainable transportation choices for both people and goods. Studies passenger modes of transportation including bicycles, single-occupancy vehicles, care and van pools, shared autos, bus, rail, ferries, trolleys, and foot travel in the context of sustainability.Course | CET 583
Transportation Energy and Sustainability
Addresses technical and policy options for making transportation more sustainable, considering economic, environmental, and equity impacts. Topics include transportation demand management; vehicle technologies; alternative fuels; dynamics of technology change; and roles of state, federal, and international policy. Prepares students to think broadly, analyze systematically, and communicate effectively in this area.Course | CEE 327
Transportation Engineering
Studies vehicular transportation fundamentals including vehicle dynamics, geometric design, pavement design, traffic flow concepts, level of service analysis, intelligent transportation systems, travel demand prediction methods, freight logistics, and management of transportation systems. Includes a review of relevant vehicle operating characteristics.Course | CET 587
Transportation Logistics
Physical and information flows in supply chains. Economic drivers of supply chain choices as well as applications of technology, policy, and infrastructure to improve freight transportation systems. Focus on fundamental supply chain transportation and logistics concepts that can be mathematically demonstrated, and that underpin more complex analyses or tools used.Course | CEE 581
Travel Demand Forecasting
Application of mathematical models to forecast urban travel behavior. Introduces emerging methods, land use models, travel demand models, including trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and network assignment. Discusses validation and ethics.News | June 26, 2015
Urban Data Science @ UW presented by Bill Howe
Presented at June 1st Urban@UW Launch Meeting
News | November 21, 2018
Urban Freight Lab will help UPS evaluate its new e-bike delivery service in Seattle
Seattle is one of the most congested cities in America, in part due to delivery trucks taking up space on crowded streets. One solution could be for companies to make deliveries using bicycles instead. UPS announced today that it will be pilot-testing deliveries with cargo e-bikes in downtown Seattle. This test is expected to last a…
Course | CEE 416
Urban Transportation Planning and Design
Brief review of major issues in urban transportation planning. Planning process discussed and transportation models introduced. Uses a systems framework, including goals and objectives, evaluation, implementation, and monitoring. A design term project, individual or small groups, utilizes material presented on a contemporary problem.News | October 24, 2019
US transit ridership is down: Can San Diego’s speedy commuter rail plan buck the trend?
Elected officials are preparing to ask San Diegans to approve not one but two tax increases to fund billions of dollars in bus and rail investments, including a San Diego Grand Central Station to connect riders to the airport. The ask comes at a time when many cities around the country — from Atlanta to Houston to…
News | October 25, 2016
UW EE Faculty to Tackle Urban Mobility
For urban roadways, traffic-choked streets have become synonymous with the weekday commute. Over the decades, strategic conversations between city officials, engineers and policy makers have sought to lessen congestion and provide increased transportation options. However, as cities continue to develop and populations increase, the results of years of conversation cannot materialize fast enough. On the…
News | June 24, 2015
UW Professor Outlines Key Factors in Puget Sound’s Transportation Future
Mark Hallenbeck, director of the University of Washington’s Washington State Transportation Center and a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has been studying Northwest transit for years. Looking to the future he has identified the following key considerations that will play important roles in shaping the regions transportation: Growth will be inward,…
News | May 26, 2020
UW research team seeks campus input with survey on coronavirus mobility impacts
Three professors are teaming up for a study of the mobility impacts of the coronavirus — and they are inviting UW faculty, staff and students to complete a short online survey to assist the research. The research is being conducted by Anne Vernez Moudon, professor emerita of urban design and planning in the College of Built Environments, with Jeff…
News | June 17, 2015
UW team “Hackcessible” wins Hack The Commute Competition
UW team wins City of Seattle sponsored Hack the Commute with a web-based map that helps those Hackcessible Access Map (in beta) >
News | December 18, 2015
UW/Seattle MetroLab Partnership
Have you been wondering what exactly is going to happen with the Seattle / UW partnership under the MetroLab initiative? The three “named” projects from Seattle will be the Array of Things partnership with Chicago, Private data sharing with the Tech Policy Lab, and a smart grid study of the relationship between temperature and power…
News | April 9, 2020
Watch videos of UW students’ ideas for public toilets, road safety and job matches in India
A UW study abroad program empowers students from all disciplines to apply their skills to real-life problems — such as food insecurity, water scarcity, and a lack of adequate housing and education. At the end of the program the students create videos to share their projects. Participants in the Grand Challenges Impact Lab, directed by UW…
News | June 4, 2020
West Seattle Bridge is a surprise crisis, but plenty of other aging Seattle bridges are also vulnerable
In January, if West Seattle commuters caught in a bottleneck had gazed out the window at their high bridge and wondered about its safety, a look at federal bridge ratings may have calmed their nerves. The bridge was labeled sufficient. In a catchall rating out of 100, it had a respectable 69. By the spring,…
News | May 13, 2020
What cracked the West Seattle Bridge? Hidden design problem may have doomed it all along
The West Seattle Bridge, closed in March because of excessive cracking, might have been doomed since the day it opened in 1984. City officials have listed several factors that could have contributed to the damage, including more and heavier buses and trucks, a seventh lane added years ago, a jammed rubber bearing that thwarts thermal expansion,…
News | May 12, 2020
What do the Airbnb, Lyft, and Uber layoffs mean for Seattle engineering outposts?
Silicon Valley engineering outposts have added an interesting dynamic to Seattle’s burgeoning tech community over the past 15 years. More than 125 of these centers now operate from Bellevue to Belltown, representing thousands of tech workers at companies such as Apple, eBay, HBO, Oracle and Sonos, according to GeekWire data. But in the era of COVID-19…
News | March 23, 2020
What is Causing Late Buses in Seattle?
Under typical conditions, Seattle has some of the most congested traffic in the nation. To prepare for when things return to normal, University of Washington researchers are carrying out a research project to investigate reasons for these delays. While a bus could be late for many reasons, one holdup is that it has to compete…
News | January 6, 2016
What motivates people to walk and bike? It varies by income
Lower- and middle-income King County residents who live in denser neighborhoods — with stores, libraries and other destinations within easy reach — are more likely to walk or bike, according to new University of Washington research. But neighborhood density didn’t motivate higher-income residents to leave their cars at home, the transportation engineers found. Of the…
News | February 21, 2018
What would a truly disabled-accessible city look like?
To David Meere, a visually impaired man from Melbourne, among the various obstacles to life in cities is another that is less frequently discussed: fear. “The fear of not being able to navigate busy, cluttered and visually oriented environments is a major barrier to participation in normal life,” says Meere, 52, “be that going to…
News | November 9, 2018
What would happen in Seattle during a large-magnitude earthquake?
If a large-magnitude earthquake were to hit Seattle, what percentage of buildings would be safe? This listener question was posed to Jeff Berman, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the UW. Continue to listen to the Radio broadcast
News | June 17, 2019
When roads ‘blow up’: How heat could play a role in pavement durability
Seattle hit a record 95 degrees on Wednesday, the hottest June 12 on record and the hottest day of 2019 so far. The record heat is what likely caused a part of 4th Avenue S. to buckle in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood. We’ve seen it before. The rays from the sun heat up pavement hotter than the surrounding air….
News | May 7, 2020
Will coronavirus kill the electric scooter?
The electric scooter is, depending on your point of view, a dangerous blight of the sidewalk or a marvelous new species of transit that is perfect for the zero-emissions future city. So it’s a cause for celebration — or mourning — that the novel coronavirus is dealing the world’s networks of shared scooters a heavy…
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Xu Chen
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Yinhai Wang
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