Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering

Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering Top-ranked Rice University educates the civil and environmental engineering leaders of tomorrow and contribute to solving societal challenges.

Welcome to Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Rice University. CEE at Rice is about building bridges—both figuratively and literally. Our researchers are building bridges into the future with their efforts to contribute to solutions of challenges of global, national, and local importance. We provide a rigorous, coherent curriculum that gives students a strong understanding of biological, chemical, physical, economic, and social systems that affect engineering research and practice.

Rice University hosted global water leaders last week to discuss technologies for a resilient future — as the Internatio...
06/09/2026

Rice University hosted global water leaders last week to discuss technologies for a resilient future — as the International Water Association's flagship conference brought 270+ researchers and industry experts from 27 countries to Houston.

The 20th International Water Association Leading Edge Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies, held June 1–5 at Rice, brought together researchers and industry experts from 27 countries in Houston, with sessions covering PFAS destruction, membrane desalination, AI, and water reuse.

Read the full story: https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-hosts-global-water-leaders-discuss-technologies-resilient-future

Last week, Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering professors Pedro Alvarez and Menachem Elimelech were name...
06/05/2026

Last week, Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering professors Pedro Alvarez and Menachem Elimelech were named honorary members of the Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES) during the organization's annual conference, held on the Rice campus.

Alvarez and Elimelech were recognized for their sustained research contributions, high-impact collaborations and exceptional mentorship of students and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom have gone on to become active CAPEES members.

Congratulations to both professors on this well-deserved recognition.https://cee.rice.edu/news/rice-civil-and-environmental-engineering-faculty-honored-capees-2026-conference

Congratulations, Kai Gong, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, on receiving th...
06/05/2026

Congratulations, Kai Gong, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, on receiving the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The five-year grant will support Gong's research to develop an AI-powered approach for designing concrete mixtures, helping engineers build more durable, affordable and sustainable infrastructure. By combining materials science with AI, his work aims to move concrete design away from slow trial-and-error toward a faster, more precise process.

Learn more: https://engineering.rice.edu/news/gong-receives-national-science-foundations-career-award

We're proud to share that James Doss-Gollin, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has received th...
05/12/2026

We're proud to share that James Doss-Gollin, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, one of the National Science Foundation's most prestigious honors for early-career faculty.

The five-year grant will fund his research using physics-informed machine learning to simulate realistic storm scenarios and help cities better manage flood risk. Working with Harris County Flood Control District,the City of Houston and Rice's SSPEED Center, Doss-Gollin is developing tools that account for the true complexity of flooding events, from localized stormwater issues to catastrophic hurricane flooding like Hurricane Harvey.

Read more: https://cee.rice.edu/news/doss-gollin-receives-national-science-foundations-career-award

A new piece published in Science Rice University's Menachem Elimelech raises urgent concerns about the vulnerability of ...
05/11/2026

A new piece published in Science Rice University's Menachem Elimelech raises urgent concerns about the vulnerability of desalination infrastructure across the Middle East, warning that geopolitical instability and environmental threats could quickly disrupt water supplies for millions.

Elimelech argues that the region's dependence on large, centralized desalination plants has created a critical point of failure. Even short-term disruptions could leave millions without drinking water within days. He calls for a shift toward smaller distributed systems powered by renewable energy, expanded wastewater reuse and regional cooperation to share water resources during emergencies.

Read more: https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-expert-warns-growing-risks-middle-east-water-supply

Professor Philip Bedient and Rice's SSPEED Center (Severe Storm Prediction Education & Evacuation from Disasters) are wo...
05/07/2026

Professor Philip Bedient and Rice's SSPEED Center (Severe Storm Prediction Education & Evacuation from Disasters) are working alongside The University of Texas at Arlington's Water Engineering Research Center to design a flood warning system for the Texas Hill Country, one that could give communities the lead time they need to act before waters rise.

Bedient is collaborating with Rice alumnus and WERC director Nick Fang to develop FEWS, the Hill Country Flood Early Warning System. The system is designed to give emergency managers a clear picture of where flooding is headed before it arrives, matching live radar rainfall data against a precomputed library of flood scenarios to deliver color-coded inundation maps with one to two hours of advance warning.

Read more in Rice Magazine: https://magazine.rice.edu/spring-2026/after-storm
📷 Jared Jones/Rice University | Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Join us for the CEE Specialty Seminar Series featuring Dr. Alexandros A. Taflanidis, Professor in the Department of Civi...
05/06/2026

Join us for the CEE Specialty Seminar Series featuring Dr. Alexandros A. Taflanidis, Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, presenting "Machine learning applications to storm-surge risk estimation supporting planning and emergency response management decisions."

Dr. Taflanidis will examine how machine learning advances address computational challenges in high-fidelity storm surge modeling. The seminar will cover the integration of surrogate modeling techniques using databases of high-fidelity synthetic storms, graph neural networks and multi-fidelity approaches to support regional flood studies and real-time emergency response management, and how these developments can gain acceptance among planners and emergency response managers.

📅 Friday, May 22, 2026
⏰ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
📍 Ryon Engineering Building, Room 201, Rice University
Pizza will be served. Please RSVP to assist us with catering coordination.
https://events.rice.edu/event/428804-cee-specialty-seminar-dr-alexandros-taflanidis

👏 We are thrilled to announce that Professor Satish Nagarajaiah has been named the recipient of the 2025 George W. Housn...
04/29/2026

👏 We are thrilled to announce that Professor Satish Nagarajaiah has been named the recipient of the 2025 George W. Housner Structural Monitoring & Control Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Engineering Mechanics Institute!

This prestigious medal recognizes his outstanding contributions to structural control and health monitoring, including innovations in seismic isolation and adaptive damping systems now implemented in critical buildings, high-rises and bridges across the country.

A true example of Rice Engineering and Computing's commitment to solving for the greater good.https://engineering.rice.edu/news/satish-nagarajaiah-selected-recipient-2025-george-w-housner-structural-monitoring-control-0

The American Society of Civil Engineers has recognized Rice Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty with its highest...
04/28/2026

The American Society of Civil Engineers has recognized Rice Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty with its highest membership distinction and two of its most competitive research prizes, reflecting the excellence and impact our department continues to build.

🔹 Pedro Alvarez, George Brown Professor and director of the Rice WaTER Institute, has been named an ASCE Distinguished Member for more than three decades of work in water quality engineering and environmental remediation.

🔹 Jamie Padgett, Stanley C. Moore Professor and CEE chair, will receive the 2026 Alfredo Ang Award for her research on infrastructure resilience under natural hazards.

🔹 Lauren Stadler, associate professor, will receive the 2026 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the highest mid-career research award in civil engineering, for establishing wastewater surveillance as an early-warning system for infectious diseases.

Congratulations, Pedro, Jamie and Lauren — a proud moment for Rice Engineering and Computing and the future of civil and environmental engineering!

https://cee.rice.edu/news/rice-civil-and-environmental-engineering-faculty-earn-top-honors-american-society-civil

Address

6100 Main Street
West University Place, TX
77005

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering:

Shortcuts

Share

Category