Workshop on Frontier Research Directions in Civil and Environmental Engineering; held April 2007, Washington, DC

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

Civil and environmental engineers provide for the most basic societal infrastructure needs within built and natural environments. Over the past forty years they have produced tremendous advances in infrastructure, transportation, water resources, environmental quality, and protection from natural hazards in the United States and most of the developed world. Despite these breakthroughs, civil and environmental engineers are challenged with a new array of societal needs, including the renewal an aging infrastructure, meeting infrastructure needs of rapidly developing countries, satisfying societal demands for security and safety, and addressing large-scale environmental concerns and sustainability for a world population of 10 billion by 2050. All these challenges are complex and in need of innovation to master energy resources, address global climate change, manage increasingly complex infrastructure systems, and protect communities from natural and human threats. All of these factors indicate that there is a need for setting a national agenda for engineering innovation. This is now an opportune time to convene a workshop to define frontier research directions in civil and environmental engineering. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual challenges facing civil and environmental engineers require guidance fostered through interdisciplinary teams of world-class researchers focused on societal needs. The workshop represents an important first step for the civil and environmental engineering research community to build consensus, communicate priorities, and develop guidance regarding the needs and priorities of various research programs. The results of this workshop will not only help to coalesce the priorities for a national research agenda in this field but it also has the potential for initiating and defining innovative research activities in the future. Broader Impacts: The outcomes of this workshop will begin the process of framing future research areas within Civil and Environmental Engineering programs nationally. A goal of the workshop will be to build a forward looking research portfolio addressing societal needs that will assist in attracting a diverse population into the field of CEE as it expands beyond its current disciplinary boundaries. It will identify areas where discovery and instruction are needed, and will provide guidance for research investment for years to come. Further impact will occur over longer-periods as: 1) graduates in Civil and Environmental Engineering enter the work force with the expertise needed to address future challenges, and 2) academic departments respond through faculty hiring to be aligned with the research priorities that will be developed through the process that this workshop initiates. The broader outcomes of this workshop will also be measured through influence on societal infrastructure, within the United States and globally, that will occur as a result of new research directions within the built and natural environment. Lastly, the information gleaned from this workshop will be disseminated to civil and environmental engineering research universities and centers and professional organizations, such as ASCE, in order to reach a large cross-section of civil and environmental engineers.