Civil Engineering - Research Areas

Construction Engineering

  • Automated construction performance monitoring; Intelligent data collection systems; Greenhouse gas emission reduction in construction; Innovative methods for construction in cold regions.

Environmental Engineering

  • Water and wastewater treatment; Cold regions environmental engineering. (Dr. W. Gao)

Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

  • Electrokinetic ground improvement; Durability of cement-based concrete; Electrokinetic remediation; Hydrogeological and contaminant transport monitoring and analysis; Waste containment barriers; Hazardous waste site characterization; Multiscale and multiphysics processes in porous media and engineering application; Cemented paste backfill technology/mine waste management; Carbon sequestration in saline aquifers; Soil-foundation-structure interaction under dynamic loadings; Fracture initiation and propagation in porous media.  (Dr. E. Mohamedelhassan, Dr. L. Cui)

Rock Engineering

  • Rock mechanics and mining engineering; Tunnelling and underground excavations; Landslides and open pit slopes; Rockburst dynamics; Structural reliability; Dynamic stability of structures (Dr. J. Deng)

Structural Engineering

  • Fire resistance testing of steel, concrete and heavy timber structures; Finite element modelling of structural components subjected to fire; Performance-based design of structures; Building fire and smoke computer modelling; Health monitoring and rehabilitation of civil engineering structures under natural or man-made excitations; Structural dynamics; Vibration and control; Sensors and sensing technology; Earthquake engineering; Experimental studies of steel connections (Dr. A. Elshaer, Dr. S. Salem, Dr. Y. Gong)

Transportation Engineering

  • Design, operational and safety performance evaluation of transportation systems including intersection analysis, capacity analysis, transportation safety studies, transportation software applications and pavement performance (Dr. J. Pernia)

Water Resources Engineering

  • Experimental and numerical investigations on hydraulic structures; Experimental and numerical studies on multiphase flows; Investigations on non-Newtonian and complex fluids; River modelling; Hydrologic systems analysis and investigations; Drought analysis; Drainage and irrigation systems analysis; Flow through porous media analysis (Dr. A. Azimi, Dr. U. Panu)

 

Specialized research laboratories led by faculty members in the Department of Civil Engineering include the Fire Testing and Research Laboratory (Dr. Salem) and the Structural and Wind Engineering Research Laboratory (Dr. Elshaer).

Applicants for the PhD program or the MSc thesis-based program should indicate their research interests and desired supervisor in their application. In order to identify a potential supervisor, applicants are encouraged to contact individual professors regarding their research.

 To learn more, including faculty profiles, please go to the Department of Civil Engineering.