2021 – Center for Intelligent Infrastructure

January 2021

Drs. Liu,Zhang, and Hu Present Research on Transportation

Dr. Xiong Faculty and students in S&T's civil, architectural and environmental engineering department, presented their research at the Transportation Research Board's 100th annual meeting, which was held virtually in January. Research topics included innovative sustainable materials, advanced testing techniques for geo-material characterization, and intelligent transportation engineering. Participating faculty included Dr. Jenny Liu, professor; Dr. Xiong Zhang, professor; and Dr. Xianbiao Hu, assistant professor.

Liu and Zhang's Students Win IACIP Award

Anyou Zhu and Hanli Wu, both Ph.D. students in civil, architectural and environmental engineering, won second place and third place, respectively, during the association’s student poster contest at the 11th annual IACIP workshop held online in January. Zhu’s advisor is Dr. Jenny Liu, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. Wu’s advisors are Liu and Dr. Xiong Zhang, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. Jun Liu won the first place IACIP Outstanding Graduate Student Award for his outstanding academic performance. His advisor is Dr. Jenny Liu.

Dr. ElGawady Aids in Investigation of Improved Bridge Repair After Collisions

Vehicle collisions with bridge supports or girders are the second leading cause of bridge collapse in the United States, with an average of three such collisions per day, according to researchers at Missouri S&T who are studying ways to improve bridge repair and cut costs for cities and states. The research will address the lack of design tools that indicate how much load-bearing strength remains after impact, ElGawady says, adding that once repairs made, there is not much current research on the load-bearing capacity of the repairs. The Missouri S&T research project could reduce those types of repair costs for municipal and state governments and enhance bridge safety by finding more efficient repair methods.

The Center for Intelligent Infrastructure is looking for a year-round Robotics Student Intern

• Are you passionate about looking for a fully paid year around opportunity to change the world and smart city infrastructure with robotics and AI?
• Join us if you have any experiences and or interests in:
Flying UAV and driving robots around campus;
3D design (SolidWorks, Inventor, AutoCAD) and printing
Arduino, Raspberry Pi circuit for motor control;
Programming (Python, C/C++, Matlab );
Robotics and Robot Operating System.
• Email INSPIRE University Transportation Center via Natalie Goeddertz (ngoeddertz@mst.edu) and Dr . Genda Chen (gchen@mst.edu) by March 15.

February 2021

Liu to Present Keynote Speech

Dr. Jenny Liu, professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering, will present a keynote speech for Aerix Industries at 1 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 17. Her talk is titled “The Use of Low-Density Cellular Concrete for Air Convection Embankment to Protect Permafrost Foundations in Cold Regions.” To watch the talk, register on Aerix Industries’ website.

Dr. Shamsi Receives Outstanding Teaching Award

Dr. Pourya Shamsi received the outstanding teaching award from the Missouri S&T campus for 2019-2020. Dr. Shamsi received his B.Sc. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, in 2007, and his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas, TX, in 2012.

Zhang to Serve as ASCE Committee Chair

Dr. Xiong Zhang, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, was nominated to serve as chair of the Geo-Institute Shallow Foundation Committee for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Additionally, Zhang was invited to serve as associate editor of the association’s Journal of Cold Regions Engineering.

Hu Honored as Outstanding Editor

Dr. Xianbiao Hu, assistant professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering, received the Outstanding Associate Editor Award from the International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology. Hu was appointed to be an at-large member of the Transportation Research Board Committee Research Coordinator Leadership Council during the 100th annual meeting in January.

Missouri S&T Earns Second Place Finish In Solar Decathlon

Dr. Heath Pickerill, assistant teaching professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at S&T, advisor to Missouri S&T's Solar House Design Team. Dr. Pickerill helped the team earn a second-place finish in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon Design Challenge. The virtual competition was held in mid-April.

Wu receives NSF award for 2D metals research

Dr. Chenglin “Bob” Wu, has won a $500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for his work in two-dimensional metals – metals that are three atoms thick – for use in computer chips, sensors and coatings. Wu says commercial interest in 2D materials is growing, and the market for the materials is projected to be $6 billion by 2035. He adds that the semiconductor and coating industries are already moving into 2D materials as the cost comes down.

Missouri S&T developing first user-friendly software platform to update dynamic networks

S&T researchers lead by Dr. Sajal Das, are developing a new approach for updating dynamic networks – like those used to track viruses, connect people on social media and coordinate transportation systems – that they say is the first scalable, expandable and user-friendly solution to analyze who is using the network, where they are, and what information and channels they access. Software programs that analyze static networks are available, but researchers say a lack of cyber-infrastructure hampers innovative research in large-scale, complex, dynamic networks.

NSF Honors S&T Early-Career Faculty

From earthquake clues in ancient bedrock to robots to 2D metals, faculty researchers at Missouri S&T are leading their students into fascinating territory – and winning national recognition to boot. Three of our faculty have won CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation this year.

Engineering Management Chair Honored by American Society for Engineering Management

Dr. Suzanna Long, chair and professor of engineering management and systems engineering at Missouri S&T, has received the Bernard R. Sarchet Award from the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) in recognition of her advancement and support of the discipline.

Considered to be the highest award given by ASEM in honor of its founder, the Sarchet Award is given annually to an ASEM member who has contributed the most to the organization locally, nationally or internationally.

S&T Listed in U.S. News National Rankings

Missouri S&T’s civil engineering program is number 21 among the nation’s public doctoral-granting universities and is ranked 31st overall in the category, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, which were released today. Missouri S&T was ranked 88th among public doctoral-granting universities and 179th overall in the category, and S&T’s engineering programs were ranked 35th among publics and 63rd overall.

Visit U.S. News‘ America’s Best Colleges website for more information about the rankings.

October 2021

Dr. Shane Epting Receives the Class of '42 Excellence in Teaching Award

Seven people affiliated with Missouri S&T will be honored for overall excellence and for service to their professions, communities and the world at large during the Miner Alumni Association’s Homecoming celebration this month. Honorees from 2020 will also be recognized during the association’s Legends Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 8, at Hasselmann Alumni House.

Shane Epting of Rolla, Missouri, will receive the Class of ’42 Excellence in Teaching Award. Epting, who is an assistant professor of arts, languages, and philosophy at S&T, is a philosopher of the city, examining the point at which the philosophy of technology intersects with environmental justice, as it concerns transportation, infrastructure and urban futures.

Dr. Epting is a philosopher of the city who researches transportation, infrastructure, and urban futures. He is a founding member and Codirector of the Philosophy of the City Research Group. He is also the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Association. His most recent works include two books, The Morality of Urban Mobility: Technology and Philosophy of the City and Saving Cities: A Taxonomy of Urban Technologies.

Pictured to the left, Hasselmann Alumni House. Photo by Sam O’Keefe, Missouri S&T.

Original Version Posted October 1, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

Computer science professor named distinguished alumnus

Dr. Sajal Das, professor and the Daniel St. Clair Endowed Chair of Computer Science, is a 2021 Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Distinguished Alumnus Awardee. He earned a master’s degree from IISc in 1985.

The award recognizes Das’ research on computing’s societal impact and his pioneering contributions to the fields of mobile and pervasive computing and wireless and sensor networks. IISc, located in Bengaluru, India, will present the award in a virtual ceremony in December.

Pictured to the left, Dr. Sajal Das reviews work by Missouri S&T computer science graduate students on the Cyberinfrastructure for Accelerating Innovation in Network Dynamics (CANDY) project. Photo by Michael Pierce/ Missouri S&T

Original Version Posted October 5, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

ElGawady Named Editor-In-Chief Of Infrastructure Journal

Dr. Mohamed ElGawady, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering and Benavides Faculty Scholar, was appointed the next editor-in-chief for the Journal of Innovative Infrastructure Solutions on Sustainable Structures and Construction Management.

Original Version Posted October 5, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

Building Trust Between Humans and Computer Systems

Technological systems were developed to make tasks easier for people. But our human biases may limit our trust of those systems. Venkata Sriram Siddhardh (Sid) Nadendla, assistant professor of computer science at Missouri S&T, focuses his research on building human-systems partnerships so that humans and computers work as a team. Nadendla is looking at systems use in a few domains, including transportation – the way humans interact with self-driving cars or use Google maps to navigate. He says people sometimes distrust even the driver-assist systems in their cars. Nadendla also investigates systems use in mining to learn how trapped miners might use systems to help themselves escape.

Original Version Posted October 10, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

Shining A Light On Data Transfer

Turning a light on and off doesn’t require much thought – click on, click off. But modulating that light – turning it on and off faster than the human eye can comprehend – and using the modulated light for Wi-Fi data transmission requires a great deal of thought, and it’s the focus on Nan Cen’s visible-light communications research. Cen says there currently isn’t enough spectrum to handle the growth of interconnected devices within the Internet of Things. She adds that more technology is needed to process the higher data rates available with visible light communication, but she believes that devices could be equipped with light sensors in the next 10-20 years. That would be a boon in rural areas where providing broadband access presents particular challenges.

Original Version Posted October 10, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

S&T Contributes To Infrastructure Durability and Lifespan Through National Center

As America’s infrastructure ages and climate change takes a toll on highways, railroads and bridges, Missouri S&T is researching stronger, longer-lasting materials and innovative technologies as a member of the only national university transportation center focused on improving the durability and extending the lifespan of infrastructure.

Missouri S&T researchers working in the UTC include Liu, Zhang, and Hu, along with Dr. Genda Chen, the Robert W. Abbett Distinguished Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering; and Dr. Xinhua Liang, the Linda and Bipin Doshi Associate Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Missouri S&T.

Original Version Posted October 15, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

Dr. Hongyan Ma Promoted to Associate Professor

Twenty-three faculty members at Missouri University of Science and Technology received promotions and/or tenure effective Sept. 1. Among them, Dr. Hongyan Ma has been promoted to associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering and granted tenure.

Original Version Posted October 21, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

A Good Year For ECE

Electrical and computing engineering (ECE) students and faculty have a long list of accomplishments for 2021. Here’s a selection of good news. Missouri S&T researchers received multiple awards at the 2021 Joint IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Signal and Power Integrity and EMC Europe conference.

Original Version Posted October 26, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

November 2021

Dr. Xiong Zhang Discusses Construction Quality Assurance During Webinar

Dr. Xiong Zhang, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, served as a panelist for a webinar hosted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) on Sept. 30. The webinar was titled “Ensuring Construction Quality Assurance with Light-Weight Deflectometers.”

Zhang was joined by panelists Charles Schwartz from the University of Maryland; Nayyar Siddiki from Indiana Department of Transporation; and Andrew Dawson from University of Nottingham.

Original Version Posted November 2, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

December 2021

CII Faculty Honored For Excellence At Awards Banquet

Missouri University of Science and Technology celebrated faculty excellence at an awards banquet Dec. 9 on campus. CII member honorees include: Dr. Chenglin Wu, Dr. Steven Corns, and Dr. Grace Yan.

Original Version Posted December 15, 2021 - Missouri S&T News and Events

Researchers Affiliated With Missouri S&T Among Top 2% In Their Fields For Career Impact

Sixty-six current and former faculty of Missouri S&T are among the top researchers in their field as measured by their career research records, and 15 other current or former Missouri S&T researchers were among the best in their fields in 2020, according to a recent analysis by Stanford University. CII members included in the analysis are Dr. Genda Chen, Dr. Mohamed A. ElGawady, Dr. Hongyan Ma, Dr. Sajal K. Das, Dr. Sanjay Madria, and Dr. Pourya Shamsi.