CEAE Department News Highlights—Alumni Newsletter — June 2026
Letter from the Department Chair
Research Advances from CEAE
Zhi Li develops AI tool for building-level flood prediction
By combining AI with weather and terrain data, Assistant Professor Zhi Li’s research can predict flooding with unprecedented speed and precision, enabling more personalized warnings.
Seaweed-based ingredient can help turn dirt into 3D-printed walls
New research led by CEAE Professor Wil Srubar found that a biopolymer commonly used in ice cream can improve the 3D printing of earthen materials. The approach could help transform excavated soil and construction waste into lower-carbon building materials while reducing landfill waste.
Modeling the Colorado River’s uncertain future
Research Professor Edith Zagona leads the development of RiverWare, a widely used modeling platform that helps simulate how water moves through the basin.
Light without electricity? Glowing algae could make it possible
CU Boulder researchers, including CEAE Professor Wil Srubar, have developed 3D-printable materials embedded with living bioluminescent algae that can produce sustained light.
Faculty News
Meet Assistant Professor Eduardo Montalto
Eduardo Montalto researches affordable, sustainable seismic protection systems designed to reduce how much earthquake shaking reaches a building and minimize structural damage. He also develops advanced computer models to better understand how buildings perform under extreme conditions, particularly when constructed with unconventional materials.
Professor featured in Colorado Environmental Film Festival documentary
“Women of Carbon,” featuring Associate Professor Mija Hubler, opened the Colorado Environmental Film Festival in Golden in February. The documentary highlights women reshaping construction through sustainable innovation and decarbonization.
Professor receives Fulbright award to study combined natural hazards in Chile
Shideh Dashti, a professor of geotechnical engineering and geomechanics, has received a Fulbright award to study the combined impacts of seismic and rainfall-related geohazards at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). The project seeks to advance infrastructure design and engineering education by shifting the focus from single-hazard approaches to addressing the compound effects these hazards pose to critical infrastructure.
Distinguished Professor Karl Linden recognized as exceptional mentor
Distinguished Professor Karl Linden is one of 22 faculty being recognized with this year’s Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Award. The Exceptional Graduate Faculty Mentor Award recognizes the work that faculty mentors do to improve the graduate student experience.
Student News
Civil engineering PhD student earns National Science Foundation Fellowship
Marguerite Lorenzo is researching how low-impact residential development affects water quantity and quality in the West Stroh Gulch watershed in Parker, Colorado. The findings will help clarify how urbanization is impacting hydrology in the greater Denver area.
PhD student studying how urban wildfires impact the water supply
Environmental Engineering graduate student Mackenzie Bowden earned second place at the CU Boulder campus “Three Minute Thesis Competition” discussing her dissertation on water hazards in the aftermath of wildfires. She recently defended her PhD thesis advancing knowledge at the intersection of water quality and wildfire at the Urban-Wildland interface.
Honoring our 2026 college undergraduate awardees!
Three undergraduate civil engineering and one undergraduate architectural engineering student won awards from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at our spring graduation.
Engineering students compete in national hospital design competition
Four CU Boulder architectural engineering students participated in a national healthcare design competition typically geared toward graduate students, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to design a cancer center for Houston’s underserved Third Ward community. The experience challenged students to think beyond technical engineering and consider patient comfort, community needs and healthcare access in the design process.