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The Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental
Engineering encourages active collaboration and cross-disciplinary activities
and has a strong commitment to innovative research. The department supports close
partnerships with industry and government in an effort to conduct research at
the cutting edge of science and technology. Research sponsored and funded by organizations
such as the National Science Foundation, the US Environmental Protection Agency,
and the North Carolina Department of Transportation is focused primarily in serving
public needs and enhancing the ability of industry and government to respond to
those needs.
Departmental research and educational activities are strengthened
through its centers and laboratories. The Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures,
Equipment and Piping performs research on innovative solutions to problems in
nuclear power plants and transfers this technology to the industry. The Constructed
Facilities Laboratory (CFL) is located on the University's Centennial Campus and
is part of the Larry K. Monteith Engineering Research Center at NC State University.
The research and development programs of the CFL support the mission of the Centennial
Campus of creating industry, government, and university partnerships. The CFL
is a sophisticated structure with specially designed reaction floors and walls
to support three-dimensional loading. A $2.9 million Academic Research Infrastructure
grant, co-funded by the National Science Foundation and NC State University, provided
extensive state-of-the-art research equipment for constructed infrastructure research.
Also on the Centennial Campus is the Institute for Transportation Research and
Education (ITRE) which is conducting research, education, and technical assistance
projects related to surface transportation issues. ITRE, which is administered
at the university level, carries out numerous activities in collaboration with
our faculty and graduate students. It is also the administrative home of the Center
for Transportation and the Environment, which also involves our faculty and students.
The following projects are examples of some of the exciting research taking
place in the Department. They are also illustrative of our efforts to create solutions
through innovation and multidisciplinary research contributions covering a broad
spectrum of basic and applied research. The faculty in Civil, Construction, and
Environmental Engineering, their students, and colleagues continue to identify
new research opportunities in an effort to find solutions to the problems currently
faced by the profession and to predict issues that will challenge the profession
in the future.
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