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CEE NewsNovember 18, 2009
For centuries, the forces of weather and winds have sent more than 500 ships to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina’s coast. Some were also brought down by another terrifying force -- German U-boat torpedoes during the Second World War.
Forty miles off the coast from Morehead City and in more that 120 feet of water lie two particular victims of U-boat attacks that are of interest to environmental chemist and scuba diver ...
September 24, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. -- Your smart phone may soon be able to know not only that you're at the mall, but whether you're in the jewelry store or the shoe store.
Duke University computer engineers have made use of standard cell phone features – accelerometers, cameras and microphones – to turn the unique properties of a particular space into a distinct fingerprint. While standard global positioning systems (GPS) are only accurate to 10 meters (32 feet) and ...
September 14, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. – The same properties of nanoparticles that make them so appealing to manufacturers may also have negative effects on the environment and human health.
However, little is known which particles may be harmful. Part of the problem is determining exactly what a nanoparticle is.
A new analysis by an international team of researchers from the Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT), based at Duke University, argues for a new look at the way ...
August 18, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. – Naturally occurring organic matter in water and sediment appears to play a key role in helping microbes convert tiny particles of mercury in the environment into a form that is dangerous to most living creatures.
This finding is important, say Duke University environmental engineers, because it could change the way mercury in the environment is measured and therefore regulated. This particularly harmful form of the element, known as methylmercury, is a potent toxin ...
July 13, 2009
Durham, NC -- J. Stephen Simon, chair of the Board of Visitors for the Pratt School of Engineering and a former director and senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, July 8, at age 66.
Simon had a distinguished career of more than 40 years with the corporation. During this time he held a series of increasingly senior roles, culminating in his election to the ...
July 8, 2009
Kathy Banks has a tough time come college basketball season. She grew up in Kentucky, did her undergraduate work at the University of Florida and earned graduate degrees in environmental engineering from two schools separated by eight miles and different shades of blue – University of North Carolina (M.S.E.E.) and Duke (Ph.D. ’89).
“It’s always difficult to choose, so I usually root for whoever is the underdog. But I am pretty much guaranteed getting a team ...
July 8, 2009
Natural disasters are devastating events, especially in densely populated areas. What Hurricane Katrina did to the people of New Orleans has been well documented. Laura J. Steinberg (M.S. ‘89, Ph.D. ‘93) would know. She was on the faculty of Tulane University when the storm struck.
Maybe it’s a coincidence that she is also one of the leaders of a new field within civil and environmental engineering known as Natech disaster research. Natech is the combination of ...
July 6, 2009
Just like her mother, Ilinca Stanciulescu (Ph.D. ’05) has always excelled at math and science, and also like her mother, she became a civil engineer. A native of Romania, Stanciulescu earned a B.S. and an M.A.Sc. in civil engineering from the Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest, where her mother also taught.
When it came time to do her advanced studies, she came to the Pratt School of Engineering, where she earned a Ph.D. in ...
July 2, 2009
Omar Ghattas thinks big. And that’s not just because he’s in Texas.
His specialty is modeling the dynamics of the earth—from the propagation of seismic waves through the crust, to the flow of heated rock deep in the mantle, to the dynamics of polar ice sheets. To carry out these mammoth tasks, he needs as much computational power as he can get, which is why he’s in Austin, Texas, home of the world’s largest academic supercomputer.
“My ...
June 24, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. -- Four new members and three new observers will join the Duke University Board of Trustees, the university announced Wednesday.
Martha Monserrate E’81, G’82, of Rye, N.Y., Dr. Paul Farmer T’82, of Cambridge, Mass., Peter J. Kahn L’76 of Bethesda, Md., and Ralph Eads III T’81, of Houston, assume their six-year terms on the governing body July 1.
Monserrate, 49, is a licensed professional engineer and president and founder of the consulting firm Environmental Excellence ...
May 20, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. – Without knowing how much of an industrial chemical is being produced, it is almost impossible for scientists to determine if it poses any threat to the environment or human health.
Civil engineers at Duke University believe they have come up with a novel way of estimating how much of one such material – titanium dioxide – is being generated, laying the groundwork for future studies to assess any possible risks.
This information is especially ...
May 10, 2009
Duke University awarded degrees to 523 undergraduate and graduate engineering students on May 10 in ceremonies beginning with a university-wide commencement celebration in Wallace Wade Stadium and ending with a Pratt School of Engineering ceremony in Duke Chapel.
Pratt Dean Tom Katsouleas Bachelor of Science in Engineering diplomas to 279 students, including 12 who completed their work in December and one last September, before a crowd of parents, relatives and friends in the Chapel.
Pratt also awarded ...
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