The A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland serves as the catalyst for high-quality research, innovation, and learning, preparing our students to create innovations that will address the 21st century Grand Challenges (e.g., energy, environment, security, and human health) and improve the human condition. The Clark School is dedicated to leading and transforming the engineeringdiscipline and profession, to accelerating entrepreneurship, and to transforming research and learning activities into new innovations that benefit millions.
The department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (
www.cee.umd.edu) as a part of the James A. Clark School of Engineering hosts vibrant education and research programs. To address our charge of tackling the grand challenges of our time, Civil and Environmental Engineering has undergone a dramatic reorganization that effectively eliminates academic silos and rather focuses on three broad interdisciplinary pursuits — transportation and mobility, environment and health, and infrastructure. Each has a strong and direct connection to University of Maryland’s grand challenges and facilitates scholarship that supports a better understanding of society’s relationship with the natural and built environment. The undergrad curriculum has been rebuilt from the ground up to expand inclusivity and ensure civil and environmental engineers graduate with the critical thinking skills to address 21st-century problems. The department of Civil and Environmental Engineering hosts a series of centers including Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (
CATT), Maryland Transportation Institute (
MTI), Center for Disaster Resilience (
CDR), and Digital and Cyber Railway Engineering and Operations Center (
DCREOC). The State of Maryland and the University System of Maryland has shown continued support for our mission and the protection of academic freedom.
The dynamism occurring in the department, the college, and the university is immense. Our university president, Darryll Pines, just closed a $1.5B capital campaign focused on transforming the student experience and supporting scholarship on the grand challenges of our time – climate change, poverty reduction, disease, and racial injustice. Our College of Engineering dean, Samuel Graham, was hired on the vision of removing academic silos and rewarding faculty based on their impact on students and society. A recent $220 million donation by a department alum to the College of Engineering will lead to a world-class research facility and office space (Zupnik Hall) for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by 2026, along with numerous faculty hires in the coming years.
