Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Annual Report 2006 2007 June 2007 Dear Colleagues: It is a pleasure to summarize our accomplishments and to publish this annual report for the 2006-07 academic year. WPI can be proud of the teaching and scholarship contributions we have made to the Civil Engineering profession this academic year. This year we developed a new strategic plan, and based on that plan will be bringing in two new tenure track faculty members (Professors Mingjiang Tao & Tiso Paolo). The geo-laboratory will be undergoing renovation this summer to support scholarship activities of Professors Ray and Mallick, to support our two new hires, and to provide a common area for large student group activities.

2 A new MQP-Project activity room has been added to Kaven Hall second floor, fully equipped with computers, a projector system, meeting facilities and new digital cameras. CEE students and faculty members will use this facility for project activities. Enrollment numbers are also up to about the same numbers experienced last year, and expectations are that Civil Engineering enrollments nationally and at WPI will continue to show an upswing. The future for Civil Engineering and of course the CEE Department at WPI is very robust and will continue to grow.

3 Sincerely, Frederick L. Hart, , Professor and Head Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Annual Report for the period July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007 Prepared by Frederick L. Hart June, 2007 100 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609 (508) 831-5530 TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW 1 Accomplishments 1 Looking Ahead 1 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 2 Resume Book Assessment Process 2 Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees 5 Graduate Program Enrollment 5 Student Awards 6 New CEE Web Site Look 7 SCHOLARSHIP 8 Grants Received 8 Publications 9 FACILITIES 12 PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 13 Present Actions 13 Future Plans 14 APPENDIX.

4 I List of Faculty and Staff i II Grant Applications iii III Faculty Publications iv IV MQP Presentations v V CEE Advisory Committee Members xv VI Program Measured Outcomes (PMO) xvi Cover: Senior Banquet May, 2007 WPI CEE Department Annual Report - 2006-07 1 OVERVIEW Accomplishments Noted areas of accomplishments for the CEE Department during the 2006-07 academic year include: The Department awarded 56 BS, and 24 MS degrees. The CEE Department Faculty presented sixteen refereed publications. The CEE Department Faculty received $336,349 in newly funded scholarship activities Two new tenure track faculty will be added to the Department beginning next year The geo-laboratory is undergoing major renovations this summer A new MQP Project-Activities facility has been added to the second floor Looking Ahead Our undergraduate program is maintaining on a steady growth in enrollment, reflecting what appears to be a national trend, and of course, is being received by enthusiasm from our faculty members.

5 Our pavement, structures and Environmental programs are making extensive use of their new laboratory facilities for both research and teaching. The high level of activity seen in the pavement laboratory is becoming more and more apparent. The newly renovated geo-laboratory will greatly expand Professor Ray s impact-testing facility and will also establish a modern geotech laboratory for one of the Department s newly hired tenure-track faculty member. The annual resume booklet of our graduating class is now in it's fourth year and is being well received by employers and students.

6 A number of companies, particularly smaller companies that normally will not visit our campus for interviews, have responded positively to this booklet. One of the biggest challenges for the Department , and of course the Department s new Department Head Professor Tahar El-Korchi, will be to prepare for the upcoming ABET review for 2008. WPI CEE Department Annual Report - 2006-07 2 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS This year the CEE Department in collaboration with the Career Development Center (CDC) produced and distributed a resume booklet of the CEE senior class.

7 About 85 % of the 2007 CEE graduating class chose to submit their resumes for inclusion in the booklet. About seventy Civil Engineering companies received the booklet on its first mailing with additional companies receiving the booklet by request on subsequent mailings. The resume booklet can also be downloaded as a pdf file at: The idea of printing a resume booklet for distribution to local companies was proposed by the CEE Advisory Board. Figure 1 - Senior Resume Book This is the fourth consecutive year the Department has distributed the book and it has received very positive reviews from employers and our students.

8 Assessment Process The CEE Department completed its annual assessment of targeted outcomes vs actual measured outcomes for the entire graduating class of 2007. This assessment process is based on the principle that all faculty members, and therefore the entire Civil Engineering curriculum, are stakeholders to the continual process of assessment and reform. All faculty members complete a workbook for courses and an MQP form for Major Qualifying Projects that identifies measured outcomes associated with the course or project, states how these outcomes are presented and measured, presents the measurement assessment and concludes by suggesting future actions.

9 Course and project outcomes are related to the Department 's Program Measured Outcomes (PMO see Appendix VI) through these forms. Course information is delivered to appropriate faculty members who have been assigned to specific PMOs (Champions) while project information is delivered to the Department 's MQP Review Team. All information and summaries from champions and the project review team is delivered to the Department 's Curriculum Assessment Committee (CAC). Comments and suggested actions are WPI CEE Department Annual Report - 2006-07 3 presented to the faculty (entire Department as well as individuals depending on the material) for appropriate actions.

10 CACC oursesProjectsOutcomesFaculty(adjust)Cha mpionsMQPR eviewTeamWorkbooksMQP FormPMO Figure 2 - CEE Department Outcomes Assessment Process Because all courses have identified measured outcomes and indicate the relative impact of these measured outcomes on the Department 's Program Measured Outcomes, it is possible to quantify how well each student meets each outcome by monitoring his or her transcript. This is done each year for all students and is summarized for each class. A summary of outcomes for the 2007 graduating class is presented below in Figure 3.