SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for April
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Astani CEE Seminar
Fri, Apr 05, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Karl Ropkins, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) University of Leeds, Leeds,
Talk Title: source Apportionment: Making the Most of Environmental Time - Series
Abstract: Source apportionment techniques, most notably receptor modeling and related data visualization methods, provide an often unique description of the relative contributions of different pollutant sources. At the most fundamental level they answer the question of ââ¬ËWhat emission impacts are we having on our environment?ââ¬â¢ However, in some of the most sensitive areas, e.g. in sites near large facilities such as metal works, airports and ports, and at busy roadsides where emissions are not always easily managed, they have the potential to be one of the most effective feedbacks for informing, evaluating and shaping mitigation programs.
Here, examples are presented from both previously published studies and on-going work that demonstrate the use of source apportionment as an integrated component of air quality management activities. These include:
• The use of data visualization techniques to enhance preliminary source characterization work.
• The integration of different data sources (e.g. multiple site air quality data and single site air quality and meteorological data) to provide better resolved source descriptions.
• The application of single time-series (peak) and multiple time-series (feature) isolation methods for the quantification of individual pollution events.
• The use of receptor modeling information as an input for pollution event prediction systems, providing early warnings for bad pollution days.
Host: Prof. Ronald Henry
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Weixuan Li and Farrokh Jazizadeh, Ph.D. Students
Talk Title: Uncertainty Quantification and Model Calibration for Flow in Porous Media; User Centric Non Intrusive Load Monitoring in Residential Buildings
Abstract:
Second Part: by Farrokh Jazizadeh
Title: User Centric Non Intrusive Load Monitoring in Residential Buildings
Pizza is served after the seminar in KAP 209.
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE. Dept Seminar
Thu, Apr 18, 2013 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Sarah C. Taylor-Lange , The University of Texas at Austin
Talk Title: Advancements in concrete materials sustainability: Supplementary cementitious material development and pollutant interaction
Abstract: Concrete, on a volume basis, is the most widely used, man-made material in the world. Cement is an essential component of concrete and is responsible for over 5% of the global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This seminar focuses on the development and use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for enhancing the sustainability of concrete, taking into consideration the reduction in CO2 emissions from manufacturing, changes in the cement chemistry and mechanical properties, as well as uptake and release of airborne pollutants. First, the sustainability attributes of SCMs will be introduced focusing on the development of impure clay minerals as competitive, locally available, partial cement substitutes. The results demonstrate select clay minerals are energetically and structurally favorable SCMs proving to be a competitive, sustainable alternative for use in concrete. In addition, this research provides an understanding of the interactions between building material selection and our living environment. Numerical and experimental studies on the interaction of indoor/outdoor pollutants including radon, ozone, and carbon dioxide with SCMs in concretes and renders will be presented. The results suggest a high potential for SCMs to reduce indoor radon exposure from concrete, contingent upon SCM constituent radionucleotide content and emanation fraction. In addition, studies demonstrate opportunities for optimizing render binder composition for passive pollutant removal. The results from this work collectively contribute toward the broader goal of modernizing and advancing the construction industry toward best sustainable practices and highlighting the importance of an integrated approach which simultaneously considers the mechanical performance, cost, energy requirements, emission signatures, as well as environmental and health impacts.
Host: Astani CEE Dept.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Cassie Cremeans
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CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Xavier -Sanchez-Vila , Technical University of Catalonia - BarcelonaTech (UPC)
Talk Title: Providing simple solutions for evaluating reaction rates in complex multispecies reactive transport problems
Abstract:
Mixing of waters in perfect chemical equilibrium with a given mineral leads indefectibly to local disequilibrium. A reaction takes place then in order to re-equilibrate the system. This reaction can be either precipitation or dissolution (in this latter case limited by mineral availability. Both reactions can lead eventually to changes in porosity and permeability at the local scale. The fate of solutes in natural systems, such as rivers and aquifers, are thus controlled by mixing, which in groundwater is a consequence of local diffusion/dispersion. The presentation will discuss a new methodology for computing exactly reaction rates on complex multicomponent reactive transport problems involving precipitation-dissolution of minerals. We start from the simple problem of the evaluation of reaction rates at the local scale when reactions are in equilibrium. Then we move to the problem of kinetic reactions on one hand, and to upscaling reaction rates on the other. All the soluti ons are exemplified by means of relatively simple flow set-ups, which allow obtaining analytical solutions even for quite complex geochemical set-ups. These solutions provide some insight to multispecies reactive problems, and more, can be used for benchmarking.
Pizza is served at 5:00pm in KAP 209
Host: Dr. Felipe de Barros
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE. Dept Seminar
Mon, Apr 22, 2013 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Mohammad Ebtehaj , University of Minnesota
Talk Title: Hydro-meteorological Inverse Problems via Sparse Regularization
Abstract: The past decades have witnessed a remarkable emergence of new sources of multi-scale multi-sensor geophysical data such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and vegetation. These data provide a unique opportunity to better understand land surface hydro-meteorological processes and to improve our environmental forecast skills. For precipitation, these data typically include global spaceborne active and passive sensors and regional ground-based radars. Focusing on the non-Gaussian and heavy tailed statistical structure of precipitation data, new frameworks are presented that address optimal retrieval, fusion and resolution enhancement of multi-sensor rainfall data. These frameworks rely on recent advancements in computational methods for sparse solutions of inverse problems. Compared to the existing classic methodologies, the results of the proposed approaches promise improved posterior estimates of precipitation fluxes to be used for more accurate prediction of extreme land surface hydro-geomorphic events, such as floods and landslides. Future extension of the proposed approaches to data assimilation problems and other land surface applications are also discussed.
Biography: Mohammad Ebtehaj is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil Engineering and the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. He will complete his degree in June 2013 with a double major -- PhD in civil engineering and M.Sc. in mathematics. He is currently a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow (NESSF) and a University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF). He received his B.Sc. in civil engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 1999, where he also received two M.Sc. degrees in environmental and earthquake engineering in 2001 and 2007, respectively. He has worked in industry for almost seven years as a design civil engineer in his country. His research interests are in computational geophysics, focusing on remote sensing hydro-meteorological inverse problems, specifically statistical and mathematical characterization of precipitation images from ground and space sensors. His work ââ¬ÅAdaptive Fusion and Sparse Estimation of Multi-sensor Precipitationââ¬Â received the 2011 outstanding student paper award of the American Geophysical Union.
Host: Astani CEE Dept.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Cassie Cremeans
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CEE Oral Dissertation Defense
Tue, Apr 23, 2013 @ 01:29 PM - 03:30 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Chanin Chuen-Im, Ph.D. Candidate, USC-Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Talk Title: A Coastal Development Idea for Gulf of Thailand to Improve Global Trades
Abstract: For a long time since ancient history international trade was used to exchange capital, goods, and service. There are several modes of transportation but people have been using marine transport as a main transportation mode for certain types of good and commodities in global trades. The pioneers of marine transports in Greek, Roman, and China used sea routes to sell and buy goods for their respective kingdoms. Until now more than 80 percent of transporting goods around the world is still by sea even though the speed of sea transportation is much slower compared to air or ground transportation. Since the most disadvantage of marine transport is its slow speed, what can be done to decrease the time of transportation by sea.
Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the Panama Canal connecting Caribbean Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are the best examples of the man-made canals that show the necessity and the importance of what the alternative sea routes could do. This dissertation study presents a new route of Man-made canals that could make the shipping faster and more effective for Asian Region (between Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean).
At the present time, transportation between Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean are mainly from the existing three routes : Malacca Route, Sundra Route, and Lombok Route. By introducing a man-made canal herein called ââ¬ÅSiam Canalââ¬Â which will be located in Thailand. Siam Canal which connects the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand can shorten the travel distance between Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean up to 3,500 kilometers or 7 days of travel time.
This dissertation research presents preliminary study of Siam Canal which will include the proposal of Siam Canal, the potential benefits using Siam Canal, the initial design of the proposed Siam Canal, environmental problems, and the economic and engineering feasibility study of the proposed Siam Canal. Environmental impacts due to the construction of the ââ¬ÅSiam Canalââ¬Â are addressed. The wave and tide condition, before and after the construction of the ââ¬ÅSiam Canalââ¬Â are simulated by a finite element numerical model for the Gulf of Thailand region.
Adviser: Prof. Jiin Jin Lee
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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CEE Ph.D. Seminar
Fri, Apr 26, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Daniel Amiri and Iman Yadegaran, USC Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Students
Talk Title: Low-Cycle Fatigue Effects in RBS Moment Connections
Abstract: TBA
Second Presentor:
Iman Iman Yadegaran - "Data-based modeling and enriched-finite-elements"
Location: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 102
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
