Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Archives

The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline (pictured) lies under the Baltic Sea to carry fuel from Russia to energy-hungry Germany. It has emerged as a key issue in the standoff between Russia and Ukraine. Photo by Peter Kovalev/Getty Images

Who wins and who loses the global energy war if Russia invades Ukraine?

Oil and gas prices are soaring around the world in anticipation of a Russian attack. Northeastern political and energy experts analyze who stands to gain if Moscow follows through on aggression toward Kyiv.

by Peter Ramjug February 17, 2022

Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Kelsey Pieper uses a black light to look for signs of Ecoli in water samples at her lab in Snell Engineering.

This well water watchdog alerts you to unsafe water

Private wells serve 15% of the U.S. population but are not protected by the 1974 Safe Water Drinking Act. Kelsey Pieper, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is trying to do something about that.

by Ian Thomsen January 24, 2022

Rare weather incidents such as the December wildfire in Colorado pose risks for insurance companies. A Northeastern startup, risQ, helps cities gauge and adapt to the risks of a changing climate. The firm was just acquired by a large financial company. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

This Northeastern-born startup helps cities deal with changing climate

Engineering professor Auroop Ganguly and two Northeastern graduates set out to offer climate-related risk calculations to insurance companies. So how did their startup, the aptly named risQ, turn into a Fortune 500 acquisition?

by Peter Ramjug January 21, 2022

silhouettes of two firefighters standing in front of massive wilfdire

Is wildfire soot leaving a mark on the world’s oceans?

When clouds of smoke and ash billow out over the ocean, stretching away from the wildfires that are their source, they might not just affect the air quality, according to research by Aron Stubbins, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 17, 2021

A new sustainability seminar lets students propose their own sustainability program. They learn to think critically and propose solutions, says Jacob Glickel, who works in the Office of Sustainability. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

New course to cultivate ideas about how to expand campus sustainability efforts

A weekly seminar this fall will bring together researchers, campus operations, and people who live near the Boston campus into the discussion about the environment. Universities are anchors in their communities, and the class is an opportunity to demonstrate best practices for environmental sustainability and resilience, say faculty experts.

by Peter Ramjug September 7, 2021

Can a robot seal air leaks to help this old (and cold) house?

Northeastern won a $200,000 award from the U.S. Energy Department to scale up a model that could one day help with the back-breaking work of filling in energy-wasting air leaks in the crawl spaces of old homes.

by Peter Ramjug August 24, 2021

Our plastic pollution problem may have more significant consequences than we think

Plastics are a pervasive source of pollution. And they might also be significantly altering the Earth’s carbon cycle and our ability to monitor it, according to research by Northeastern’s Aron Stubbins.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 6, 2021

A bottle of spring water inspired this Fulbright scholar to study advanced farming in Iceland

En route to Reykjavik eight years ago, Tyler Gogal, a mechanical engineering student, received a bottle of pure Icelandic spring water. He still has that bottle today—a symbol of his future academic career in water resource engineering at the University of Iceland thanks to the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award.

by Emily Arntsen - contributor and April 14, 2021

Hurricane Laura is the strongest storm to hit Louisiana in 160 years. How can communities defend themselves against it?

As state and local officials brace for Hurricane Laura’s impact, they rely on numerical weather prediction models developed by researchers like Qin Jim Chen, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern, to help them make decisions about road closures, flood monitoring, and evacuation orders, along with other life-and-death matters.

by Khalida Sarwari August 28, 2020

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Face masks help prevent you from spreading the coronavirus. But can they prevent you from catching it?

The scientific evidence is growing about the importance of masks in fighting COVID-19. But one important question is whether homemade masks can protect people wearing them. The answer depends on the fit of a mask and the materials within it, research by Northeastern engineers suggests.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa July 29, 2020