College of Engineering

Developing More Efficient Solar Energy Cells

Alexander Agrios is probing ways to make inexpensive solar cells more energy efficient.

Better Catalyst to Reduce NOx Emissions

A UConn team is developing a novel device aimed at improving the performance, durability and cost of automotive emission reduction equipment in both heavy- and light-duty vehicles.

Sizzling Workshops — Joule and da Vinci for K-12 Teachers

On Tuesday July 6th 2010 two summer programs for GK-12 teachers started at the School of Engineering. Joule Fellows -- Teachers in Sustainable Energies Research Laboratories program (supported by NSF), and the da Vinci Project kicked off with a breakfast reception for 25 teachers.

Egypt Visit Leverages Educational Ties

In mid-May, Engineering Dean Mun Y. Choi, CSE Department Head Reda Ammar, and CSE Undergraduate Coordinator Robert McCartney visited Egypt to develop broader educational and research partnerships with a number of universities and research institutes.

Protecting our Structures

In 2002, as a response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush announced the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The mission of the office and collaborative partners is to "prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States" (www.dhs.gov).

Bridging Disciplines

Richard Christenson (CEE) and Jiong Tang (ME) both specialists in structural dynamics, control and monitoring, are joining forces to bridge structural health monitoring and structural control in a broader sense that can be leveraged to better improve the performance of each component.

The Next Generation of Resilient Transportation Infrastructure

UConn was among seven institutions designated as a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCOE) in the Improving America's Security Act of 2007. Dr. Michael Accorsi is the Director of the Center for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure and oversees the five projects that UConn is currently engaged in.

Transportation Network Games

In an effort to understand and protect our nation's networks, Nicholas Lownes (CEE), Reda Ammar and Dr. Sanguthevar Rajasekaran (CSE) have created a computer program that plays a game between a benevolent character, who wants to help people travel safely, and an evil character, who is trying to disrupt the network as much as possible.

Building Blocks for American Infrastructure

With expertise in laboratory characterization of infrastructure materials, modeling and construction, Drs. Adam Zofka and Michael Accorsi (CEE) and James Mahoney have teamed up to study a material that is one of the primary building blocks of American infrastructure -- concrete.

Strengthening the Foundations of Our Infrastructure

The Department of Homeland Security has a chief interest in understanding and modeling soil responses to dynamic processes, levee systems, and explosions. To answer the call, UConn's geotechnical team of Maria Chrysochoou, Dipanjan Basu, and Amvrossios Bagtzoglou went to work.