NJIT CEE eNewsletter

Spring 2019 eNewsletter

Message from the Chair

Dear Friends of Civil and Environmental Engineering,

This May, we celebrated the commencement of 134 undergraduate and 112 graduate students who joined the ranks of CEE ambassadors around the globe. Our students, faculty and staff continue to make impactful contributions in academics, research and service to our state and nation that propel our path to higher achievement. Our face-to-face and distance learning programs remain cutting-edge, and their excellence is reflected in the significant contributions of our alumni to communities around the globe.

Our students continue to excel in our hands-on learning programs and are recognized with internal and external awards, scholarships and fellowships. This year, CEE students participated in regional and national competitions that included the American Institute of Steel Construction Steel Bridge contest, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Timber Bridge and Doghouse competitions and the American Water Works Association Water Filter contest, where they achieved high ratings. Our ASCE student chapter has been awarded the 2019 Certificate of Commendation by the organization, a distinction earned by just the top five percent of all the student groups in the nation.

Our faculty and staff are advancing research in our core areas of expertise, including resilient infrastructure systems, environmentally sustainable systems and intelligent transportation systems. We continue to provide support to our beloved city of Newark through collaborations on an integrated connected urban corridor as a pilot deployment of smart, connected transportation technology, as well as on a city-wide replacement of lead-containing water service lines from houses to the street.

I invite you to read about recent CEE highlights in our spring newsletter. As always, I sincerely appreciate and welcome your support of our department's initiatives.

Sincerely,

Taha F. Marhaba, P.E., F.ASCE

(973) 596-2444

(973) 596-5790 fax

Marhaba@njit.edu NJIT's Civil Engineering Program Ranked # 2 Nationwide

In This Issue

Students

Research

Alumni

Faculty

Advisory Board

Representing a diverse cross section of civil and environmental engineering professionals, including design consultants, construction managers, contractors and attorneys .

Joseph Stanley, P.E., P.P., '78, '85, (Chair) Mott MacDonald

Ted Cassera, P.E., '72
Bowman Consulting

Anthony Castillo, P.E., '95 '02

SESI Consulting Engineers

Jerome F. Gallagher, Jr., Esq. '80 Norris, McLaughlin, Marcus, PA

David Good, P.E., '78, '92

Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers

Andre Grebenstein, LEED AP '95, The Martin Group

Tony DeJohn, P.E., P.P.
WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff

Gareth Middleton, P.E., '93 '04

Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company

Rocco Palmieri, P.E, P.P., PLS '72, '77, Partner Engineering and Science

Ed Peralta, P.E.,P.P., AICP, PMP, PTP, PTOE '04, '06 PANYNJ

Maurice Rached, P.E.

Maser Consulting

Ken Sisk, P.E., '95

Pizzarotti IBC

Wei Wang, P.E., '95
Urban Tech

Michael Wright, P.E., P.P., PMP '79 Arora and Associates, P.C.

Editors

Tracey Regan

Diana Ochoa

Sylvana Brito

Special Thanks

Strategic Communications

Office of Alumni Relations

Faculty/Staff, Students & Alumni

Scholarship

Donations

The Civil and Environmental Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) has created an annual scholarship fund to assist CEE undergraduate students in preparing for professional licensure. The fund reimburses testing fees to students who pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.

Thank you for your generous support of this program.

2 019 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

RECIPIENTS

JOHN A. REIF JR, SCHOLARSHIP

Devan Chattergoon

Katia Granados

Michael Lopez

Carlos Martins

Jonathan Solano

Anil Soodeen

Wayne Vargas

Louis Yepez

CASSERA FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP

Laura A. Callegari

Cassandra Raia

GALLAGHER MEM. SCHOLARSHIP

Joseph Oliveros

LATA & ATUL N. SHAH SCHOLARSHIP

Michael A. Hickman

LOUIS BERGER SCHOLARSHIP

Rasha Issac

Matthew Laub

Claudia Mucha

Vidhi Parekh

Louay Serour

ROBERT MEDINA '74 SCHOLARSHIP

Roberto A. Meneses

Endrick Rodriguez

MOLES SCHOLARSHIP

Matthew Laub

Conan Cullen

SCHOOR DEPALMA SCHOLARSHIP

Nathaniel J. Bourdeau

Jerard A. Richards

CEE IAB SCHOLARSHIP

Steven Andron

Raphael Cobarrubias

Alex Goldman

Calvin Gould

Naveen Kamath

Christopher J. Riley

Francisco Sanchez

Emily Shibata

Roocha Surma

2019 SAMUEL LUCIANO MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Anuruddha Jayasuriya

Lucas Martin

SOL SEID SCHOLARSHIP

Jakob Guido

GEORGE F. KELLEY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Angie Carvajal

GEORGE GARRISON/SANDY KIRK SCHOLARSHIP

American Water Works Association Student Chapter

Alumni News

Mary Ameen '82, was appointed executive director of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, where she has worked since 2006. She most recently served as deputy executive director, a position she was appointed to in 2012.

Dawson Bloom '92 , j oined McLaren Engineering Group as civil technical director. Prior to this role, Bloom managed significant projects throughout New Jersey, including Newark's Broad Street Station Plaza, the Edgewater Marina Park and Ferry Landing, and the Clinton Street Streetscape in Newark.

William Duñgo '08, was named one of Airport Business's Top 40 Under 40 for 2018. This list showcases top talent and leading thinkers in the aviation industry who are building success today and innovations for the future. D uñgo is a professional

engineer with 10 years of experience performing traffic impact analyses for major airport improvement programs.

CEE Alumni can send their news to be featured in future newsletter to: cee@njit.edu

More Alumni Features

Faculty Administration Appointments

Dr. Matthew Bandelt

Associate Chair of Graduate Studies and Director of the PhD Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering Programs

Dr. Fadi Karaa

Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Environmental Engineering programs

Congratulations!

CEE Excellence, Raising The Bar

Jakob Guido's engineering talent manifested at quite a young age. In kindergarten, he was photographed playing with blocks behind a sign that read: "Future Engineer." Months later, his first-grade science teacher observed his advanced organizational abilities and pronounced: "You're going to be an engineer."

Fast forward 15 years, and Guido, a rising senior majoring in civil engineering, has pursued his seeming destiny with boundless energy, formidable skill and enviable success, punctuating those early predictions with an exclamation point.

As president of NJIT's chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers for the past two years, he has nearly doubled the group's active membership, organized regional civil engineering conferences on the NJIT campus and set up - and run - open houses, career days and engineering events for his department. In fact, he even produced a five-page brochure to help the department's ambassadors glide through these events, supplying the necessary information and anticipating the hard questions from prospective students and their families.

Guido was the chair of the 2019 Metropolitan Steel Bridge Competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction responsible for organizing, leading and obtaining funds for the regional contest that brought more than 10 schools to NJIT this past April. While NJIT did not win it, the team placed first in several key categories. Expectations are running high for next year.

It therefore came as a thrill, but perhaps not a total shock, when he was awarded this year's Sol Seid Student Award for Excellence from the Professional Engineers in Construction, bringing recognition and praise from prominent people in the field he aims to join, as well as a $10,000 scholarship.


Louis Tomasello, PE, Chair Elect of PEC, Jakob Guido

In May, Guido also won the George F. Kelley Memorial Scholarship from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey, which honors the student who demonstrates the "highest degree of talent and ingenuity" throughout New Jersey and bestows a $5,000 prize.

"Being recognized with these two scholarships was truly an honor, and I am beyond grateful toward the faculty and staff in the civil engineering department who not only nominated me for the scholarships, but also gave me opportunities to step up and be a student leader in the department," Guido said. "It feels great knowing that my hard work in the department has not gone unnoticed."

Meanwhile, he is busily acquiring experience in the real world of bridges, tunnels and highways. Last summer, he interned in the structures division of the consulting engineering firm, HNTB of Parsippany, N.J., where he helped develop an emergency vehicle rating process for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Specifically, he worked on an appendix to the agency's load rating manual for bridges, a job that had him performing nearly 50 load-rating simulations on a software program to determine the overall structural strength of the bridges using multiple methods to help determine the best method of obtaining this data.

"In conjunction with that project, I was also tasked with updating bridge rating reports for about 100 bridges in the Newark area based on a state requirement to inspect bridges regularly to ensure they are meeting safe standards," he noted.

It is perhaps no surprise that Guido says he wants to run "big projects" when he enters the field full-time. And he will do it with a mix of earnest professionalism, camaraderie - and a sense of fun.

"A common catchphrase my friends and peers in civil engineering like to say is, 'Who saves more lives: doctors or civil engineers? The emphatic response amongst our somewhat biased crowd is 'civil engineers,'" he recounted in a recent essay. "While we often say this in a joking manner, there is a decent amount of truth behind it. A civil engineer is responsible for the structures they design to be used by hundreds and thousands of people each day. Every time a car successfully crosses a bridge or a person enters a building, that is thanks to the hard work of a civil engineer, ensuring that the given structure is always safe."

NCE First-Year Showcase - Audience Choice Award Winners - Team CEE

Six teams from NJIT's Newark College of Engineering competed at this year's "NCE First-Year Showcase." In front of an audience of faculty, students and six panel judges, the teams demonstrated their engineering research designs. Members of each team were selected to represent their college based on first-year academic performance and projects they worked on during their Fundamentals of Engineering Design (FED) 101 course this past fall semester. The showcase gives first-year students the platform to go beyond the classroom, to use their expertise as engineers and provide approaches to the challenges the community faces.

NCE Dean Moshe Kam presents the event's Audience Choice award to John Mongrella (left) Jonathon Sanders, George Pepingco and Joseph Almeida.

At the event, the audience voted for the competition's "Audience Choice Award," and our FED 101 CEE team, composed of Joseph Almeida, John Mongrella, George Pepingco and Jonathon Sanders, won it. The team displayed the "Weston Hall Bridge - Forensic Engineering Study," using forensic engineering techniques to determine potential deterioration in the bridge's concrete. We give special thanks to Professor Thomas Jaworski for his support and guidance.

ASCE Student Chapter's Recognition

NJIT'S American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter was selected by the ASCE Committee on Student Members to receive the 2019 Certificate of Commendation. The award is earned by the top five percent of all the student organizations; our chapter was recognized for outstanding activities recorded in the organization's 2018 annual report, including community service, a notable increase in professional meetings, such as workshops, guest speakers and conferences; and for their increase of memberships. Two of the chapter's significant events were hosting and organizing the ASCE annual student conference, providing over a dozen schools from the metropolitan region a platform to showcase their civil engineering abilities; and volunteering at the Liberty Science Center's National Engineers Week, assisting on hands-on engineering exhibits for children of all ages. We congratulate the chapter for its accomplishment and hard work.

Steel Bridge Competition - NJIT Top Finisher

Regional Event Metropolitan Region

A team of NJIT civil engineering students was a top finisher this year in the metropolitan region of the American Institute of Steel Construction's Student Steel Bridge Competition for the first time in five years.

Led by student captains John Andrews, Zachary Keator and Rocco Cioffi, the team took first place in aesthetics, structural efficiency and stiffness, while placing third overall. The difference between NJIT placing first and third was a mere two minutes of construction time, highlighting the high level of competition among the region's schools this year.

During the design phase, the students took maximum advantage of the competition rules to optimize the geometry and weight of the bridge in a structurally efficient manner. As a result, their well-conceived engineering design was rated the most structurally efficient design among all schools in the region. The bridge behaved and weighed as the team expected with a maximum deflection of 0.77 inches over a 23-ft. span when the 2,500-lb. load was applied. Their analysis predicted 0.75 inches of deflection.

Cioffi described the bridge's look as simple, but elegant, with a "very symmetrical look, clean and precise welding and a brushed metal finish."

"The three captains this year each took a lead on individual stages of the project: design, fabrication, and construction. Their sense of shared responsibility and leadership led to the team's success," noted Matthew Bandelt, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the team's advisor.

He added that by manufacturing the connections at the NJIT Makerspace, the team was able to ensure a level of quality control that would not have been possible at an external machine shop. Aris Chavez, who machined the parts at the Makerspace, "did an excellent job meeting the team's needs."

This was the first time in a number of years when every member of the bridge was welded on NJIT's campus. The CEE Director of Labs for Education, Stephen George, helped students understand the intricacies of welding the members together to ensure that the construction process would run as smoothly as possible.

Nayem Shah, Casey Therien, Michael Stout, John Andrews, Rocco Cioffi, Matthew Milgrom, Mark Bevacqua, Thomas Nadolsky, Phillip Rakus,

Sustainable Doghouse:

NJIT's "Green Paws" Team is a Winner

by Gabriel Diaz

In order to create a more sustainable future, it is a good idea to implement changes starting with the next generation. By teaching kids and young adults the importance of sustainability, they can begin molding the future immediately. After all, they'll be living in it. The American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) Sustainable Solutions Competition: Doghouse Challenge is a case in point - a great opportunity for rising generations to put these principles into practice.

This competition, held at the regional and national levels, requires teams to think in detail about incorporating sustainable features into design, and, more specifically, about green building. This year, New Jersey of Institute of Technology had the opportunity to put together its first ever sustainable "doghouse" engineering and design team and the distinct privilege to represent the university at the regional Metropolitan Conference at the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 13. More thrilling still, we won first place.

The team's task was to create a doghouse out of sustainable materials, which sounds easy. However, there are engineering and design cbhallenges that arise, as they would in a future job setting. They included choosing materials that would be ideal for the doghouse, managing our time in designing and building it, and creating a final model capable of withstanding the 200-pound load that was placed on top of it. The material was the hardest part to identify, since the requirement was that it be both sustainable and easy to obtain. Bamboo is reliable, for example, but expensive, therefore not easy to obtain. Thus, the doghouse team ended up reusing wooden pallets for the walls, and 2 ft. by 4 ft. blocks for the house's base and its column structure.

The next step was to create a sturdy design to fit ASCE's specifications, including having no member longer than 3.5 feet, although the doghouse was between 4.5 ft. and 5.5 ft. tall. This was a real challenge, but after considering several ideas put forward by team members, the final design was simple: incorporating water bottles on the rooftop to manage runoff. The completed design at the competition is displayed in Figure 1, while Figure 2 shows it standing up under the 200-pound load. Finally, there were also rules governing building regulations and time. ASCE wanted to make the contest challenging, but doable, so that a doghouse could be quickly erected in the case of a natural disaster or some other emergency.

Fig 1. Doghouse completed

Fig 2. Doghouse with 200

The overarching goal of this competition was to promote teamwork and critical thinking, and, most importantly, to highlight the importance of sustainability. Mother Nature is a beautiful thing, but if not treated correctly, then irreversible consequences can occur that will be repented in the future. The judges loved our use of recycled materials: wood and plastic that are found everywhere. The doghouses that the student teams built serve as models for future civil engineers to follow, and a stepping-stone toward a more sustainable future.

Amaral Joseph-Dullon , Alejandro Patino, Maria Lancheros, Gabriel Diaz

American Water Works Association Student Chapter Highlights

Third Place and Honorable Recognition at the 5th Annual AWWA NJ Student Filter Building Competition!

The Student Filter Building Competition for t he American Water Works Association's (AWWA) New Jersey section took place at Middlesex Water Company's Carl J. Olsen Water Treatment Plant on February 23, 2019. The competition entails creating a sustainable water filter with a 5-gallon bucket and materials including activated carbon, sand and gravel. The filters had to meet specified requirements for flow, weight, turbidity removal and sustainability. Four teams from the NJIT chapter participated. The team of Mayra Calva, Juan D Bermudez, Bryan Chiliquinga Alejandro Patiño and Paula Heredia received third place for its efficient and sustainable filter, which employed activated carbon made from coconut shells, as well as old cotton shirts and pantyhose.

The team of Cassandra Ferrara, Marco Fernandez and Monserrate Alevante received an h onorable mention for their filter, which used an old aluminum air duct to change the water path through the filter, allowing more time for water to be cleaned, while using a recycled ma terial.

Paula Heredia , Bryan Chiliquinga , Kevin Pincay, Mayra Calva, Juan D Bermudez, Maria Lancheros and Alejandro Patiño

The goal of the water filter competition is to simulate the factors considered in water treatment plant design and operation. The weight of a filter can help determine plant structural limitations and design factors. Turbidity removal, the cloudiness of water, is factored to consider how consumers assess tap water quality. When more recycled materials are used, less space is taken up in landfills.

Competition winners were invited to attend the NJ AWWA annual conference in Atlantic City and present their filters in the Student Research Competition. For the first time this year, seven members of the student chapter attended the conference. Members of the team that won at the filter competition also participated in the research competition.

First Place in InClusion and Engagement - ICE Challenge


	Kevin Pincay, Paula Heredia, Alenjadro Patino . Front Monserrate Alevante and Cassandra Ferrara

The InClusion and Engagement -(ICE) Challenge gives members of AWWA the opportunity to build networking relationships by giving them tasks related to water. From September, 2018 to March, 2019, the team accumulated points by completing tasks such as taking a picture while visiting a water tank, answering questions related to materials and current technology in the water industry, and recording the team singing a water-related song, among other tasks. The NJIT student chapter was the only student team that competed against professionals.

George Garrison/Sandy Kirk Scholarship Recipient

The student chapter's commitment to community service helped them win the George Garrison Sandy Kirk Scholarship, given out by NJIT Career Development Services. Out of 20 applicants, NJIT's AWWA student chapter stood out for their work with the city of Newark on the Adopt a Catch Basin project and by volunteering their time at cleanups at both the Raritan Headwaters and Branch Brook Park.

Chapter at the Rarian Headwaters.

2019 CEE Annual Recognition Award Recipients

First Year Student Award:

Molly M. Saylor

Sophomore Excellence Award:

Patrick J. Bury

B. Dimitrijevic, award received by Coach Mary Hearin

Dr. Sima Bagheri, Patrick J. Bury

Junior Excellence Award:

Niyam A. Shah

Senior Excellence Award:

Rachel Werner

Dr. Wen Zhang, Niyam Shah

Prof. Walter Konon, Rachel Werner

Excellence in Leadership Award:

John W. Andrews
Krzysztof K. Buz
George W. Gayed
Zachary A. Keator

Z. Keator, Dr. Bandelt, K. Buz, G. Gayed, J. Andrews

Masters Excellence Award:

Auiola Neziri

Doctoral Excellence Award:

Lucas Martin

Dr. Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, A. Neziri

Dr. Goncalves da Silva, L. Martin

Getting the Lead Out: NJIT's Environmental Engineers Head Up Corrosion Control in Newark's City-Wide Water Pipe Replacement Effort

In a major push to reduce lead exposure throughout Newark, Mayor Ras J. Baraka has embarked on a wide-reaching plan to replace thousands of antiquated water pipes that are at risk of leaching the heavy metal into residential drinking water.

But the ambitious initiative - to remove and replace about 15,000 water service lines that stretch from the street into houses with copper pipes - will take about eight years and $75 million to complete, while water testing has revealed lead levels as high as 30 micrograms per liter (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard is 15 µg/L) in a small fraction of these pipes. And that's where NJIT's environmental engineers come in.

To mitigate exposure over the life of the project, a research team from NJIT is developing and testing a corrosion-control system to prevent leaching that will replace the current method, which is no longer fully effective.

"The complete removal and replacement of these pipes is estimated to take nearly a decade. In the meantime, Newark is implementing a system to prevent the lead from moving from pipes into the drinking water," said Lucia Rodriguez-Freire, an assistant professor of civil engineering and the project's principal investigator.

Lead in pipes is present as elementary lead (Pb0), which is solid. As water flows through the pipe, elementary lead can become oxidized to lead (II) (Pb2+), which is soluble and transportable. Current corrosion-prevention methods consist of injecting a chemical, silicate, that forms a "barrier" between the lead in the pipe and the water by preventing lead oxidation and mobilization.

"But Newark water comes from two different sources, the Pequannock water treatment plant and the Wanaque water treatment plant, and due to changes in the usage and demand from each water system, the corrosion-inhibition control is no longer sufficient," Rodriguez-Freire explained.

A team of NJIT environmental engineers, including Rodriguez-Freire, an expert in pollution sampling and characterization who studies contamination migration pathways and transformation mechanisms; Wen Zhang, an associate professor who develops engineered reactive systems for water; and Taha Marhaba, chairman of NJIT's Department of Civil Engineering, who specializes in drinking water quality and analytical techniques for pollution detection, will evaluate various corrosion inhibitors, their doses and their pH-dependence in sections of excavated lead service lines from Newark.

Lead in drinking water is associated with serious health effects to people, especially children, causing damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing and impaired formation and function of blood cells, the team noted. The EPA's goal is to eliminate it from drinking water entirely.

"As an older, urban community, Newark has outdated lead service lines, and we look forward to modernizing our infrastructure and reducing risk for Newark's families," Baraka said this past March, in announcing the project.

The first phase of the project broke ground this spring. Locations throughout the city were prioritized based on the level of risk and the presence of at-risk populations, such as children, while the city is endeavoring to minimize disruption to the existing water system and to people living and working in the affected neighborhoods.

Cleaning up the Passaic River

Remediation of Passaic River Sediments Using Ultrasound Coupled with Sonochemistry

New Jersey's Passaic River is widely considered to be one of America's most polluted bodies of water. Industrial waste, sewage and chemical spills have contributed to high levels of toxic contaminants and pollutants like dioxins, PCBs, DDT, and mercury.

These pollutants have led to poor water quality, bans on fish and shellfish consumption, loss of wetlands and damaged wildlife habitat. In March 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a clean-up plan that would remove 3.5 million cubic yards of sediments from the lower eight miles of the river and replace it with an engineered cap. The estimated cost is $1.38 billion.

The EPA remediation plan raises concerns about the impact on the river:

*D redging exposes freshwater to contaminated soils.

* Capping will prevent future treatment and remediation, if required.

* Dewatering and transporting dredged sediment to the new location will impact commuters, as well recreational activities such as rowing, boating, and fishing.

Our research is directed toward developing a sonoreactor that makes use of ultrasound, coupled with sonochemistry, for onsite removal of pollutants from soil sediments in the Passaic River. This technology will eliminate the risk of recontamination associated with the currently proposed, expensive method of dredging and capping.

The proposed technology would combine two different configurations to produce an intense ultrasonic field; first, a horn-type transducer operating around 20 kHz and the second, a plate-type transducer operating at a higher frequency between 200 kHz and 800 kHz.

The horn type transducer will provide agitation that stirs up the sediments in the water, detaching contaminants and bringing them into suspension. The plate-type transducers will induce acoustic cavitation, initiating the sonochemical reactions, prompted by free radicals, which cause the oxidation and destruction of contaminants in the suspension. This is an innovative approach of using sonochemical degradation and oxidation.

The proposed green technology cleanup will bring communities back to a healthy Passaic River, removing contaminants onsite and averting exposure to toxic chemicals.

Feasibility of Lane Closures Using Probe Data

This study developed an on-line system analysis tool called the Work Zone Interactive Management Application - Planning (WIMAP-P), an easy-to-use and easy-to-learn tool for predicting the traffic impact caused by work zone lane closures on freeways and arterial roadways . WIMAP-P is supported by a working database that was developed based on the data feeds from various sources, including OpenReach, Plan4Safety, New Jersey Straight Line Diagram (NJSLD), New Jersey Congestion Management System (NJCMS), and INRIX.

To develop an adequate congestion mitigation plan for roadway reconstruction projects, transportation agencies need accurate and reliable estimates of traffic impacts associated with pertinent maintenance and reconstruction projects. NJDOT recognizes the shortcomings of the current analytical methods that often result in inaccurate estimates of the impact of lane closures in terms of vehicle delays and the associated costs. It is desirable to develop a tool utilizing the probe-vehicle data that can accurately predict work zone impacts, such as a delay over space and time, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of congestion mitigation strategies.

Research Objectives and Approach

The objective of this research project is to develop a methodology for integrating probe-vehicle data into the traffic impact analysis model, and to develop a user-friendly software tool that would implement the calculation methodology.

Findings

The work zone lane-closure congestion impact prediction system consists of a work zone speed prediction model and a web-based, user-friendly software that interacts with various data sources in an effective and efficient manner. A system analysis tool, called Work Zone Interactive Management Application-Planning (WIMAP-P), has been developed. WIMAP-P is expected to predict the speed, driver delay and delay costs caused by each planned work zone on New Jersey's freeways and arterials.

The WIMAP-P system architecture consists of three specific modules (i.e., a working database, a work zone speed prediction model, and an on-line software application) interacting together to generate the required results as shown below.

The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Multivariate Non-linear Regression (MNR) models were developed based on 466 work zones, which are employed by WIMAP-P to predict speed caused by work zones on New Jersey freeways and arterial roadways. It was found that the ANN model is slightly more accurate for predicting delays of historic work zones, but the MNR model demonstrated better reliability and consistency in predicting delays of work zones in places where there are no historic data.

WIMAP-P is GIS-based, allowing all the roadway geometry and characteristics for the New Jersey freeways, arterial roadways, which is a user friendly system that fuses together roadway geometry, traffic volume, and speed details by integrating data in a data warehouse from the OpenReach, Plan4Safety, SLD, NJCMS, and INRIX databases. The graphical user interface of WIMAP-P can effectively facilitate data input and analysis in an efficient and reasonably intuitive manner while producing graphical results and customized reports. In addition to predict the spatio-temporal speed impact caused by work zones, WIMAP-P also computes the associated road user cost.

Fellow of the American Concrete Institute

At the American Concrete Institute's (ACI) Concrete Convention and Exposition in Quebec City, Canada, Dr. Matthew P. Adams was inducted as an ACI fellow. ACI is the leading worldwide industry association for concrete design, construction and materials with over 30,000 members worldwide. Each year, ACI inducts a group of about 12 members that have "made outstanding contributions to the production or use of concrete materials, products and structures." Adams was one of the youngest members ever to receive this honor.

His work with the Institute has extended far beyond his research into concrete materials. He was the founding chair of the Young Professional Activities Committee and led ACI's efforts to ensure that institutional knowledge was passed down from senior members to junior members through mentorship opportunities, travel funding opportunities and enhanced access. He has also been involved for the past several years in guiding the Institute's membership benefits as a part of the Institute's Membership Committee. Adams has been the secretary of Committee 555 - Concrete with Recycled Materials, and has been integral in the upcoming revision of the document ACI 555.2R - Removal and Reuse of Hardened Concrete. He is also currently serving as the secretary of the Durability Subcommittee 201-H - Aggregate Reactions, where he is leading the current revision to the chapter of ACI 201-2R Guide to Durable Concrete that covers aggregate reactions in concrete such as alkali-silica reactions and pyrrhotite reactions.

He researches the durability and chemistry of concrete systems, with a focus on rapid repair concrete and concrete made with recycled concrete aggregates. He has received research funding through the Federal Highway Administration, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the American Concrete Institute Foundation. He also received this year's Newark College of Engineering Teaching Excellence award.

Meet our new staff member

It is with pleasure that we welcome Mrs. Sylvana Brito-Rodriguez as Assistant to Chair for Administration . Brito-Rodriguez is a skilled administrator with over 25 years in the field. She joined NJIT in 1998 and has held positions in the Office of Vice President for Academic and Student Services, Financial Aid, Office of the Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Arts and, lately as the administrative coordinator in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science. She has extensive experience with the suite of administrative tasks, including scheduling and business processes, along with a wide-ranging background in project and event management. Having held multiple positions at NJIT, Brito-Rodriguez has been able to tailor her skills to increase efficiency in her assigned roles. In addition to her duties as an administrator, Brito-Rodriguez is an active member of the university community. She sits on various committees, as well as serving as an adviser to student organizations.

Industry Recognition

Christopher Hanna, '09, '14 was selected by the Executive Board of American Society of Civil Engineer's North Jersey branch to receive the 2018 Young Civil Engineer of the Year Award. Hanna has 15 years of experience as a project engineer, and is currently working at Pennoni, managing projects in the construction administration and inspection phases. Hanna has also given back to the community by volunteering his time as a mentor for students pursuing an interest in engineering. He is a member of ASCE North Jersey Branch Younger Member Group.

Aine O'Dwyer '07,'08, PE, CEO of Enovate Engineering, LLC was named to the Engineering News Record (ENR) "Top 20 under 40" for 2018. ENR honors outstanding young construction and design professionals for their leadership in giving back to their industry and communities. O'Dwyer has more than 10 years of experience in civil and infrastructure sectors in both engineering and construction. She is actively involved in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Professional Women in Construction, New York Congress and American Council of Engineering Companies of New York. Due to her leadership and expertise, her company was certified as a Women's Business Enterprise and Small Business Enterprise. O'Dwyer was presented with an Alumni Achievement Award in 2019 by the Alumni Association of NJIT.

2019 CEE Distinguished Alumni Awards

Distinguished Alumni Award:

Joseph F. Malandro, PE '70

T. Marhaba, J. Malandro

Joseph F. Malandro is the retired president and chief operating officer of E.E. Cruz & Company, Inc. His distinguished career in construction has always been guided by his enthusiasm for finding efficient methods to address the unique challenges associated with complex heavy construction projects.

After receiving a B.S.C.E. in 1970 from NJIT, Malandro gained valuable experience working with Elson T. Killam Associates in Millburn, N.J., a design and consulting firm. From there, he knew he wanted to take on the challenges of building and construction projects, so in 1978 he joined Anselmi & DeCicco in Maplewood, N.J.; in 1985, he joined the E.E. Cruz organization as the project manager for six bridges on Route 287 in New Jersey. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, E.E. Cruz grew steadily and Malandro's career progressed similarly.