Page 4 - CEGE Magazine Spring 2021

JOHN GULLIVER presented the webinar, “Maintenance of Stormwater Ponds to Increase Phosphorus Retention,” for the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance, in September 2020.
MnDOT, assisted by many county agency staff members, conducted research to learn what was in the runoff from low-volume roads, compare it to contaminants of high-volume roadways, and identify and provide recommenda- tions for stormwater treatments best- suited for rural road runoff. Results over two years documented that runoff from low-volume roads has a lower contami- nant concentration and that ditches and swales can be used to effectively treat rural road runoff. JOHN GULLIVER com- mented on the results. “This project lets county engineers know what they need to do to treat the suspended solids
and total phosphorus in the runoff from their rural roads. Now they have data showing that ditches with swales often provide the best treatment method.”
ANN JOHNSON STEWART, who taught surveying and CADD classes, was elected to the Minnesota State Senate for District 44 (Plymouth
area). Johnson Stewart has operated her company Professional Engineering Services for 25 years. Johnson Stewart told CEGE, “I am thrilled to be serving in the Minnesota Senate, and even more excited to be on both the Transporta- tion and Capital Investment (Bonding) committees. I was motivated to run
by the desperate need to maintain
and upgrade our state’s infrastruc-
ture, and wish there were a few more civil engineers in the legislature with
me! Already, I have begun working with the Minnesota chapters of APWA and ASCE to raise awareness about both the infrastructure itself, as well as the engineers and public works profession- als who are charged with maintaining and operating it. We have a lot of work to do, and I am grateful for this opportu- nity and the platform it brings.”
RAYMOND HOZALSKI and TIM LAPARA were invited to highlight their research “Flushing of Stagnant Premise Water Systems after the COVID-19 Shutdown Can Reduce Infection Risk by Legio- nella and Mycobacterium spp.” at the NSF and National Environmental Health Association’s Legionella Conference Special Session March 9-10, 2021. The theme of the conference was Prevention of Disease and Injury from Waterborne Pathogens in Building Water Systems during an Emergent Health Crisis. Partic- ipants discussed how to work together to develop emergency plans and adapt water safety practices.
JOHN HOURDOS was featured in Wal- letHub’s recent piece about the Best Cities to Drive-in. He weighed in with tips for saving money and even some predictions for the future.
ALIREZA KHANI and YUFENG ZHANG,
a Ph.D. candidate advised by Khani, joined Miguel Figliozzi (Portland State) to deliver a webinar, “Innovative Strategies for Last-Mile Delivery in Urban Areas.” Their presentation highlighted research on issues related to the rise in online shopping and greater demand for pack- age delivery, particularly the advantages of using innovative methods such as delivery robots and shared lockers. This webinar was held in conjunction with the October 8, 2020, meeting of the CTS Transportation Planning and the Economy Research Council. https://www.cts.umn.edu/events/ seminar/2020/delivery
“Effects of short-term travel on COVID- 19 spread: A novel SEIR model and case study in Minnesota” by MICHAEL LEVIN, MINGFENG SHANG, and RAPHAEL STERN was published in PLOSONE (doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0245919). These researchers examined how local travel (e.g. by passenger car) contributes to the geo- graphic spread of COVID-19. They mod- ified the common virus spread model based on categories of susceptible, exposed, infectious, or removed (SEIR). They used the modified model to inves- tigate the extent to which short-term travel associated with driving influences the spread of the virus. Findings showed
that if driving trips remain at current levels, a substantial increase in COVID- 19 cases might be observed in Minne- sota, while decreasing intrastate travel could help contain the virus spread.
LAUREN LINDERMAN is part of a multi- disciplinary team that is investigating a lesser-known effect of wildfires: water contamination. Such contamination is caused partly by chemicals leaching into a community water supply from heated pipes or other portions of water distribu- tion systems. The team is investigating communities that border areas prone to wildfires. The researchers plan to imple- ment a sensor system that can identify areas most at risk for water contami- nation post-wildfire. “We’re not actually looking at how to prevent wildfires,” explained Linderman, “but more how to manage and assist after a wildfire.”
LAUREN LINDERMAN presented a “Ten- Year Review of I-35W Bridge Instrumen- tation and Data Interpretation” in a webi- nar held in conjunction with a meeting
of the CTS Transportation Infrastructure Research Council (October 1, 2020). Her presentation introduced the 500-sensor monitoring system on the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge and highlighted
key results related to temperature-de- pendent and long-term time-dependent structural behavior of the bridge.
PAIGE NOVAK is one of the collabo- rators at UMN’s new Water Network. Within the University, at least 12 departments or centers house 10 plus researchers who study water, and nearly 200 water-related courses are taught. Novak expressed her enthusiasm about the launch of the Water Network, “It has great potential to bring researchers from across the UMN system together to work on critical water challenges.”
RAPHAEL STERN is using transporta- tion data from road traffic and flights to better model COVID-19 spread both locally and nationally. “For me as a transportation engineer, it’s kind of cool to be involved,” Stern said. “Most people would say the pandemic is just a public health issue, but I think it also highlights how interconnected engineering disci- plines are, especially civil engineering.”
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