Research Areas of Specialization
Environmental engineering at Louisiana State University is uniquely positioned at the intersection of a global industrial hub and one of the world's most dynamic coastal ecosystems. Our program transcends traditional "monitoring" to focus on active intervention and design, training engineers to become the architects of public health and ecological resilience. Environmental engineers integrate the principles of biology, chemistry, and physics with engineering disciplines to design systems that shield the environment from human impact and protect human populations from environmental hazards.
Environmental engineers develop the vital infrastructure that promotes human flourishing and makes modern life possible, including:
- Designing sophisticated facilities that transform raw river or groundwater into safe drinking water and engineering processes to reclaim energy and nutrients from wastewater;
- Modeling how pollutants move through air, water, and soil to prevent exposure and develop effective cleanup strategies;
- Creating systems for the safe containment of hazardous materials and developing economical, recirculatory solutions for municipal and industrial waste streams.
Transportation Engineering research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at LSU addresses pressing challenges across pavement materials and infrastructure performance, traffic safety and operations, emergency preparedness and evacuation planning, intelligent transportation systems, and connected and automated vehicle (CAV) integration. The program is interdisciplinary, data-driven, and implementation-focused, with research that directly supports state and national transportation agencies while advancing innovation in both infrastructure and system operations.
Pavement engineering and materials research focuses on advanced characterization of asphalt binders and mixtures, Balanced Mix Design (BMD), mechanistic–empirical pavement design, accelerated pavement testing, pavement construction practices, sustainability and resilience, recycled and low-carbon materials, and performance-based specifications. A growing emphasis is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to support material characterization, performance prediction, mix design optimization, construction quality control, and decision-making for pavement design, asset management, and maintenance planning. The program also emphasizes the innovation and development of next-generation pavement materials and mixture designs, including bio-based rejuvenators, advanced modifiers, and other sustainable additives to enhance durability, performance, constructability, and environmental compatibility. Ongoing efforts examine pavement durability under heavy freight loading, changing truck configurations, and emerging automation-related demands, with the goal of improving long-term performance, lifecycle efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Traffic operations and safety research integrates traffic flow theory, signal control systems, evacuation modeling, and real-time traffic management to address congestion mitigation, emergency response, and network reliability under both routine and extreme conditions. Emphasis is placed on translating analytical models into deployable traffic management strategies that enhance corridor performance, incident clearance, and evacuation effectiveness. Another major thrust emphasizes intelligent transportation systems and emerging mobility technologies, including human factors, connected and automated vehicles, truck platooning, mixed-autonomy traffic, and AI-enabled crash risk prediction and traffic analytics. Through the integration of field data, driving simulation, virtual reality experimentation, microsimulation, and advanced machine and deep-learning techniques, this research develops proactive, data-driven strategies to improve safety, mobility, infrastructure performance, and overall transportation system resilience in an increasingly automated and digitally connected environment.
Mostafa Elseifi
Hany Hassan
Louay N. Mohammad
Brian Wolshon
Zhong Wu
Water Resources and Coastal Engineering research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at LSU addresses a wide range of water-related challenges across aquifer depletion and saltwater intrusion, impaired watersheds and watercourses, extreme drought and flooding, water pollution and aging infrastructure, coastal erosion and ecosystem restoration. This research program supports Louisiana Watershed Initiative and Coastal Master Plan while advancing engineering science in AI-powered computational fluid dynamics, hydraulics and hydrology, and training the future work force at both graduate and undergraduate levels in water resources and coastal and ecological engineering.
Water resources engineering research focuses on the development of advanced modeling, monitoring, and visualization technologies and tools for watersheds, groundwater, riverine systems, lakes, and coastal waters. High-resolution modeling tools are created for complex subsurface systems to address water resources issues related to climate change, surface water-groundwater interactions, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence, groundwater availability, and geological carbon storage, ranging from local to regional scales. A growing interest is the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to support the AI-powered satellite remote sensing of water quantity and quality, AI-driven modeling and forecasting of complex interactions between surface and subsurface water systems, system hydrodynamics and associated chemical and biological processes of pollutants (particularly harmful algal blooms, bacteria and viruses) in riverine and coastal water environments to enhance water security and promote water resource sustainability.
Matthew Brand
Muriel Buckner
Christopher E. Kees
Celalettin Emre Ozdemir
John Pardue
Clinton Willson
Zhi-Qiang Deng
Frank Tsai
Clinton Willson
Christopher E. Kees