We are proud to announce that Marina Astitha (Environmental Engineering) and Sarira Motaref (Civil Engineering) have been awarded the C.R. Klewin Teaching Award for the 2024-2025 academic year. This annual award honors outstanding faculty who demonstrate a sustained commitment to excellence in engineering education and student success. 

Dr. Marina Astitha is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Engineering program. Her research integrates regional and global atmospheric modeling systems to address critical environmental issues such as extreme weather prediction and air quality forecasting. Dr. Astitha is also recognized for her commitment to inclusive and innovative graduate education. 

Dr. Sarira Motaref, a Professor in Residence in Civil Engineering and Associate Director of Faculty Development in UConn’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), has a deep passion for pedagogical innovation. Her research spans structural engineering, seismic design, and 3D imaging for bridge assessments, but it’s her instructional leadership and focus on student-centered learning that earned her this distinction. 

This award was established by Charles R. Klewin, founder and Chairman of the KLEWIN Building Company, in recognition of teaching excellence in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Mr. Klewin, a UConn Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award recipient, has generously supported the school through endowments and professional mentorship over the years. 

We congratulate Drs. Astitha and Motaref on this well-deserved honor and thank them for their continued dedication to the student experience. 

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SoCEE) at the University of Connecticut is proud to announce that Dr. Kay Wille will officially assume the role of Director in August 2025, following a year of service as interim director.

Since joining UConn in 2010, Dr. Wille has become a cornerstone of the School’s research and academic community. He brings with him a distinguished track record in both leadership and research, having previously served as group coordinator for Structures and Applied Mechanics, director of graduate programming, and principal investigator on more than 30 externally funded projects, with a cumulative research portfolio exceeding $12.7 million.

Dr. Wille is an internationally recognized expert in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) and cementitious composite materials, with a research focus spanning fiber-reinforced concrete, high-temperature durability, strain-rate sensitivity, and sustainable infrastructure materials. He currently leads the Advanced Cementitious Materials & Composites (ACMC) Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research hub that bridges material design, structural applications, and computational simulation to develop next-generation infrastructure solutions that are stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient.

In addition, Dr. Wille serves as the principal investigator of UConn’s Concrete Foundations Research Team, which plays a leading role in addressing the deterioration of concrete foundations caused by pyrrhotite-bearing aggregates. His team has developed an advanced, minimally invasive technique for quantifying pyrrhotite concentrations in concrete with high precision – work that continues to support Connecticut homeowners, engineers, and policymakers as they navigate the region’s foundation crisis.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Wille has taught 54 courses during his time at UConn, impacting over 1,600 students. He holds both a Ph.D. and diploma in civil engineering from the University of Leipzig, Germany. His scholarly contributions include 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, 40 conference papers, two patents, and one book. He was recently named among the top 2% of scientists worldwide in a global citation-ranking database developed by Stanford University.

Reflecting on his appointment, Dr. Wille shared,

“I’ve seen firsthand the exceptional talent and commitment of the SoCEE community. I look forward to building on our strong foundation of academic excellence while preparing our students to lead solutions for today’s infrastructure and sustainability challenges.”

We extend our congratulations to Dr. Wille and are excited for the next chapter of leadership in SoCEE.

For more information about his appointment, check out the UConn Today article.

The UConn School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is proud to celebrate Aagya Dahal, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who has been awarded a renewal of the Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year.

This prestigious international fellowship supports women from developing and emerging economies who are pursuing PhDs or postdoctoral research in STEM disciplines and are committed to academic careers in their home countries. With a rigorous selection process that evaluates academic excellence, research impact, and future potential, the award provides up to $50,000 to support tuition and living expenses.

Aagya was initially awarded the fellowship for the 2024-25 academic year and has now secured a renewal in recognition of her continued research excellence and commitment to global sustainability. Her research focuses on one of the most pressing challenges in civil engineering today: reducing the environmental footprint of concrete, the world’s most widely used construction material.

Research Toward Sustainable Infrastructure

Concrete production is responsible for approximately 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with cement being the major contributor. To address this, Aagya’s research explores the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), limestone powder, metakaolin, and recycled glass powder as partial replacements for cement in ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC).

UHPC is an advanced construction material known for its superior strength, durability, and efficiency. However, the behavior of SCMs in UHPC, particularly their dispersion and agglomeration tendencies in highly alkaline environments, remains an underexplored area. Aagya’s work seeks to fill this gap by investigating particle dispersion mechanisms, polymer-SCM interactions, and re-agglomeration dynamics, which are critical factors that influence concrete microstructure and performance.

So far, her research has included extensive testing on SCMs such as silica fume, limestone powder, glass powder, Flyash C, and Flyash F. Using vacuum filtration and specialized squeezing apparatus, she has extracted cement pore solutions and conducted sedimentation tests, optical microscopy, and laser particle analysis to study how SCMs behave in solution. Her ultimate goal is to identify effective polymer dispersants that can enhance dispersion and minimize the need for cement, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of future infrastructure projects.

A Commitment to Global Impact

Beyond the lab, Aagya is passionate about promoting environmental sustainability and empowering women in science and engineering. Her research not only aims to transform materials used in global construction practices, but also reflects her personal dedication to advancing equity in STEM fields.

“I am truly honored to receive this fellowship and proud to be a Faculty for the Future Fellow,” said Aagya. “I am thankful to everyone who was a part of this journey, including my advisor, my husband, and my parents. This award empowers me as a woman from STEM and strengthens my commitment towards advancing other women. With this support, I look forward to making meaningful contributions in the field of STEM and inspiring the next generation of scientists.”

We congratulate Aagya on this significant achievement and are proud to support her continued work in building a more sustainable and equitable future through research, education, and leadership.

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SoCEE) is proud to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Ph.D. student Oluwaseun Akinola Moses, who has recently been selected for two competitive honors: a 2025 NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) Graduate Mentorship and the 2025–2026 Team-TERRA Fellowship.

Mentorship with NASA SARP

Oluwaseun will serve as a Graduate Mentor for the 2025 NASA SARP West Coast cohort – an immersive, hands-on research program run by NASA’s Earth Science Division. The program engages undergraduate students in Earth science research using NASA’s airborne platforms.

In this role, he will:

• Guide students through data collection aboard research flights
• Support scientific analysis and presentation
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive research environment

His work will span an eight-week research program based in Ontario and Irvine, California (June 21-August 12, 2025), and includes flying on NASA’s P-3 and Dynamic Aviation B200 aircraft. Prior to this, he will participate in a mentor workshop in Washington, D.C.

Oluwaseun connects his role to his doctoral research at UConn, which focuses on temperature-dependent atmospheric chemical reactions and their influence on tropospheric ozone production. Using models such as CMAQ, WRF, and SMOKE, he studies how pollutants like VOCs and NOₓ drive ozone formation. Reflecting on this honor, Oluwaseun shared,

"Being selected as a NASA SARP Mentor is both an honor and a thrilling opportunity. I look forward to learning alongside these bright students, deepening our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, and contributing to meaningful scientific discovery. A heartfelt thank you to my advisor, Dr. Abi Lawal, and the UConn community for their unwavering support. Above all, I am grateful to God Almighty, who continues to illuminate my path like 'the light of dawn, shining brighter until the full light of day.'"

Team-TERRA Fellowship

Oluwaseun was also selected as a full-time trainee in UConn’s Team-TERRA program for the 2025-2026 academic year. This flagship interdisciplinary initiative equips students to assess, predict, and mitigate environmental risks.

The program includes:

• Core courses in Environmental Risk Assessment, Science and Risk Communication, and a year-long Environmental Risk Practicum
• A personalized quantitative methods course
• Workshops, symposia, and a hands-on internship

His research on air quality and ozone formation is highly aligned with Team-TERRA’s mission.

“I am deeply honored to join Team-TERRA and contribute to its transformative work. This opportunity excites me – not only to expand my skillset but also to collaborate with peers and experts in addressing critical environmental challenges,” he reflected.

Both opportunities demonstrate Oluwaseun’s outstanding commitment to environmental science, mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration.