The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is proud to share that Dr. Davis Chacón-Hurtado, Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Co-Director of the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 ExCEEd New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The award, part of ASCE’s long-running Project ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) and administered by its Committee on Faculty Development, honors early-career faculty who demonstrate exceptional teaching abilities, a dedication to student learning, and a strong commitment to the values of civil engineering education. Dr. Chacón-Hurtado was selected from a highly competitive national pool for his outstanding classroom instruction, student mentorship, and commitment to integrating human rights principles into engineering education.

Founded in 1852, ASCE is the nation’s oldest civil engineering society and a global leader in infrastructure expertise. With more than 160,000 members in 177 countries, ASCE supports the profession through world-class continuing education, technical conferences, and the largest repository of civil engineering research content. The Society plays a critical role in shaping codes, standards, and educational programs that protect the public and advance the built and natural environments.

At UConn, Dr. Chacón-Hurtado exemplifies the mission of ExCEEd through his role as Co-Director of the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative — a nationally recognized collaboration between the College of Engineering and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. Through this initiative, he works alongside more than 60 faculty across disciplines to develop ethical, accessible, and socially responsive engineering solutions to global challenges such as water access, food security, infrastructure justice, and cybersecurity.

This recognition not only celebrates Dr. Chacón-Hurtado’s innovative teaching and service but also underscores UConn’s growing leadership at the intersection of engineering and human rights — a field that is reshaping how engineers are trained to serve society.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Chacón-Hurtado on this well-deserved national honor.

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is proud to announce that Devin Rhoads has been selected as the recipient of the CEE Outstanding Graduate TA Fellowship for Spring 2025, based on exemplary student feedback from course evaluations.

Devin’s commitment to student learning and success has made a strong impression across the department. He is known for adapting his teaching to meet students' diverse needs and for helping them find meaning in complex material – especially in the field of transportation.

“The thing I enjoy most about being a TA is being able to guide students toward success; not every student learns in the same way, and each student presents a unique opportunity to approach teaching in new ways. It is always a pleasure when I can get students to find genuine interest in Transportation.”

In addition to his work in the classroom, Devin conducts research that leverages data from local transit agencies to improve user experience and inform better transportation design.

Please join us in congratulating Devin on this well-earned recognition. We are proud to have him as part of the SoCEE teaching team!

The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering proudly celebrates the achievements of our undergraduate students who showcased their capstone work at the annual Senior Design Demonstration Day on May 2, 2025. This culminating event highlights a year of collaboration, research, and innovation as students tackle real-world engineering challenges alongside industry sponsors.

Outstanding projects were recognized across the Civil Engineering (CE) and Environmental Engineering (ENVE) tracks. Below are the winning teams, whose work exemplifies the excellence and impact of a UConn engineering education.

Civil Engineering Awards

First Place: CE09 – New Single-Story Retail Building

Sponsored by E2 Engineers
Team Members: Elizabeth Doyle, Caroline Insinna, Sophia Klaboe, Amina Redzovic

This team designed a steel-framed single-story retail building supported by a concrete foundation and lateral load-resisting system. Using finite element analysis software, they optimized the structural steel design, verified component performance through hand calculations, and developed a full set of construction drawings. The project also included carbon emissions analysis and proposed strategies for reducing the environmental footprint of the building.

Civil Engineering Team 09

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Second Place: CE02 – Intersection Improvements at Route 6 and Route 61

Sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Transportation
Team Members: Kristen Daddi, Ethan Peck, Priscilla Sawyer, Austin St. Cyr

To address the high number of angle crashes at a hazardous curve in Woodbury, CT, this team developed two proposed redesigns for the intersection: a modern single-lane roundabout to promote traffic calming and improve visibility, and a signalized intersection as an alternative solution. Their work balanced public safety, transportation engineering principles, and feasibility considerations.

Civil Engineering Team 02

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Third Place: CE11 – Beacon Falls Railroad Station Platform Upgrade

Sponsored by HDR
Team Members: Matthew Barber, Lea Brinton, Alexander Foster, Quinn Havard

Focusing on accessibility and transit improvements, this project involved a preliminary design for a high-level platform at the Beacon Falls rail station. The team developed 15% design plans for the track realignment, a 350-foot platform with canopy, and related station site work, including upgrades to parking and pedestrian access.

Civil Engineering Team 11

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Environmental Engineering Awards

First Place: ENVE05 – Nitrogen Removal at York Wastewater Treatment Facility

Sponsored by Arcadis
Team Members: Ethan Esposito, Julia Horlitz, Jeffrey Valentine

With nitrogen discharge limits tightening under NPDES regulations, this team proposed upgrades to optimize nutrient removal at the York WWTF in York, ME. Drawing on best practices from Metcalf & Eddy and TR-16 design guides, they re-evaluated the aeration process to ensure compliance while minimizing environmental impact, with the goal of achieving effluent nitrogen concentrations below 8 mg/L.

Environmental Engineering Team 05

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Second Place: ENVE06 – Optimization of Water Quality in Waterford, CT

Sponsored by Wright-Pierce
Team Members: Julia Braithwaite, Lily Johnson, Cody Voorhies, Suki Zheng

Tasked with resolving disinfection byproduct violations and chlorine residual decay in a public water system, the team developed and modeled solutions to improve distribution system quality. Their design combined a strategic water main flushing program and active tank mixing with THM removal, informed by a custom-built hydraulic model of the affected zone.

Environmental Engineering Team 06

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Third Place: ENVE04 – Synthetic Alternative to ASTM C-33 Sand

Sponsored by Eljen
Team Members: Kateryna Pekar, Grace Shvodian
In collaboration with Mechanical Engineering Team 18

In response to growing demand and decreasing availability of ASTM C-33 sand, this project explored synthetic alternatives for use in the Eljen Geotextile Sand Filter (GSF) system. Drawing inspiration from UConn’s early geotextile research in the 1970s, the team evaluated materials such as recycled glass and non-woven fabrics to replicate filtration performance and improve long-term feasibility for onsite wastewater systems.

Environmental Engineering Team 04

Click here for more details and to watch their video presentation.

Congratulations to all teams for their exceptional work and dedication!

These projects represent the creativity, rigor, and real-world impact that define the SoCEE undergraduate experience. We extend our thanks to all faculty advisors, sponsors, and judges who made this year’s Senior Design program a success.

To view the full list of 2025 Senior Design projects, visit seniordesignday.engr.uconn.edu.

Samuel Rothfarb, a first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut and advisee of Professor Baikun Li, has been awarded the prestigious NVIDIA GPU Award for Outstanding Research and Poster Presentation at the 2025 Machine Learning in Chemical and Materials Science (MLCM) Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The event was co-sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Software for Chemistry & Materials, and NVIDIA.

Rothfarb’s winning poster, “LLM Agents for Autonomous Density Functional Simulations from Natural Language,” presented cutting-edge work that explores how multi-agent large language model (LLM) systems can autonomously run quantum simulations and design new materials. The project, done in close collaboration with LANL researchers Edward Holby and Wilton Kort-Kamp, integrates OpenAI’s LLMs with NVIDIA’s CUDA-powered GPUs to streamline high-throughput density functional theory (DFT) simulations, which removes barriers of fragility, inefficiency, and technical complexity that plague traditional automated workflows.

His work utilizes “agentic” systems, in which specialized LLMs are deployed with tailored roles, such as error correction, input generation, or planning, allowing for flexible, real-time decision-making during simulations. This enables scientific exploration at a level of autonomy and adaptability not previously possible, especially in applications such as catalyst discovery and quantum materials modeling.

Competing against approximately 30 researchers – many of them postdoctoral scholars from elite institutions such as UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Rothfarb was the only participant from environmental engineering. He received the top prize and an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada GPU to support future computational work. 

“As both an undergraduate and now a Ph.D. student in the SoCEE, I’ve experienced firsthand how the school pushes students to pursue ambitious goals and innovative ideas,” Rothfarb shared. “Receiving this award feels particularly meaningful knowing it builds on the strong foundation I gained under the School’s guidance.”

This award builds on Rothfarb’s growing involvement with LANL. He was selected for a competitive summer internship through a UConn–LANL collaboration spearheaded by Dr. Alexander Balatsky of UConn Physics. One of only two UConn graduate students selected in 2025, Rothfarb is now an Institute of Materials Science Fellow in LANL’s Theoretical Division 4 (Quantum and Condensed Matter Physics), where he continues advanced research on LLM agents – now applied to energetic and critical materials. His work has already garnered attention from senior directors at LANL and from leaders at NVIDIA, including Justin Smith, Principal Manager of AI for Chemistry and Materials.

This achievement highlights Rothfarb’s emerging leadership in scientific AI innovation.

MLCM 2025 Poster

We are thrilled to announce that Haimanti Bala, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut, has been awarded the Bridgette Beato Leadership Legacy Scholarship by the Connecticut Chapter of WTS (Women’s Transportation Seminar).

This scholarship recognizes outstanding graduate students pursuing careers in transportation or related fields who have demonstrated exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to innovation in the transportation sector.

Haimanti’s research focuses on autonomous on-demand transportation services, an area with increasing relevance as cities seek smart mobility solutions. Using simulation tools, she models traffic scenarios to assess the impact of autonomous vehicles and optimize passenger services, such as reducing wait times. Her current work is grounded in a strong background in transportation engineering and modeling, including industry experience on projects like “Rampura-Amulia-Demra Elevated Expressway” and “Dhaka-Chittagong Access Controlled Highway.”

Types of Shared Autonomous Mobility Services (SAMS)

The Bridgette Beato Leadership Legacy Scholarship is part of WTS International’s broader effort to advance women in transportation. Since its founding in 2007, the program has supported the development of future leaders who will shape the systems that move people and goods, drive economic development, and support communities worldwide. 

To learn more about the WTS-CT scholarship program and its mission to support women in transportation, visit the WTS-CT scholarship page. 

Click here to view her most recent publication. 

Astitha (right) at the American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting

Astitha (left) at the AGU 2024 Fall Meeting in Washington DC

Astitha presenting at the NAWEA/WindTech 2024 Conference

SoCEE is proud to announce that Dr. Marina Astitha has been selected as an Eversource Energy Professor in Environmental and Sustainability Education. This distinguished three-year appointment, conferred by the UConn College of Engineering, recognizes early- to mid-career faculty who exemplify excellence in research, innovation in teaching, and service to the profession and broader community.

Dr. Astitha, an Associate Professor in SoCEE, is internationally recognized for her contributions to atmospheric and environmental sciences. She leads UConn’s Atmospheric and Air Quality Modeling Group, where her research is at the forefront of integrating physics-based modeling with artificial intelligence and machine learning to address critical challenges in atmospheric science, extreme storms, renewable energy, and climate resilience. Her work supports a wide range of interdisciplinary applications. Reflecting on her appointment, Dr. Astitha shared 

I am deeply honored to be named an Eversource Energy Professor in Environmental and Sustainability Education by the University of Connecticut College of Engineering. This recognition is a testament to the collective efforts of my students, collaborators, and colleagues who share my passion for advancing research and education in environmental engineering. I am grateful to the Eversource Energy Center  and the College of Engineering for their support and for fostering an environment where excellence, creativity, and service are valued. This Professorship will further empower me to pursue transformative research, mentor the next generation of engineers and scientists, and promote sustainability through education and outreach.

The Eversource Energy Professorship was established to acknowledge young faculty whose scholarship and leadership place them at the forefront of their field. Candidates are nominated by their departments or submit self-nominations, and are evaluated by a selection committee based on research productivity and impact, instructional innovation, and professional service. Only two faculty members in the College of Engineering hold the title at any given time.

In addition to her research, Dr. Astitha is deeply committed to education innovation and student success. She has taught core undergraduate and graduate courses with her teaching consistently receiving outstanding evaluations (instructor scores of 5.0/5.0 over the past five years), and she has been honored with the C.R. Klewin, Inc. Excellence in Teaching Award four times. Dr. Astitha is a Neuroinclusive Teaching Fellow, with a Certificate from the Winter Institute for STEM faculty in Building Neuroinclusive Learning Environments at UConn in 2024, and a faculty Career Champion with UConn’s Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills since 2022, promoting the implementation of strength-based learning, inclusive practices, and career readiness in the engineering classroom. Her leadership has strengthened SoCEE’s mission of advancing solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Astitha on this exceptional honor. Her appointment as Eversource Energy Professor is a testament to her scholarly excellence and her dedication to impactful, forward-thinking environmental education.

For more details on UConn’s partnership with Eversource, click here, or check out the article in UConn Today.