Sustainability and Healthy Environments

Engineering Healthy Communities

From the air and water we depend on, to the infrastructure and energy that supports our communities, research at the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science is shaping a sustainable future for the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Here, we bring together engineering, environmental science, computing, and data-driven approaches to explore complex issues like:

How can we monitor our environment - from air quality to water systems and more - to make better informed decisions?

How can we create, conserve, and manage energy to account for changing community needs?

How can we protect and preserve our vital natural resources through changing climate?

How can we construct our buidlings and bridges to withstand major disasters?

How can we design our vehicles and transportation systems more efficiently?

Maseeh College faculty and students are answering all these questions and more. Based in the heart of downtown Portland, our researchers have firsthand access to collaborations with public agencies, utilities, industry, and community partners, allowing us to tackle environmental challenges as they occur right in our backyard: in our region's rivers, forests, agricultural landscapes, and growing urban areas. These partnerships not only provide students with opportunities to study environmental systems in the field, but to engage in impactful research that directly shapes people's lives: not just in their communities, but beyond Oregon as well.

Our Faculty

ARID map showing the geologically similar zones in the great basin in different colors

FEATURED: How do you bet millions on heat you cannot measure?

Imagine being asked to spend millions of dollars drilling a well, based on a prediction of how hot the rock is two miles down. Machine learning researcher John Lipor thinks AI can make that bet less of a gamble - and the U.S. Department of Energy has decided the idea is worth testing.

SPECIALTY AREAS

Environmental Sensing

A healthy environment begins with understanding what is happening within it. Maseeh College researchers are developing the sensors, instrumentation, machine-learning methods, and environmental models needed to needed to measure environmental conditions at scales that were previously difficult or impossible to observe—creating better information decision-makers working to protect environmental and human health.

Elliott Gall studies indoor air quality and human exposure to pollutants, including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and wildfire smoke. His Healthy Buildings Research Lab combines field measurements and laboratory research to understand how pollutants move through buildings and how filtration and other interventions can reduce exposure. Also working in air quality is James Pankow, who brings additional expertise in atmospheric and environmental chemistry, studying the behavior of pollutants and aerosols in the atmosphere - how they are formed, transported, and transformed.

Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty extend this work through advanced environmental sensing technologies. David Burnett develops low-power, wireless, field-deployable environmental sensors, including technologies for continuous water-quality monitoring. John Lipor applies signal processing and machine learning to environmental sensing, developing methods for extracting information from complex measurements and enabling autonomous systems to better understand natural environments.

Water & Climate

Water connects us and our ecosystems, while a changing climate is reshaping how water moves through the environment. Maseeh College researchers researchers connect climate, water quality, hydrology, and ecosystems to understand and manage environmental challenges we experience every day—from flooding and drought to contaminated water, stormwater runoff, and extreme heat.

Data assimiliation is foundational to this work. Peyman Abbaszadeh uses computational hydrology and satellite observations to study hydrologic processes and improve predictions of hydroclimate events under a changing climate. His work helps advance our ability to understand and prepare for droughts, floods, and other water-related extremes. Samantha Hartzell studies how vegetation moves water and energy through the environment, with applications ranging from green roofs to urban landscapes. Her research helps us understand which plants and landscapes can better manage rainfall and provide cooling—important tools as communities face heavier storms and hotter conditions.

Gwynn Johnson examines how contaminants move through soil and water and how engineering can prevent them from spreading. Her research on groundwater remediation and stormwater treatment can help us better manage the water resources and environments people depend on. Scott Wells develops models that help us understand how pollutants, sediment, temperature, and other factors move through rivers and lakes. His research has included Portland-area waterways such as the Columbia Slough and Smith and Bybee Lakes, demonstrating how modeling can inform efforts to understand and protect the water systems in our own communities.

Sustainable Cities & Systems

The health of a community depends not only on its natural environment, but also on the systems people use every day. At the Maseeh College, researchers are exploring transportation, energy, and the design of our cities work together to influence our quality of life—from the way we get to work and school to the way our neighborhoods produce, store, and use energy.

Mechnical Engineering faculty Ilke Celik develops new approaches to energy and infrastructure, including new energy-storage technologies and solar systems designed with sustainability in mind. Her research explores how to expand access to clean energy while using fewer resources and creating less waste, incliding ways that solar panels could be integrated with urban agriculture.

In our Civil Engineering department, Miguel Figliozzi's research spans electric vehicles, transportation emissions, public transit, and freight and logistics. His work can help us understand the environmental impacts of how people and goods move—and inform decisions that can mean cleaner transportation systems and better options for walking, biking, and public transit. Tanmoy Bhowmik explores how new transportation technologies, like electric and connected vehicles, interact with energy consumption, land use, and public policy. For everyday travelers, this work can help answer practical questions about how transportation systems affect health and safety, and how communities can prepare for the next generation of vehicles.

People waiting at a crosswalk intersection outside of Pioneer Place in Portland, Oregon.

PSU Will Work With Oregon Department of Transportation to Advance Safety At Intersections

Lacey Friedly | February 20th 2025

Can changing the timing of traffic signals improve pedestrian safety? Portland State University (PSU) researchers want to find out. To help make Oregon's road safer for everyone, the university is launching a new study. Funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the project is led by Sirisha Kothuri of PSU and Patrick Singleton of Utah...

Our Graduates at Work

Achyuth Ravilla, PhD '24

Brett Stinson, MS '23

A white man with red facial hair, glasses, and a brown hat, against a backdrop rees and water

Kirk Paulsen, MS '18

Achyuth Ravilla, PhD '24

Achyuth Ravilla earned his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2024 and worked at the intersection of engineering, economics and environmental science. His doctoral work examined solar photovoltaic technologies, including applications in agriculture and clean hydrogen, while evaluating their environmental and economic impacts. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maine, he is now an Assistant Professor at South Dakota Mines.

Brett Stinson, MS '23

After his first attempt at higher education didn't pan out, Brett Stinson almost gave up on the idea of going to college. Now, he's an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and PhD candidate, researching indoor air quality in Dr. Elliott Gall's Healthy Buildings Research Lab.

Kirk Paulsen, MS '18

Kirk Paulsen graduated in 2018 with a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering. After working as a Transportation Engineer at Alta Planning + Design and a Traffic Analyst at various firms in Portland/Seattle, he's now a Senior Engineer at Parametrix’s Portland location. His day to day focuses on active transportation design, with a primary interest in advancing innovative bike facilities during the early stages of project development.