Department of Civil and Urban Engineering

Return to: Academic Department, Degree and Program Information

Chair: Magued G. Iskander

Mission Statement

Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of Civil Engineers who will address critical challenges in the built and natural environments. Through interdisciplinary education, advanced research, and a collaborative and inclusive environment, we educate tomorrow’s engineers, leaders, and innovators who will positively impact society.

The Department

The Department of Civil and Urban Engineering mission involves its faculty in a wide variety of state-of-the-art research and in the development of innovative curricula for the civil engineers of the 21^st century.

Research is focused on developing and implementing intelligent infrastructure-monitoring technologies, including smart materials, and optimizing infrastructure system planning, design, operation and management. Sustainability is a critical objective function and overarching theme.

Through the department’s involvement in local, regional and national issues, students are exposed to a daily laboratory of infrastructure issues and projects all around them. Department research covers a broad range of topics, including highway capacity and level of service, remote monitoring of infrastructure elements and use, management of urban utilities, intelligent transportation systems technologies, construction materials properties and monitoring, urban infrastructure security and construction operations.

Faculty members teach undergraduate and graduate courses. The curriculum exposes students to instructors in the forefront of their fields; men and women who frequently work on projects and topics of current interest, often within the region. The full-time faculty is augmented by excellent adjunct faculty who teach specialty courses in areas of their expertise, bringing a strong practical element to the classroom.

Programs are well-rounded and balanced. They combine all necessary theoretical elements with a strong emphasis on design and application. Graduates are well-versed in state-of-the-art techniques and develop the skills needed to become leaders in the profession. Among these skills are the ability to communicate effectively in oral and written form and the ability to understand the context of civil engineering projects in a complex society.

Contact Information

NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Six MetroTech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: (646) 997-3223
Web: https://engineering.nyu.edu/academics/departments/civil-and-urban-engineering

Civil Engineering Profession

Civil engineers are responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining and operating today’s infrastructure. These areas cover a wide range of urban and regional systems and functions, including buildings, roads, bridges, airports, rail systems, dams, irrigation systems, water supply systems, environmental ecosystems and solid- and liquid-waste treatment and disposal systems and processes. The civil engineer practices in a broad and exciting field with a major impact on society in general and on its infrastructure environment in particular.

Modern civil engineering also deals with rapidly expanding information technologies. These technologies monitor, control, operate and manage complex infrastructure systems. From smart buildings to remote monitoring of transportation, water supply, sewage and other infrastructures, the modern civil engineer applies information technologies to improve the quality of the infrastructure environment.

Degree Programs

The department’s undergraduate programs deliver a broad civil-engineering background to the engineer beginning a professional career. Graduate programs allow students to specialize in particular areas or sub-disciplines and to pursue general graduate work across several different areas. The department offers the following degree and certificate programs:

Bachelor of Science

• Civil Engineering, B.S.  offered by the Civil Engineering Program   

Undergraduate Minors

• Construction Management Minor  
• Environmental Engineering Minor  
• Structural Engineering Minor  
• Transportation Minor  
• Urban Informatics Minor  

Master of Science

• Civil Engineering, M.S.  offered by the Civil Engineering Program  
• Construction Management, M.S.  offered by the Construction Management Program  
• Environmental Engineering, M.S.  offered by the  Environmental Engineering and Science Program  
• Environmental Science, M.S.  offered by the  Environmental Engineering and Science Program  
• Transportation Management, M.S.  offered by the Transportation Program  
• Transportation Planning and Engineering, M.S.  offered by the Transportation Program  
• Urban Infrasturcture Systems, M.S. offered by the Urban Infrastructure Systems Program  

Doctor of Philosophy

• Civil Engineering, Ph.D.  offered by the Civil Engineering Program  
• Transportation Planning and Engineering, Ph.D.  offered by the Transportation Program  
• Urban Systems, Ph.D. offered by the Urban Systems Program  

Graduate Advanced Certificates

• Construction Management Advanced Certificate *
• Executive Construction Management (Exec 21) Advanced Certificate  
• Traffic Engineering Advanced Certificate   
• Transportation Planning Advanced Certificate  

*Offered in conjunction with the Department of Management

Faculty

Professors

John C. Falcocchio, PE, Professor 
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
Travel demand forecasting, transportation system evaluation, planning and management

Masoud Ghandehari, Professor 
PhD, Northwestern University
Mechanics of fracture, durability of concrete structures, structural materials

Nikhil Gupta, Professor
PhD, Louisiana State University
Multifunctional micro and nano-composites materials, Additive manufacturing, Sensing of damage and structural health monitoring

Magued G. Iskander, F.ASCE, PE, Department Chair and Professor of Civil Engineering
PhD, University of Texas at Austin
Foundation engineering, modeling soil structure interaction and flow using transparent soils, long term behavior of sustrainable piling made of recycled polymers, marine geotechnology, pile foundations, alternative foundations, geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring

Debra Laefer, Professor 
PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Geotechnical and structural engineering 

Samer Madanat, Global Network Professor of Engineering; Dean of Engineering, NYUAD
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Transportation infrastructure management

Kaan Ozbay, Professor 
PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Transportation modeling for safety and emergency management operations, real-time traffic control, ITS technology, transportation network organization

Maurizio Porfiri, Institute Professor
PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Dynamical Systems Theory and Applications, Mechanics of Advanced Materials, Multiphysics Modeling

Industry Professors

André​ Bulter

Lawrence Chiarelli, PE, Esq., F.ASCE, Industry Professor of Construction Management, Director of Construction Management Program
JD, Brooklyn Law School
ME, The Cooper Union
Construction law, program and construction management; structural engineering and cost estimating

Michael Horodniceanu, PE, Industry Professor and Chair of the Institute of Construction Innovations
PhD, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Engaging stakeholders across the construction industry, including developers, designers, contractors, and government officials, in formulating new approaches to the construction challenges​ 

Mohsen Hossein, Industry Professor of Civil Engineering, Coordinator of Graduate Programs in Civil Engineering
PhD, McGill University
Geotechnical engineering, environmental geotechnology, environmental impact assessment

Weihua Jin, Industry Professor
PhD, Columbia University
Sustainable cement-based materials, multi-scale materials mechanics, structural and earthquake engineering

Anne Dudek Ronan, PE, Industry Professor 
PhD, Stanford University
Water resources engineering, groundwater flow and transport modeling, numerical modeling uncertainty, climate adaptation

José M. Ulerio, Industry Professor
MS, Polytechnic University
Transportation and traffic engineering; collection, handling and analysis of large-scale transportation data bases; highway capacity and quality of service analysis; travel demand forecasting; geometric design of highways

Associate Professors

​Joseph Chow, Institute Associate Professor and Deputy Director of C2SMART
PhD, University of California, Irvine
Transportation systems, multimodal networks, behavioral urban logistics, smart cities, transport economics

Semiha Ergan, Associate Professor
PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
IT to support design, construction and operations of civil infrastructure systems, urban challenges for AEC/FM

Saif Jabari, Associate Professor, NYUAD
PhD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Traffic flow theory and dynamical modeling, real-time traffic analytics, network flows and sensor placement problems, applied probability and uncertainty quantification

Elena S. Prassas, Associate Professor 
PhD, Polytechnic University
Traffic engineering, software systems and simulation for transportation applications, transportation economics, AI application

Industry Associate Professors

Jack Bringardner, Industry Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Academic and Curricular Affairs
PhD, The University of Texas at Austin
Smart Cities Technology, Transportation

Kaitlyn Hanley

Assistant Professors

Jennifer Apell, Assistant Professor
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chen Feng, Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Michigan
Robotic vision and robotics for construction and civil engineering

Andrea Silverman, Assistant Professor
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Detection and control of waterborne pathogens, wastewater and fecal sludge treatment for reuse, natural disinfection mechanisms

Daniel Vignon

Research Faculty

Stephan Bless, Research Professor
ScD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Granular mechanics, soil structure interaction, ballistics

Senior Lecturer

Roula Maloof, Senior Lecturer 
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of New York
Non-destructive evaluation, fracture mechanics, finite element analysis, stress analysis

Adjunct Lecturers

Construction Management and Engineering

Peter Amato, Adjunct Professor
MS, John Jay College
President, Site Safety, LLC

Pooyan Aslani, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Polytechnic University
Resource-constrained scheduling, building information modeling (BIM), risk analysis

Andrew J. Bates, Adjunct Professor, USAF Ret.
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Strategic planning and construction operations, risk analysis, statics

Frank DarConte, Research Professor
PhD, NYU Tandon
Vice President, The DeMatteis Organizations

Omar Elsherief, PE, Adjunct Professor 
PhD, Polytechnic University
President, Structuretech Engineering

Omar Khair-Eldin, PE, Adjunct Professor
CE, Columbia Unversity
Senior Supervising Engineer, Parsons PTG Engineers

Robert Otruba, PE, Adjunct Professor
BS, Syracuse University
University Director, Forensic and Litigation Consulting, FTI

Ronald J. Pennella, Adjunct Professor
MS, Polytechnic University
Project Executive, StructureTone Inc.

Salvador Rozenberg, RPA, Adjunct Professor
EMBA, University of New Haven
Principal, Transaction Maintenance Company

Joel Sciascia, Esq., Adjunct Professor
JD, Fordham Law School
MS, Arizona State University, Del Webb
School of Construction General Counsel, Pavarini McGovern LLC

Exec 21 Program in Construction Management

Peter M. Chorman, AIA, LEED AP, Adjunct Professor
BS, New York Institute of Technology
Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle America’s, Inc.

Francis J. Lombardi, PE, Adjunct Professor
MS, Columbia University
Chief Engineer, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Ret.)

Raymond R. Savino, Adjunct Professor
MBA, Bernard Baruch College
Chief Financial Officer, The DeMatteis Organizations

Environmental and Water Resources Engineering

Roy Messaros, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology
US Army Corps of Engineers

Joon Om, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Polytechnic University

Haralambos V. Vasiliadis, PE, DEE, D.WRE, CIH, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Polytechnic University
Senior Civil and Environmental Engineer and Technical Advisor, EPM

Dan Westervelt, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Carnegie Mellon University

Structural and Geotechnical Engineering

Walid Aboumoussa, PE, Adjunct Professor 
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Partner, Antonucci & Associates, Architects & Engineers, LLP

J. Jong Lou, PE, Adjunct Professor 
PhD, Northwestern University
President, J.J. Lou Associates LLPC

Alfonso Whu, Adjunct Professor
MS, Polytechnic University

Transportation and Highway Engineering

Andrew Bata, Adjunct Professor
MS, Northwestern University
New York City Transit Authority

Philip A. Habib, PE, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of New York
President, Philip A. Habib Associates

Richard Malchow, Adjunct Professor 
MS, Union College

Raman Patel, Adjunct Professor
PhD, Polytechnic University

Genaro Sansone, Adjunct Professor
MBA, Iona College
New York City Transit Authority

Faculty Emeriti

Alvin S. Goodman, PE, Professor Emeritus
PhD, New York University

Fletcher H. (Bud) Griffis, F.ASCE, PE
Professor Emeritus
PhD, Oklahoma State University 

Roger P. Roess, Professor Emeritus
PhD, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

Return to: Academic Department, Degree and Program Information