School of Engineering
Showing 221-240 of 381 Results
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Adam Nayak
Acting Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioAdam Nayak will join Stanford Civil & Environmental Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Summer 2027. His research examines how the spatiotemporal organization of storms, floods, and droughts shapes risk across interconnected infrastructure, financial, and energy systems. Broadly, Adam’s work aims to bridge climate risk, stochastic hydrology, and machine learning to support resilient and affordable pathways for communities facing intensifying climate extremes. Adam is currently a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, focused on research in hurricane hazards and risk analysis. He received his PhD from Columbia University in Earth & Environmental Engineering where he was a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow, and his BS and MS from Stanford University in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Management Science & Engineering, respectively.
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Kopal Nihar
Postdoctoral Scholar, Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioI am a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Catherine Gorle, Dr. Sarah Billington and Dr. Rishee Jain. I also did a PhD from Stanford advised by Dr Rishee Jain at Urban Informatics Lab. My research interest lies in understanding data-driven human-building interactions and impact of indoor air quality on occupant behaviour, especially for the purpose of natural cooling.
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Hae Young Noh
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioHae Young Noh is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research introduced the new concept of “structures as sensors” to enable physical structures (e.g., buildings and vehicle frames) to be user- and environment-aware. In particular, these structures indirectly sense humans and surrounding environments through their structural responses (i.e., vibrations) by inferring the desired information (e.g., human behaviors, environmental conditions, heating and cooling system performance), instead of directly measuring the sensing targets with additional dedicated sensors (e.g., cameras, motion sensors). This concept brought a paradigm shift in how we view these structures and how the structures interact with us.
Traditionally, structures that we inhabit (such as buildings or vehicles) are considered as passive and unchanging objects that we need to monitor and control, utilizing a dense set of sensors to collect information. This has often been complicated by “noise” caused by the occupants and environments. For example, building vibrations induced by indoor and outdoor environmental and operational conditions (e.g., people walking around, traffic outside, heating system running, etc.), have been often seen as noise that needs to be removed in traditional building science and structural engineering; however, they are a rich source of information about structure, users, environment, and resources. Similarly, in vehicle engineering, researchers and engineers have been investigating control and dynamics to reduce vehicle vibration for safety and comfort. However, vibrations measured inside vehicles contain information about transportation infrastructure, vehicle itself, and driver.
Noh's work utilizes this “noise” to empower the structures with the ability to perceive and understand the information about users and surroundings using their own responses, and actively adopt and/or interact to enhance their sustainability and the occupants’ quality of life. Since she utilizes the structure itself as a sensing medium, information collection involves a simpler set of hardware that can be easily maintained throughout the structural lifetime. However, the analysis of data to separate the desired information becomes more challenging. This challenge is addressed through high-rate dynamic sensing and multi-source inferencing. Ultimately, her work aims to allow structural systems to become general sensing platforms that are easier and more practical to deploy and maintain in a long-term.
At Stanford University, Noh received her PhD and MS degrees in the CEE department and her second MS degree in Electrical Engineering. Noh earned her BS in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. -
Leonard Ortolano
UPS Foundation Professor of Civil Engineering in Urban and Regional Planning, Emeritus
BioOrtolano is concerned with environmental and water resources policy and planning. His research stresses environmental policy implementation in developing countries and the role of non-governmental organizations in environmental management. His recent interests center on corporate environmental management.
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Islam Osman
Ph.D. Student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, admitted Autumn 2026
BioCivil and Environmental Engineering PhD student in the Osman Lab at Stanford University. I earned my BSc and MSc in Civil Engineering from Cairo University, where I also served as a Research and Teaching Assistant. My previous research focused on quantity and cost estimation for wastewater infrastructure, and I have two years of experience in program management consulting. Outside of academia, I represented Egypt at the World Scout Jamboree, and in my free time, I enjoy walking, reading, journaling, and thoughtful conversations.
