Systems Challenges Require Systems Thinking

The department has just completed our strategic plan for the next 5 years and from this process emerged ways to think about our research and teaching more collectively. Our work is inspired by many innovations (robotics, autonomous systems, the sharing economy), by technological challenges (rapid decarbonization, resource and energy recovery, large scale additive manufacturing) and by societal needs (rapidly changing climate and rising sea level, extreme events, social equity). CEE is transitioning from operating from the traditional silos of solid mechanic and structures, geotechnics, transportation and environmental engineering to addressing systems challenges with systems thinking as illustrated in our new graphic.