Virginia Tech Civil & Environmental Engineering

CEE continues to make an impact on the global stage, earning recognition among the world’s top universities in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings.

Civil Engineering — No. 8 among U.S. universities
Environmental Engineering — No. 21 among U.S. universities

These rankings reflect the innovation, research excellence, and real-world impact of Hokies making a difference around the globe.

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/06/CM-USNews-Global-Univ-2026.html?utm_source=vtUnirelNewsDailyCMP_june1826-fs&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cmpgn_news&utm_content=2026-06-18

Md Sami Hasnine, Tanmay Das, and Farhan Anjum Badhon recently attended the North Carolina Truck Driving Championship, where they spoke with 137 commercial truck drivers about fatigue, distraction, technology, and other factors that impact safety on our highways.

By gathering firsthand insights from professional drivers, the team is helping develop practical, evidence-based solutions to improve roadway safety nationwide.

Virginia Tech Researchers Take Commercial Vehicle Safety Research Directly to the Drivers Between driving competitions, equipment inspections, and conversations with fellow professionals, many of the truck drivers attending the North Carolina Trucking Association's annual Truck Driving Championship found themselves stopping at an unexpected destination: a Virginia Tech research station.

What do airborne particles and M&M’s have in common? More than you’d think.

Yangyang Liu and Peter Vikesland discovered that tiny particles from things like cooking smoke and wildfire smoke may have a completely different chemistry on the outside than on the inside—just like a candy shell.

Environmental engineers reshape understanding of airborne pollution particles New research reveals that the microscopic particles behave more like M&Ms than uniform droplets, with chemically distinct outer shells that could change how scientists predict air quality, pollution spread, and climate impacts.

Every salad, fruit tray, and bag of produce has a story that begins long before it reaches our kitchens.

Research by Jingqiu Liao explores how bacteria move through soil, water, and agricultural systems, helping us better understand how contamination happens and how to prevent it.

The goal is safer food, stronger public health, and greater confidence in the foods we eat every day.

From soil to salad: How engineers are tracking the hidden journey of listeria Jingqiu Liao is uncovering how dangerous bacteria like listeria survive in nature and food-processing environments. This work can help trace outbreaks faster and make fresh foods safer before they reach our kitchens.

Congratulations to Sunil Sinha on receiving the prestigious ASCE Le Val Lund Award!

This award is in recognition of his leadership and achievements in reducing risk in water infrastructure systems to improve lifeline resilience. He also delivered the Le Val Lund Lecture at an event jointly hosted by Caltech and USC.

Stay tuned! Steel Bridge Design Team at Virginia Tech is competing at the national competition this morning and will be livestreaming from this account around 11:30 EST. Check back to watch them (and cheer along!) from home! Go Hokies!