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Department Events

Events

• May

  10

  Northwestern Engineering's Dean's Seminar Series presents: Arun Majumdar

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  2:00 PM

  EVENT DETAILS

  Energy, Climate, and Sustainability: The Defining Issue of the 21st Century
  
  The 20th century was marked by dramatic innovations in medical care, transportation, food production, communications, computing, aerospace technology, and the built environment. This has led to remarkable improvements in our quality of life, brought billions of people out of poverty, and supported a four-fold increase in global population and seven-fold increase in GDP per capita. The fundamental infrastructure to enable these historic changes was energy, but the use of fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse gas emissions have made last century’s approach unsustainable.

  We are now witnessing a global economy undergo a once-in-a-century shift to chart a sustainable course. Will this happen fast enough to address climate change? What are the innovations needed? Will it happen uniformly around the world? What are the roles of academic institutions, government, business, and non-profits? Do we have the domestic and global institutions to support this massive endeavor? And could the current economic and health crisis of COVID-19 play a role in this global transformation?

  This talk will explore these issues and take stock of the opportunities and challenges ahead.

  Presenter: Arun Majumdar
  Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the department of mechanical engineering

  From 2009 to 2012, Majumdar served as the founding director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and from March 2011 to June 2012, he was the Acting Under Secretary of Energy. After leaving Washington, Majumdar was the vice president for energy at Google. Majumdar is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also served as the vice chairman of the advisory board to former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, was a science envoy for the US Department of State, and serves on the advisory board of numerous energy businesses and non-profits.

  Co-sponsored by the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN) and the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience (CESR).

  Register Now

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  TIME Monday, May 10, 2021 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

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  CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Sep

  18

  CEE Faculty Retreat

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  10:00 AM 1702 Chicago Ave

  EVENT DETAILS

  Annual faculty retreat

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  TIME Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

  LOCATION 1702 Chicago Ave   

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Sep

  18

  CEE Department BBQ & Poster Session

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  4:00 PM 225 Greenwood St

  EVENT DETAILS

  Annual CEE BBQ and Poster Session to begin the academic year.

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  TIME Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

  LOCATION 225 Greenwood St   

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Sep

  20

  CEE New Student Orientation

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  8:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Orientation for new students to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

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  TIME Friday, September 20, 2024 at 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Sep

  23

  Welcome & Luncheon for New Full-time Graduate Students

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  11:00 AM Ryan Auditorium, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Enjoy a welcome from Dean Christopher A. Schuh and other McCormick leaders, and receive a Northwestern Engineering T-shirt. A free lunch on the Tech East Plaza will follow.

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  TIME Monday, September 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

  LOCATION Ryan Auditorium, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Sep

  24

  Fall 2024 Classes Begin (No Northwestern Monday in Fall)

  University Academic Calendar

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILS

  Fall 2024 Classes Begin (No Northwestern Monday in Fall)

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  TIME Tuesday, September 24, 2024

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  CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Sep

  27

  EES Seminar- Nanqing Zhou

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Title: Production of Nanoplastics and Bioavailable Carbons by Wastewater Comamonas

  Abstract: Comamonadacae bacteria are enriched on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics in wastewaters and urban rivers, but the PET-degrading mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated these mechanisms with Comamonas testosteroni KF-1, a wastewater isolate, by combining microscopy, spectroscopy, proteomics, protein modeling, and genetic engineering. Compared to minor dents on PET films, scanning electron microscopy revealed significant fragmentation of PET pellets, resulting in 3.5-fold increase in the abundance of small nanoparticles (< 100 nm) during 30-day cultivation. Infrared spectroscopy captured primarily hydrolytic cleavage in the fragmented pellet particles. Solution analysis further demonstrated double hydrolysis of a PET oligomer, bis-(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate, to the bioavailable monomer terephthalate. Supplementation with acetate, a common wastewater co-substrate, promoted cell growth and PET fragmentation. Of the multiple hydrolases encoded in the genome, intracellular proteomics detected only one, which was found in both acetate-only and PET-only conditions. Homology modeling of this hydrolase structure illustrated substrate binding analogous to reported PET hydrolases despite dissimilar sequences. Mutants lacking this hydrolase gene were incapable of PET oligomer hydrolysis and had 25% decrease in PET fragmentation; re-insertion of the gene restored both functions. Thus, we have identified constitutive production of a key PET-degrading hydrolase in wastewater Comamonas, which can be exploited for plastics bioconversion.

  Bio: Dr. Nanqing Zhou is a postdoctoral scholar working with Prof. Ludmilla Aristilde at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. Dr. Zhou obtained her B.S. in Environmental Science and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China. She then obtained a doctoral degree in Marine Biosciences from the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on applying multi-omics approaches to unravel the metabolic network in biotechnologically relevant microbes using waste carbon sources.

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  TIME Friday, September 27, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Sep

  30

  Last day to add a class or change a section for Fall (Last day for tuition adjustment related to enrollment changes (to or from full-time). No reductions are made to bills for dropped or swapped classes after this date)

  University Academic Calendar

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILS

  Last day to add a class or change a section for Fall (Last day for tuition adjustment related to enrollment changes (to or from full-time). No reductions are made to bills for dropped or swapped classes after this date)

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  TIME Monday, September 30, 2024

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  CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Oct

  4

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, October 4, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Oct

  11

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, October 11, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Oct

  12

  CEE Fall Career Fair

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  10:00 AM Louis Room, Norris University Center

  EVENT DETAILS

  Annual CEE Fall Career Fair for students.

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  TIME Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

  LOCATION Louis Room, Norris University Center    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Oct

  18

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, October 18, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Nov

  1

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, November 1, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Nov

  8

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, November 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Nov

  15

  EES Seminar

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Friday, November 15, 2024 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)