2005-06 - Office of the Registrar - Duke University

223. Cellular and Integrative Cardiovascular Physiology and Biophysics
232L. Biomedical Instrumentation
244. Mathematical Models of Physiological Systems
250. Cardiovascular Mechanics
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CE)
Professor Avissar, Chair (121 Engineering); Associate Professor Kabala, Director of
Graduate Studies; Professors Barros, Haff, Katul, Laursen, Malin, Medina, Petroski, and
Virgin; Associate Professors Albertson, Boadu, Gavin, Hueckel, Kasibhatla, Peirce, and
Porporato; Assistant Professors Dolbow, Khlystov, Linden, Nadeau, and Schuler; Assistant
Research Professors Ormeci and Sharpless; Professor Emeriti Wilson
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Duke University
offers programs of study and research leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees with a major
in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Students may specialize in one of the following
tracks: (1) materials, structures and geo-systems; (2) hydrology and environmental fluid
dynamics; and (3) pollution and remediation.
Current research in these areas focuses on: new computational paradigms for complex
mechanical systems, including contact, fracture and damage problems; environmental
geomechanics and geophysics; adaptive materials and structures and their use in structural
dynamics; microstructred materials; deterministic and stochastic water resources and
contaminant hydrology; global and regional water cycle; ocean-land-atmosphere
interactions; biological and chemical aspects of pollution and its remediation in water, air
and soil.
Additionally, students may explore interdisciplinary research topics within a new
strategic initiative undertaken by CEE in the area of “Extreme Environments.” Research in
this field will ensure a safer response of the environment and structures to various extreme
conditions, occurring spontaneously, incidentally or by design. The Department also
supports two new multi-disciplinary research thrusts in (1) instrument and sensor
technology applied to measurements in and monitoring of environmental, structural and
geo-environmental systems and (2) mathematical and experimental simulators, all broadly
related to the natural and engineered environments. With the latter initiatives the Department
plans to lead the profession in developing a new physical models aimed at simulating the
chemical, biological, physical, and mechanical aspects of the environment and structures.
That includes scaling laws to extrapolate processes from the model scale to the local,
regional and global scales, or from the micro-structural to macro-structural scale. These new
physical models will also provide a means of studying the fundamental processes necessary
to develop self-sustained environmental systems to be used for long-term space exploration
missions.
200. Engineering Data Analysis. Introduction to the statistical error analysis of imprecise
data and the estimation of physical parameters from data with uncertainity. Interpolation and
filtering. Data and parameter covariance. Emphasis on time series analysis in the time- and
frequency-domains. Linear and nonlinear least squares. Confidence intervals and belts.
Hypothesis testing. Introduction to parameter estimation in linear and nonlinear dynamic
systems. Prerequisite: graduate standing or instructor consent. Instructors: Gavin or Boadu.
3 units.
201. Continuum Mechanics. Tensor fields and index notation. Analysis of states of stress
and strain. Conservation laws and field equations. Constitutive equations for elastic,
viscoelastic, and elastic-plastic solids. Formulation and solution of simple problems in
elasticity, viscoelasticity, and plasticity. Instructors: Hueckel, Laursen, or Nadeau. 3 units.
202. Applied Mathematics for Engineers. Advanced analytical methods of applied
mathematics useful in solving a wide spectrum of engineering problems. Applications of
linear algebra, calculus of variations, the Frobenius method, ordinary differential equations,
partial differential equations, and boundary value problems. Prerequisites: Math 108 or
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CE) 133