Engineering Research Goes National

When Temple Review featured the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on the cover of the fall 2009 issue, I wondered why Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering Michel Boufadel–who has been studying the long-term effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill since 2007–wasn’t getting more attention from the national media. But this week, the Associated Press and The Washington Post, The New York Times, Reuters and many other news outlets reported on his incredible research.

Homecoming brings Football winning streak — and Danny Bonaduce

Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend 2009 was a great time, from Friday’s Gallery of Success alumni awards to the tailgate and win against Army on Saturday to the parents’ brunch on Sunday morning. Many former Temple News writers, editors and photographers braved the cold and rain on Friday, and it was well worth it. The alumni panel included Steve Sansweet of Lucasfilms Ltd., Mike Sisak of The New York Times , and Barry Levine of The National Enquirer. Between the panel and the evening reunion — which had surprise guest Danny Bonaduce, by the way (he was the nephew of longtime journalism professor Jackie Steck) — a number of former News staffers toured the current newsroom, chatted with student staffers and reminisced about their days on campus.

Saturday began with a healthy debate — “Should Your Taxes Build Stadiums?” — by two sporting opponents, Temple sociologist Kevin Delaney (author of Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battles Over Building Sports Stadiums) and political scientist Joe McLaughlin (who helped secure public funding for both the Wachovia Center and Lincoln Financial Field). Phillies Fun at Citizens Bank Park followed, and the Phillies’ imminent National League win gave the ball park extra energy.

Die-hard Temple fans started setting up tents in the Lincoln Financial Field parking lot around 9 a.m., and by 11, the Cherry & White banners were flying and the scent of grilling hung in the air. It was much more comfortable and just as lively inside the West Club suite with the Temple University Alumni Association, where about 500 fans shared lunch with the Temple cheerleaders and Hooter before watching Temple beat Army 27-13. (The win made the Owls’ first four-game winning streak since 1985! The next game is at Toledo on Saturday, and our next home game is Nov. 5 against Miami (Ohio).)

Saturday evening, alumni of the Temple Honors program gathered with director Ruth Ost, current Honors students and Honors faculty members in Shusterman Hall. Sunday morning, parents of current students brunched and sipped champagne in Mitten Hall.

If you missed it, mark your calendar now for Alumni Weekend: April 9-11, 2010. The weekend will include tours of the newly opened Baptist Temple, “Taste of Temple” discount night at Main Campus vendors, the Founder’s Celebration black-tie party in Center City Philadelphia, and more.

(Meanwhile, check out the photos of Homecoming at myowlspace.com/photos)

Addressing Philly’s stormwater issues

Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer included a Page 1 story about the city’s plans to deal with stormwater over the next two decades. Currently, whenever it rains, the volume overwhelms the city’s infrastructure, and both the storm runoff and untreated sewage flow straight into the Delaware, the Schuylkill and other creeks and rivers. A major culprit is impervious surface (such as sidewalks, rooftops, roads and parking lots, where water can’t enter the ground).

Temple wasn’t mentioned in the story, but this is an area  that faculty researchers are actively engaged in improving, locally and nationally. The  cover story of the current Temple Review — which arrived in homes in early September — is  about the  Civil and Environmental Engineering Department‘s work in this area. The article, “Physicians for the Planet,”  talks about the department’s development of new water treatment methods (such as using ultrasound to destroy minute contaminants) and the kinds of porous surfaces mentioned in the Inquirer article (one called PlastiSoil uses recycled plastic bottles to strengthen the ground beneath asphalt and pavement).

The Center for Sustainable Communities, which is part of the (newly named) School of Environmental Design, also is working on solutions and strategies for stormwater management. A story in the fall 2008 issue of the Temple Review (PDF), “Mapping out a Future We Can Live With” (page 24) talks about the CDC’s work in sustainable land use and floodplain mapping (FEMA adopted the maps Temple researchers generated).