CECEM Labs
Practical hands-on experience is a cornerstone of a CSULB engineering degree. The CECEM Department's instructional laboratories include:
Contact: Mehran Rahmani
Contact: Elhami Nasr
Contact: Mehran Rahmani
The CECEM Materials Laboratory provides students an exposure to civil engineering construction materials by providing hands-on experience with materials used in civil engineering and heavy civil design and construction projects. The laboratory also provides an understanding of the similarities and differences among the different materials, and a knowledge of material testing procedures and methodologies. The lab houses the MTS Servohydraulic Dynamic test machine, which is utilized for instructional purposes as well as employed by faculties and students for their research on advanced materials testing (e.g., high-cycle fatigue, materials aging, and fracture toughness).
Major equipment:
- MTS Landmark® servohydraulic dynamic test systems (55-kips capacity with 6-inch stroke)
- Static compression testing machine (up to ½-million-pound force capacity)
- Tinius-Olsen universal static testing machine (up to 60-kips capacity)
- LVDT extensometers/compressometers
- Electric oven
- Asphalt viscometer and vacuum pump
- High precision electronic scales
- Concrete batching tools and slump cones
- Concrete cylinder capping compound caldron and jig
- Concrete tensile splitting jig
- Timber shear test jig
- Flexural test beam support
- Masonry and concrete cutter
Contact: Jin Gi Hong or Pitiporn Asvapathanagul
The Environmental Engineering Laboratory accommodates both teaching and research activities. Collaborative research groups deliver scientific and engineering discovery, assuring sustainability of water resources and energy recovery performance. The lab is divided into the Energy and Membrane Technology Research Group (Dr. Jin Gi Hong) and the Environmental Bioremediation Research Group (Dr. Pitiporn Asvapathanagul).
The Environmental Engineering Lab possesses the competence to analyze water, wastewater, and soil constituents, such as alkalinity, pH, BOD, COD, heavy metals, surfactants, and nitrogen. Molecular biology and culture-based techniques are employed for microbe detection. Electrochemical systems allow for desalting and recycling brine and wastewater and performing energy extraction.
Research highlights:
- Demineralization of wasted brine
- Energy production using salinity gradients
- Microbial diversity and dynamics in biological water reclamation
- Production of biocementation to improve soil strength
- Compounds of concern (including microplastics), detection in water resources, recovery facilities, and groundwater
Major equipment:
- Potentiostat
- Electrodialysis module
- Thermocycler
- qPCR machine
- Spectrophotometer for water analysis (Hach DR3900)
Contact: Laurie Huning
Contact: Vahid Balali
Major equipment:
- Alienware Laptop (high configuration)
- HTC Vive VR system
- Laser scanner
- Magic Leap VR headset
- Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality headset
- Oculus Rift VR headset
- Samsung 360 camera
Contact: Vahid Balali
Contact: Shadi Saadeh
Contact: Andrea Calabrese
Contact: Shailesh Chandra
Helpful Links
Contact
Department Office: VEC-104
Phone: 562.985.5118
Fax: 562.985.2380
Email: cecem@csulb.edu
Department Chair: Joseph Kim
Mailing Address:
Department of Civil Engineering & Construction Engineering Management
California State University Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90840
