News

CE/ENVE Welcomes New Faculty

April 24, 2007

In Winter 2007, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department saw the addition of two new faculty members: Dr. Sudeshna Mitra, a professor in the field of transportation and Dr. Tryg Lundquist, a specialist in environmental engineering.

Dr. Mitra worked in India as a transportation consultant and earned her master's degree at the University of Singapore. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University, where she researched the concept of proactive planning, which aims to develop preventative measures for transportation safety.

Dr. Mitra specializes in bicyclist and pedestrian safety, and believes that San Luis Obispo has a good record of effectively integrating bicycle lanes into major streets throughout the city. Her husband, Dr. Nilanjan Mitra, also teaches as a lecturer for the department.

Before coming to Cal Poly, Dr. Lundquist worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and U.C. Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering. "After working in research and consulting for many years, I am enjoying sharing my enthusiasm for the field with students – and enjoying their enthusiasm in return," he said. "The students here are energetic and involved in an amazing number of activities."

Dr. Lundquist has set up a new laboratory for student research projects. He and his students, along with several other faculty members, are collaborating on various projects involving water quality. Topics include San Joaquin Valley waterfowl refuges, innovative wastewater reclamation techniques, biofuel assessments, and emergency water treatment.

He is also the new advisor for the Cal Poly Biodiesel Club, which is designing a production unit that will be able to convert waste vegetable oil from Campus Dining restaurants into biodiesel fuel for campus vehicles. "This improvement is important," he said, "considering that campus vehicles burn over 500 gallons of diesel per week."