Research Agenda
Over nearly 20 years, research at the Bourns College of Engineering – Centers for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT) has emerged to fill a role as an "honest broker," helping establish the scientific basis for engineering improvements and regulatory actions, as a third party to establish the facts on pending legislation related to air quality. Often CERT is called in to establish the facts on the impact of new fuels, such as five years ago when California suddenly added one billion gallons of ethanol to our fuels. Two years ago CERT research assisted the engine manufacturers and the EPA, sectors that did not agree on the accuracy of new portable emissions measurement equipment. University of California, Riverside (UCR) research also provide a scientific basis for the many regulations related to goods movement that were written in the past five years.
CE-CERT was established in 1992 at UCR as a model for partnerships among industry, government, and the academic community. CERT’s mission was to become a recognized leader in environmental education, a collaborator with industry and government to improve the technical basis for regulations and policy, a creative source of new technology, and a contributor to better understanding the environment. Since it began, CERT has expanded its mission by becoming more involved with transportation and energy issues.
To achieve its mission, CERT has assembled a diverse team of researchers from numerous engineering disciplines, the physical sciences, and related fields. CERT maintains a full-time, permanent staff of researchers (ranging from degreed principal investigators to technicians) to conduct research projects and operate research laboratories. Engineers and scientists collaborate with colleagues from all departments in the College of Engineering, with other schools and colleges on campus, and with other institutions, both local and abroad. CERT personnel also supervise research by graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Engineering and other departments at UC Riverside. The breadth of expertise enables CERT to take a “systems approach” to solving transportation-related energy and environmental problems and opens new and creative avenues for addressing some of the most difficult challenges facing society today.
RESEARCH AREAS
