Home | Diana Byrne

Welcome

Welcome to the Byrne Research Group! We are in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky (UK) in Lexington, KY. Our research focuses on sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure systems. We seek to apply and adapt quantitative sustainable design tools (e.g., life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, quantitative microbial risk assessment) to inform decision-making around these systems. We are a part of Sustainable and Humanitarian Engineering within the College of Engineering at UK. In addition to research, Dr. Byrne teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on sustainable infrastructure systems. Please feel free to explore the information below that includes our group, courses, resources, and contact information.

People

Research

All our recent publications can be found through Google Scholar or ORCID.

You are also welcome to read more about our ongoing work with the Appalachian Community Technical Assistance Training (ACTAT) program and the Innovators at the Nexus of Food, Energy, Water Systems (INFEWS) Graduate Research Traineeship.

Teaching

CE 519: Quantitative Sustainable Design

Description: This course focuses on the application of quantitative sustainable design to engineering infrastructure and technologies. Quantitative sustainable design is a process of mechanistically linking design and operational decisions to sustainability indicators to inform decision-making. This process enables navigation of trade-offs across dimensions of sustainability (e.g., environmental, economic, social) so that design and operation can be informed by sustainability metrics. This course will focus specifically on environmental and economic impacts by using two tools - life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) – along with uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The main component of this course will be a design project in which students apply this process to inform the design and operation of an engineering infrastructure system or technology of interest.

Level: Seniors and graduate students; Semesters: Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2024

CE 218: Sustainable Engineering

Description: This course introduces students to sustainability and its connection to civil engineering infrastructure. Course topics are divided into integrated infrastructure systems, environmental sustainability (including footprints and life cycle assessment), economic sustainability (including time value of money and life cycle costing), social sustainability (including design thinking and environmental justice), and synthesis (including sustainability rating systems and navigating sustainability trade-offs). The course utilizes a combination of lectures, activities, guest speakers, and student-led sustainability challenge exploration to introduce fundamental concepts and applications of sustainable engineering.

Level: Undergraduate; Semesters: Spring 2021* Spring 2022*, Fall 2023, Fall 2024 [*co-taught as elective with Dr. Shakira Hobbs]

Student Resources

WellKentucky provides a centralized link to wellness-related resources on campus. It is also great place to start when you aren't exactly sure what specific resources you are looking for! UK College of Engineering offers a variety of resources for student success and the Graduate school also provides helpful information for professional development and activities on campus. Mental health resources can be accessed through the UK Counseling Center, and details on how to make an appointment can be made here. Within the College of Engineering, please also see additional resources with a focus on mental health and wellness. Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Byrne if you have any questions about accessing the resources you need.