Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, pipelines and power grids serve as the foundation of a strong society, and University of Michigan engineers are leading efforts to harness today’s most advanced technologies to build smarter, stronger systems that connect and protect our communities and support economic prosperity.

Our researchers are on the vanguard of the next infrastructure revolution—one driven by automation and AI. We’re breaking ground on infrastructure systems with embodied intelligence and sensors that can adapt, optimize and monitor in real time. We are pioneers in developing and testing automated vehicles and mobility systems. And we are transforming water management and power grids with autonomous systems that integrate real-time data and AI to enhance reliability and resilience.

Michigan Engineering is collaborating across the University to bolster these systems in other ways too, including more robust building materials and codes, design-for-resilience approaches, novel funding mechanisms, a heightened understanding of how infrastructure impacts communities, and better hazard forecasts. Our experts are leaders in the field of water system design, sensor technologies, water treatment, risk management, structural design and materials. 

Civil infrastructure was one of the first widespread applications of engineering—Civil Engineering was the College’s first department, established in 1854. In the years since, not only have more departments taken on research that applies to our water, power, internet and transportation systems, civil and environmental engineering researchers have expanded their toolboxes, integrating data science and Internet of Things sensing approaches for analyzing and monitoring, for example. 

Today, cutting edge technologies and research at U-M help communities both recover from and prevent the hazards of changing weather patterns and the effects of the aging built environment.