PLACE(E) is a research group rooted in civil and environmental engineering that seeks to expand our discipline's knowledge and capabilities to practice equity in decision making and to engage with our work as it affects all people — especially historically and presently marginalized communities.
Meet the Lab
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Bethany Gordon
Principal Investigator
(she/her)
Bethany Gordon is an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington, where she leads the PLACE(E) Lab, Place-based Liberatory Advances for Climate Equity in Civil Engineering. She is a transdisciplinary researcher – applying methods from the social sciences to help engineers and frontline designers better collaborate for just climate adaptation. Her work is process-focused and developed for application in water, transportation, and energy infrastructure. She earned her PhD (2022) and her BS (2017) in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow (NSF) and a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow (NASEM).
Non-research interests: Knitting, vegetarian cookbooks (and sometimes cooking), & community service.
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Abigail Murray
PhD Student
(she/her)
Abigail Murray is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Washington pursuing her PhD in the Construction, Energy, and Sustainable Infrastructure program. Her research interests include climate hazard mitigation, urban water management systems, and procedural justice in the civil design process. She earned a BS (2022) in Civil Engineering and a BS (2022) in Environmental Engineering from Montana State University - Bozeman.
Non-research interests: Listening to podcasts, watching Formula 1, and filling her Goodreads quota
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Ysabel Yu
(she/her)
Ysabel Yu is a graduate student at the University of Washington pursuing her PhD in the Construction, Energy, and Sustainable Infrastructure program. Her research interests include public transportation, sustainable and equitable urban design, and city green space development. She earned a dual BS/BA degree (2023) in Integrated Engineering with a concentration in sustainability from the University of San Diego.
Non-research interests: Running, baking (not cooking), playing piano and bass, and playing board games
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Carmen Tran
(she/they)
Carmen Tran is an Undergraduate student at the University of Washington actively pursuing a BS in Environmental Engineering with a minor in environmental health. Their research interests include chemical, physical, and bacterial quality testing, the intersections of justice and engineering, and the transportation of environmental contamination in water and its long-term exposure to human health.
non-research interests: arts & crafts, community care, looking at cat pictures
Work with us
Are you considering pursuing an advanced degree in Civil Engineering with a focus on equity and behavioral science? If you have an interest in joining our research group, please fill out the interest form below to get in touch. If you are a potential collaborator, please use the contact link at the top of the page.
