The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at MIT has announced new leadership appointments for its two research laboratories. Effective July 1, Professor John Ochsendorf, will serve as the next Director of the Pierce Laboratory, and Professor Desirée Plata, will assume role as Director of the Parsons Laboratory.

The announcement was made by Department Head and JR East Professor, Ali Jadbabaie, who expressed deep appreciation for the outgoing directors and their service.  Saurabh Amin, the Edward K Turner Professor, who led Pierce Lab since 2022, and Jesse Kroll, the Peter de Florez Professor, who has served as Director of Parsons Lab since 2018, both made significant contributions to the department’s research environment and culture.

“Kroll’s dedicated and caring leadership over the past seven years brought a transformative evolution to Parsons Lab—enhancing lab spaces, strengthening the community culture, and supporting faculty growth,” said Jadbabaie. “Under Amin’s leadership, Pierce Lab began an exciting transformation, laying a strong foundation for its future.”

During Kroll’s tenure, the Parsons Laboratory underwent a comprehensive renovation that began in 2022. The transformation revitalized the facility with updated hallways, stairwells, and shared office spaces to better support students and postdoctoral researchers. New floors, walls, ceilings, lighting, and furniture created a more welcoming and collaborative environment. Conference rooms were also modernized, and the lab’s infrastructure saw improvements in air and water systems. In the future, two classrooms are slated for renovation, continuing the lab’s commitment to providing enhanced spaces for research and education.

Plata shared her excitement for the new role, “We are living in a thrilling time for Earth systems research and education; the Parsons Laboratory brings great strength to this endeavor. I’m honored to support this group of brilliant, dedicated researchers as they drive forward discovery, fundamental understanding, and nature-informed strategic assessment. The close-knit culture of the Parsons lab is critical to achieving these ambitious goals, precisely because the earth system integrates the physical sciences, whose sub-disciplines come together in our synergistic research ecosystem. Our faculty and students are truly inspiring.” 

At Pierce Lab, Amin spearheaded several key upgrades designed to enhance both the lab’s functionality and sense of community. He introduced new hallway displays showcasing research and departmental achievements, video conferencing capabilities to better support hybrid collaboration and contributed to the development of a streamlined online system for booking conference rooms. He also provided strategic guidance on both short- and long-term space planning, helping to shape a more cohesive, efficient, and future-ready lab environment.

Ochsendorf shared his enthusiasm for supporting the CEE community through his new role. “I look forward to continuing to enhance both the physical space and the culture of Pierce Laboratory to support our mission and our students, staff and faculty.”

As CEE continues to advance its mission of developing sustainable solutions for the natural and human-built environments, Parsons and Pierce Laboratories remain central to this vision. Parsons Lab focuses on natural systems and the engineering of human adaptation to a changing environment, while Pierce Lab drives innovation across materials, transportation, network and energy systems for improving societal conditions for humankind. With new leadership, both laboratories are poised for continuing the next chapter of excellence in research, education, and community.