Cara (CJ) Poor

About

Cara (CJ) Poor is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Portland's Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering. She holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Davis. She is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Oregon, California, and Washington.

Dr. Poor joined the faculty at UP in 2015. Before coming to UP, she served as a Clinical Assistant and Associate Professor at Washington State University and as a Senior Instructor at Portland State University, and worked as a project engineer at Montgomery Watson, Geosyntec Consultants and the El Dorado Irrigation District. Her teaching spans core civil engineering courses including hydraulics, fluid mechanics, open channel flow, water resources engineering, and environmental engineering.

Her research focuses on green stormwater infrastructure, water quality, and watershed management, with particular interests in bioretention systems, microplastics removal, permeable pavement, and nutrient and metals removal from stormwater runoff. Her work is deeply connected to the Portland region — including a recent study on thirty years of green stormwater infrastructure in the City of Portland — and she leads UP's Stormwater Research group. She is also focused on improving conceptual understanding of water resources and environmental engineering concepts.

Dr. Poor has a deep and wide-ranging record of service across the university, school, and profession. At UP, she has served on two Dean Search Committees, the President Search Committee, and the Undergraduate Research Advisory Board, and currently chairs the Civil Engineering Program. Within the Shiley School, she has led the development of the Environmental Engineering B.S. degree and the Environmental Engineering Minor, chaired the Shiley Grants Committee, and has been a consistent presence at outreach events including Weekend on the Bluff and Engineering Open House. Professionally, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Green Building, as an NSF proposal reviewer, and is a peer reviewer for an extensive list of leading environmental and water resources journals.

Education

• Ph.D., Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon)
• M.S., University of California-Davis (Davis, California)
• B.S., Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon)

Links

• CV
• LinkedIn
• Google Scholar
• ResearchGate
• Stormwater Research Site

Recent Publications

1. Poor, C., Kaye, J.*, and Barner, M. (2026). Service Learning Through Rehabilitating a Green Roof. Journal of Civil Engineering Education, 152(4): 05026017.
2. Holzer, K. and Poor, C. (2026). Beaver Activity Improves Pollutant Reduction in a Constructed Stormwater Wetland. Ecological Engineering, 231: 108057.
3. Koucka, M., Poor, C., Wolfand, J., Chang, H., Shandas, V., Aiona, A., Stevens, H., Kurtz, T., Hedin, S., Fancher, S. Lighthipe, J., and Zucker, A. (2025). The First Thirty Years of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Portland, Oregon. Sustainability, 17(15): 7159.
4. Struzak, M.*, Poor, C., Wolfand, J., and Radke, A.* (2024). Evaluation of Biochar as an Amendment for the Removal of Metals, Nutrients, and Microplastics Removal in Bioretention Systems. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 150: 04024007.
5. Poor, C., Kaye, J.*, Struck, R., and Gonzalez, R. (2023). Permeable Pavement in the Northwest: Pollution Source or Treatment Option? Sustainability, 15: 12926.