2025 Scholarly Productivity Report

2025 Annual Report

Changing the World

Dear alumni, colleagues and friends

I am pleased to deliver to you the 2025 annual Scholarly Report which, highlights another great year of our department’s work toward solving some of tomorrow’s greatest challenges by implementing new approaches and technological advancements to achieve a better quality of life.

This year Missouri S&T earned the recognition of a Carnegie Foundation R-1 top-tier research institution classification. That designation will continue to help us attract top researchers, secure more funding and drive economic growth. S&T also moved up two places in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of graduate engineering programs to No. 81 and earned a Purple Heart status, honoring services and resources for active military members and their families.

Our faculty continued to push the boundaries with their work on new technologies.

Dr. Genda Chen’s research group developed a robotic system to make bridge inspections faster, safer and more comprehensive. Dr. Mohamed ElGawady and Dr. Yasser Darwish were granted a U.S. patent for their technology that helps extend the service life of bridges and other essential assets. And Dr. Daniel Oerther developed a Nurse+Engineer model to create planetary health solutions that champion the engineering profession with the shared purpose of caring for human welfare and restoring the health of Earth’s environmental systems.

Our programs persist in emphasizing strong engineering fundamentals, creativity, critical thinking and ethical leadership empowering students like Kaitlyn Dunahee, a senior in civil engineering from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in serving the public good.

Our student design teams set new benchmarks and inspired us with their dedication and talent. The Steel Bridge Team achieved a record fifth-place national ranking, the Concrete Canoe Team finished third and Engineers Without Borders advanced transformative projects in Ecuador, Kenya, Guatemala and Bolivia.

This was my first year leading the department, I’m exhilarated by the collaboration and teamwork among our faculty, students, staff and alumni.

If you have any questions about the exciting things happening, please contact me and take any opportunity to stay engaged with our team. Thank you for your continued interest in our department.

• Kaitlyn Dunahee, Remington R. Williams Award Recipient

• Emma Eberhart, Internship with Keeley

• Tong Zhou studies PFAS plant uptake

Kind regards, Karan Venayagamoorthy

Fred and June Kummer Endowed Department Chair and Professor

• Dr. Nicolas Libre and Dr. Jenny Liu receive awards from the College of Engineering and Computing

• Dr. Genda Chen receives ASCE award

• Michael J. Paul, 2025 Jones Lecturer

• Missouri Protoplex, research facility

• Dr. Islam El-adaway, 2025 MO-CCI Industry Night.

HIGHLY RANKED

UNDERGRADUATE CIVIL ENGINEERING #31

GRADUATE CIVIL ENGINEERING #43

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING #54

U.S. News & World Report (2024-25)

27

Full-time faculty members

NEW LAB SPACE IN 2020 16,000 ft2 CLAYCO ACML

Advancing S&T’s leadership in infrastructure engineering research (Opened 2021)

800+ CArEE student enrollment

8

GRADUATE CERTIFICATES

Start earning college credit toward your master’s degree. (Learn more: distance.mst.edu)

NATIONAL RANK: 8TH FOR “BEST SALARIES” The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse

34 % CArEE department undergraduate female engineers

$6M

Peer-reviewed journal articles per faculty member in 2025

7.4

Research expenditures (FY 2025)

7DEGREE PROGRAMS

CIVIL ENGINEERING

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Master of Science (M.S.)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Doctor of Engineering (D.E.)

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Master of Science (M.S.)

$1.3M

Annual alumni scholarships awarded to CArEE students

16 cec.mst.edu

ABET-accredited engineering programs

CEC total engineering enrollment

5,500

27th Largest CIVIL ENGINEERING CLASS 2023 (ASEE)

$60M

Research Expenditures (FY 2025)

Missouri S&T earns highest research designation from Carnegie Foundation

transform our outreach and impact across the state.”

One of S&T’s state-of-the-art research infrastructure projects is the Missouri Protoplex, a 116,000-square-foot manufacturing research and development hub set to open this year. The university is also on track to celebrate a 33,000-square-foot expansion and renovation of its Applied Research Center in January 2027.

U.S. News ranks S&T a top engineering school

The annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best universities for pursuing a graduate degree in engineering were released in April, and Missouri S&T continued to be listed as the top public university in the state and among the nation’s best.

Missouri S&T is now classified as one of the nation’s top-tier research institutions and now has a Research 1 (R1) designation, according to the 2025 Carnegie Foundation classifications released last February. S&T is one of 187 institutions out of more than 4,300 nationwide to receive this distinction.

“Earning R1 status affirms Missouri S&T’s excellence across disciplines and its high-impact research addressing global challenges,” says S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani. “S&T researchers are committed to driving innovation and addressing the world’s most critical challenges.”

To qualify for R1 status for this year’s Carnegie Foundation designations, institutions needed at least 70 conferred research doctoral degrees and research expenditures of at least $50 million.

“Achieving Carnegie Research 1 classification is an incredible honor for S&T and the entire UM System,” says University of Missouri President Mun Choi. “Chancellor Dehghani, along with dedicated faculty and staff at S&T, have worked hard to meet the requirements necessary for this remarkable accomplishment. We are proud to now have three R1 institutions within the UM System, which will

“With our new status, Missouri S&T will continue to attract top researchers, secure more funding and drive economic growth,” says Dr. Kamal Khayat, S&T vice chancellor for research and innovation and the Vernon and Maralee Jones Professor of Civil Engineering. “Our faculty, staff and students have worked hard to achieve this milestone, and with our ongoing and future infrastructure projects to support our research and student learning initiatives, it will be incredible to see what we will achieve in the coming years.”

The university’s research efforts cover advanced materials, artificial intelligence, electromagnetic compatibility, critical minerals, entrepreneurship, health care, infrastructure and nuclear materials, among many other topics.

“Missouri S&T has long been known as a top destination for graduate students and faculty members because they understand we are dedicated to conducting research that will help solve the world’s most pressing challenges,” says Dr. David Borrok, vice provost and dean of S&T’s College of Engineering and Computing.

The university rose to No. 49 (tied) nationally among public universities for graduate engineering programs, up four spots from last year. Among both public and private universities, S&T moved up two places this year and tied for No. 81.

Five S&T programs climbed in the overall national rankings:

• Aerospace engineering, No. 40

• Chemical engineering, No. 94

• Electrical engineering, No. 72

• Mechanical engineering, No. 60

• Systems engineering, No. 55

Other S&T engineering programs with national rankings are:

• Civil engineering, No. 43

• Computer engineering, No. 85

• Environmental engineering, No. 54

• Materials science and engineering, No. 60

• Nuclear engineering, No. 21

• Petroleum engineering, No. 16

The university’s new bioengineering program, which launched in fall 2024, ranked No. 114 in its first year.

Five years ago, alumnus Fred Kummer and his wife, June, made history with a $300 million gift to Missouri S&T. The five-year impact has been incredible: $229 million provided by the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation in support of capital projects totaling nearly $500 million, $14.5 million in student aid and programming, $2 million invested in faculty research projects that led to external awards totaling $11.5 million; and $5.7 million in support of endowed faculty. Their gift helped establish the Kummer College and our STEM Center for Education, which provides robust education and outreach to pre-K-12 students and teachers in Missouri.

Celebrating five years of transformation S&T earns Purple Heart University status

In November, the Military Order of the Purple Heart designated Missouri S&T as a Purple Heart University. The designation is given to colleges that show strong support and commitment to military veterans, especially those wounded or killed in combat. It honors services and resources for veterans, active

Department welcomes Kummer Endowed Chair

Dr. Subhas “Karan” Venayagamoorthy became the inaugural Kummer Endowed Chair of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at Missouri S&T in August.

Preparing for the Protoplex

Construction is nearly finished on the 116,000-square-foot Missouri Protoplex, and a dedication is planned for April 15, 2026. The facility brings together industry, academia and workforce development to help Missouri manufacturers adopt and excel with advanced technologies, processes and materials. It will serve as the anchor of S&T’s planned manufacturing and innovation campus, offering research labs, high-bay prototyping and testing spaces, workforce training, and resources to strengthen competitiveness and economic growth in the state.

Professor of Fluid Mechanics and founding director of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory. From 2022 to 2023 he was CSU’s associate dean of academic and student affairs for the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering.

“I am honored to lead this department, which includes some of the world’s best civil, architectural and environmental engineering researchers,” Venayagamoorthy says. “S&T’s department is well known for providing a transformational education that prepares students for success beyond graduation.

Venayagamoorthy is an expert in environmental fluid mechanics and water resources engineering.

His projects have been supported by agencies that include the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Venayagamoorthy earned a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, where he later served as a visiting professor.

Robotic bridge inspection system wins award

Dr. Genda Chen developed a robotic system to make bridge inspections faster, safer and more comprehensive. His invention, Bridge Inspection Robot Deployment Systems, or BIRDS, was selected for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2025 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation.

“Data from the U.S. National Bridge Inventory shows that over 600,000 bridges in our nation cross roadways and rivers, and over 40% of those bridges are over 50 years old — making regular and thorough inspections crucial,” says Chen, S&T’s Robert W. Abbett Distinguished Chair in Civil Engineering and director of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure.

“Up until now, bridge inspections have been a visual process conducted manually by human inspectors, and this has been cumbersome, expensive and with safety risks,” he says. “But BIRDS will revolutionize bridge inspections, and it is humbling to me for ASCE to recognize this with the Charles Pankow Award for Innovation.”

The Pankow Award recognizes the contributions of organizations working collaboratively to advance the design and construction industry by introducing innovation into practice.

Chen is the principal investigator for BIRDS, which includes three primary components: a hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that flies and can attach to and crawl on bridge girders to capture inspection data with infrared cameras and lidar; a second UAV that carries and deploys a small bicycle-like crawler to inspect steel components with a microscope or crack probe; and a third UAV equipped with a manipulator to perform maintenance tasks and defect testing on concrete.

“Federal standards require regular bridge inspections, which can be a challenge due to the sheer number of bridges and their difficulty to access,” Chen says. “The inspection data we can retrieve from BIRDS will help tremendously with these issues, ensuring that structures are safe and well-maintained and ultimately lowering their life-cycle costs.”

Chen says the next steps for the BIRDS project, which began in 2019 and has received over $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers Program and matching sources, will be to continue testing potential areas for improvement with the technology and working with agencies and companies to pursue its widescale adoption.

Academic Analytics recognizes professors

Academic Analytics recognized two of our named professors for ranking in the top 5% of their peers across four or more scholarly activity metrics.

• Dr. Islam El-adaway, associate provost for St. Louis Operations and the Hurst-McCarthy Endowed Professor of Construction Engineering and Management.

• Dr. Kamal Khayat, vice chancellor for research and innovation, professor and the Vernon and Maralee Jones Chair of Civil Engineering.

College honors faculty

Two of our faculty members received recognition from the Missouri S&T College of Engineering and Computing (CEC).

DEAN’S EDUCATOR AWARD

• Dr. Nicolas Libre Libre exemplifies excellence in teaching, innovation and service. He is a dedicated and forward-thinking educator whose work has positively impacted thousands of students and educators.

DEAN’S SERVICE AWARD

• Dr. Jenny Liu Liu has demonstrated exceptional service both within the university and to the broader professional community. Her impactful work spans three key areas: student recruitment, advising and mentoring, and service effectiveness.

ElGawady, Darwish granted U.S. patent

Dr. Mohamed ElGawady, Alard and Sheri Kaplan Faculty Scholar and a professor of civil engineering, and Dr. Yasser Darwish PhD CE’21, were granted a U.S. patent for an impact protection solution that enhances the resilience of critical structures, mitigating damage from vehicular collisions, extreme forces and accidental impacts. The patent title is “Energy Dissipation Using Negative Stiffness Shells.”

By improving safety and cost efficiency in infrastructure maintenance, this technology will help extend the service life of bridges and other essential assets. Leveraging advanced mechanics applications, their approach strengthens structural integrity, reduces repair cost, and ensures long-term durability against unexpected impact events.

Beyond infrastructure, this technology can also be used as a liner in helmets to provide superior shock absorption for head protection. It also has potential applications in safeguarding critical nuclear components and protecting artwork from impact damage, which demonstrates its broad impact in engineering and preservation.

Dr. William P. Schonberg, professor of civil engineering, was elected Fellow of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS).

IAASS is focused on advancing international cooperation and research related to the safety of space missions. To be elected a Fellow, members must demonstrate outstanding achievements related to spaceflight safety and directly contribute to the goals and activities of the association. They must also hold a doctoral degree.

Schonberg has researched spacerelated topics for nearly four decades. Some of his focus areas

include orbital debris protection systems for spacecraft and the use of materials found on the moon to support future human habitats.

He was listed among the top 2% of researchers cited in his field both for the previous year and for his career in a 2024 analysis published by Stanford University and is a two-time participant in Fulbright programs for the U.S. Department of State.

Schonberg joined the Missouri S&T faculty in 1999 and has served as visiting professor at the University College of the Cayman Islands and a visiting scholar for the Fraunhofer Society in Germany.

Oerther receives Global Award for Excellence

Dr. Daniel B. Oerther, an environmental health engineering professor at Missouri S&T, was awarded the Duncan Fraser Global Award for Excellence in Engineering Education from the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES).

The International Federation of Engineering Education Societies website notes this honor is for educators “who have made innovative and meritorious contributions with a significant impact on the advancement of engineering education.”

Oerther received the honor during the World Engineering Education Forum in early December in Sydney, Australia.

The award is named in memory of Dr. Duncan Fraser, an emeritus professor of chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town in South Africa who was on track to be president of the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies before his death in 2014.

Oerther was nominated by the American Society for Engineering Education, where he is a two-time recipient of the Best Paper Award from the Environmental Engineering Division and a winner of the Robert G. Quinn Award for excellence in experimentation and laboratory instruction.

Oerther earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, as well as bachelor’s degrees in both environmental engineering and biology from Northwestern University.

Magdy Abdelrahman Stuart Baur Faculty Profiles

Assistant Chair and Associate Professor

ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association

Endowed Professor MATERIALS

ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Experienced in infrastructure sustainability with applications in pavement engineering; expert in asphalt modifications including the use of recycled modifiers in civil and construction applications

Honors or Awards

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Faculty Teaching and Service Achievement Award, S&T Academy of Civil Engineers, 2025

• Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association (MAPA) Endowed Professorship in Flexible Pavement, 2017

• CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2009

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Friction Enhancements to Asphalt Pavement Surfaces, Missouri Department of Transportation, Project #00078213, 2022-24

• Preparing Interdisciplinary Professional for Rebuilding/ Engineering Resilient Infrastructure of the Nation, U.S. Dept. of Education, 2019-23

Selected Publications and Presentations

Hemida, A., Abdelrahman, M., “Performance Assessment of Bio-Asphalt Mixtures Containing Guayule Resin as an Innovative Bio-Based Asphalt Alternative,” ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol. 35, No. 4, DOI: 10.1061/ (ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0004682, 2023.

Ragab, M., Abdelrahman, M., Attia, M., “Investigation of the Changes in Asphalt Rubber Binder Fractions and Their Relation to Performance Enhancement,” Advances in Civil Engineering Materials, American Society of Testing Materials, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 105-116, DOI: 10.1520/ACEM20190157, 2020.

Noureldin, E., Abdelrahman, M., “Parametric Analysis of Resilient Modulus Modeling for Recycled Asphalt Pavement in Base Layer,” Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2401, pp. 30-43, 2014.

Abdelrahman, M., Hardy, A., “Incorporation of Property-Based Testing in Coarse Aggregate Specifications for Pavement Applications,” Journal of ASTM International, Vol. 7, No. 10, DOI: 10.1520/JAI102670, 2010.

Ph.D., civil engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Developing sustainable communities through renewable energy technology including various techniques that involve energy efficient lighting design and daylight integration

Honors or Awards

• Experiential Learning Award, S&T

• Outstanding Academic Advising Award, S&T

• Outstanding Solar House Team Advisor Award, S&T

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Solar Decathlon – Phase I, Department of Energy, 2020-25

• Coordinator/Researcher CArEE Virtual Reality Lab, 2023-25

• Photovoltaic Recycling, Ozark Regional Solid Waste Management District, 2018-19

• Educational Consortium for Energy-related Data Science and Computation in Building Engineering Programs, DOE BENEFIT, January 2023

Selected Publications and Presentations

Baur, S., Yildirim, S., Simmons, S. , “Evaluating Outdoor Lighting Design Alternatives for Perceived Safety and Visual Comfort Using Virtual Reality,” LEUKOS, Under Review, 2025.

Yildirim, S., Baur, S., “Rethinking Structural Design Education through Boundary Conditions and Design Flexibility in PBL,” Asean Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 11-21, doi.org/10.11113/ajee2025.9n1.184, 2025.

Yıldırım, S.G., Baur, S., “Redesigning Course Improvement Plan; A Case Study Based-on Learning Outcomes in Engineering Education,” Asean Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1-9, DOI: 10.11113/ ajee2024.8n1.141, 2024.

Yıldırım, S. G., Baur, S. , “Experiential Learning in Daylighting Course through Performance Measurements,” International Journal of Engineering Technologies,” IJET, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 10-18, Currently being published, 2023.

Baur, S., Rudolph, B.R., Riberio, J., Burken, J., “Virtual Reality in Architecture and Architectural Engineering Education: The Future of Creative Learning,” Architectural Engineering Institute 2025, Delivering Future Ready Buildings: An Integrated Approach, Kansas City, Mo., April 13-16, 2025.

Yildirim, S.G., Baur, S., Küçükdoğu, M.S., “Daylight Performance Assessment Methods and Areas of Use in Buildings,” Conference: 4th National Building Physics and Environmental Control Congress: Istanbul, Turkey, May 2024.

Joel Burken

Genda Chen

Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Mathes Chair, Assistant Chair

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, University of Iowa

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Phytoremediation, plant-chemical interactions, mine restoration, critical minerals and remote sensing

Honors or Awards

• Fellow, AEESP; AAEES Board Certified-BCEE

• President’s Medal, ASCE, 2024

• ASCE Advisor of the Year, 2023

• Best Paper Award, Environmental Science and Technology for Machine Learning: New Ideas and Tools in Environmental Science and Engineering, 2021

• Milton Gordon Award, Lifetime Research Accomplishment in Phytoremediation, International Phytoremediation Society, 2019

• U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, 2016-22

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Integrated Enhanced Natural Attenuation Approach for Risk-Based Closure of a Toluene Contaminated Site, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), University of Guelph, $2.35 million

• NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing Microelectronics Technologies, $1,000,000, Collaborative with University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2023-25

• Sustainable Anti-Icing Solutions Reducing Concrete Damage with Organic-Based Agents, Missouri DOT, $450,000

Selected Publications and Presentations

Manley, P.V., Via, S.M., Burken, J.G., “UAV-Based Phytoforensics: Hyperspectral Image Analysis to Remotely Detect Explosives Using Maize (Zea mays),” Remote Sensing, Vol. 17, No. 3, p. 385, 2025.

Martano, P., Mahdi, S., Zhou, T., Barazandegan, Y., Iha, R., Do, H., Burken, J.G., Nam, P., Yang, Q., Mu, R., “Visceral, Neural, and Immunotoxicity of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: A Mini Review,” Toxics, Vol. 13, No. 8, p. 658, 2025.

Cole, L.B., Priscilla, L., Zangori, L., Kania-Gosche, B., Burken, J.G., “Raising the Green Roof: Enhancing Youth Water Literacy through Built Environment Education,” Sustainability, Vol. 16, No. 10, p. 4262, 2024.

Zhong, S., Zhang, K., Bagheri, M., Burken, J.G., Gu, A., Li, B., Ma, X., Marrone, B.L., Ren, Z.J., Schrier, J., Shi, W., “Machine Learning: New Ideas and Tools in Environmental Science and Engineering,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 55, No. 19, (Feature, Cover Article, Awarded Best Paper, 2021).

Robert W. Abbett Distinguished Professor, Director, Center for Intelligent Infrastructure CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Structural health monitoring (SHM), structural control, structural dynamics, robotic platform dynamics, bridge preservation, infrastructure resilience to multi-hazards, computational and experimental mechanics

Honors or Awards

• SHM Person of the Year, Structural Health Monitoring, 2019

• Certificate of Registration, Adaptive Wavelet Transform, 2019

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Traffic Disruption-Free Bridge Inspection Initiative with Robotic Systems, Seven-State Pooled-Fund Study, MoDOT

• Inspecting and Preserving Infrastructure through Robotic Exploration (INSPIRE) – a Tier 1 University Transportation Center, USDoT

• Assistive Intelligence for Cooperative Robot and Inspector Survey of Infrastructure Systems (AI-CRISIS), NSF

Selected Publications and Presentations

Zhang, H., Yuan, X., Chen, G., Lomonaco, P., “Performance of SMART Shear Keys in Concrete Bridges under Tsunami Loading: An Experimental Study,” ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 150, No. 1, October 24, 2023.

Yuan, X., Li, L., Zhang, H., Jiao, P., Chen, G., Dagli, C., “Machine Learning-Based Seismic Damage Assessment of One-Story Woodframe Residential Buildings Near the New Madrid Seismic Zone Considering Multiple Uncertainties,” ASCE Natural Hazards Review, Vol. 24, No. 3, August 2023.

Mondal, T.G., Edgmond, N., Sneed, L., Chen, G., “A Deep Learning-Informed Design Scheme for Shear Friction at Concrete-to-Concrete Interface – Recommendations for Inclusion in AASHTO LRFD Guidelines,” Transportation Research Records, July 11, 2023.

S. Jae Choi

Assistant Teaching Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Islam El-adaway

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Human-centered construction regarding workforce retention, burnout risk, early-career engineer development; supply chain and materials intelligence; teaching in BIM integration and project controls excellence

Honors or Awards

• Tucker Hudson Kumar Endowed Presidential Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin, 2022

• Student Leader Awards Nominee, Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2022

• Kumar CEPM Program Travel Grant (2 times), University of Texas at Austin, 2023-24

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Developed and Taught Construction Supply Chain Management (University of Arkansas), Linking Industry Practice with Advanced Coursework in Production and Materials Flow

• Led Curriculum-integrated, Software-enabled Instruction Using Revit, Navisworks, and Project Scheduling Platforms in Upper-division and Graduate Construction Courses

• Conducted CII-affiliated Work on Modernizing Supply Chain Workflows and Improving Planning-phase Collaboration

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Choi, S., O’Brien, W. J., “Material Suppliers’ Perspective on Collaboration in Industrial Construction Projects,” Frontiers in Built Environment, doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2025.1567594, 2025.

• Choi, S, “Identifying the Job Characteristics Affecting Construction Firm Employee Turnover Intention,” In: Proceedings of the Construction Research Congress, Des Moines, IA, doi.org/10.1061/9780784485286.059, 2024.

• Choi, S., Huh, M.B., “Incremental Development Model to Use Vacant Buildings for Affordable Housing, “In: Proceedings of the ASCE INSPIRE, Arlington, VA, doi.org/10.1061/ 9780784485163.057, 2023.

• Choi, S., Leite, F., “Trends and Opportunities for Material Information Sharing Applying BIM to Achieve Supply Chain Integration, “In: Proceedings of the 2023 ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering, Corvallis, OR, doi.org/10.1061/9780784485231.057, 2023.

• Choi, S., CII Graduate Student Researcher, “FR-363: Modernizing the Supply Chain and Increasing the Value of AWP,” Construction Industry Institute, Austin, TX, www.construction-institute.org/modernizing-the-supplychain-and-increasing-the-value-of-awp, 2021.

Associate Provost for St. Louis Operations, Hurst/McCarthy Professor, Director, MO-CCI CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Iowa State University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Modeling and simulation, sustainable infrastructure management, resilient hazard management, energy management, contractual and dispute management, decision and risk management

Honors or Awards

• Stanford’s 2% List for Career and Year Prolific Research Output, S&T, 2025

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Scholarly Achievement Award, S&T, 2025

• Distinguished Alumni Award, Iowa State University, 2024

• Campus Faculty Research Award, S&T, 2021

• Editor Choice Paper, ASCE, 2024 (2), 2022, 2020 (2), 2019

• Thomas Fitch Award, ASCE, 2020

• Best Paper Award, ASCE, 2017

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Enhancing Bridge Safety and Resilience through Digital Twin Applications (USDoT)

• Lead the Way for Improvement of the Safety and Resilience of Transportation Infrastructure in the U.S. (USDoT)

• Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Predict Safety-Related Incidents (MO-CCI)

• Data Centers and Associated Power Needs (OMO-CCI)

• Understanding Consumer and Utilities Response to Infrastructure Investment in Distributed Solar Generation, National Science Foundation (NSF)

• The Impact of Offsite Construction on the Workforce, Construction Industry Institute (CII)

Selected Publications and Presentations

Elbashbishy, T., El-adaway, I., “Labor Productivity Losses Across Construction Trades: A Machine Learning Approach,” Journal of Management in Engineering, The American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 41, No. 5, 04025043, pp. 1-19, 2025.

ElAzhary, M., El-adaway, I., “Temporal Evolution of Workforce Fatality-Related Multi-Causal Factors in the Transportation Construction Sector,” Journal of Management in Engineering, The American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 41, No. 5, 04025040, pp. 1-15, 2025.

Shiha, A., ElAzhary, M., El-adaway, I., “Price Adjustment Clauses for Departments of Transportation: Forecasting Price Volatility of Construction Materials Using Hybrid Statistical and Computational Approach,” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, The American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 151, No. 9, 04025121, pp. 1-20, 2025.

Mohamed ElGawady

Alard and Sheri Kaplan Faculty Scholar and Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., structural engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Lausanne, Switzerland

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Resilient infrastructure, earthquake engineering, extreme loads, impact loads, infrastructure repair, metamaterial, sustainable material, tire derived aggregate, geopolymer concrete, 3D printing

Honors or Awards

• Recognized as a Top 2% Scientist by Stanford University Rankings of Global Scientists and Engineers

• Missouri S&T Faculty Excellence Award, 2017, 2020

• Missouri S&T Outstanding Teaching Commendation, 2020

• Scientist Award and Medal, International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM), Sweden-Based, 2020

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Innovation Award with Ph.D. Student Yasser Darwish, 2019

• Missouri S&T Faculty Research Award, 2018

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Pooled Funding Assessment of Bridge Girders Subjected to Vehicle Impact, MoDOT, AKDOT, ITD, ODOT, TxDOT, MDOT, and FHWA

• Using Tire Derived Aggregates for Bridge, Masonry, Concrete, and Chip Seal Applications, MoDOT and MoDNR

• Behavior of Corroded Steel H-Piles Before and After Repair Using FRP, Geopolymer Concrete, UHPC, Polymer Modified Concrete, MoDOT and MATC

• CrunchPillow: Meta-Material Impact Protection Units, NSF

• Recycled Paint for More Durable Concrete Structure, MoDNR

• Evaluating and Relaxing the Limits on Flexural Reinforcement Ratio of Masonry Shear Walls, National Concrete Masonry Association

Selected Publications and Presentations

Abudawaba, F., Gomaa, E., Gheni, A.A., Feys, D., ElGawady, M.A., “Evaluation of Fresh Properties of High Calcium Content Fly Ash-based Alkali-activated 3D-Printed Mortar,” Journal of Building Engineering, Vol. 104, pp. 112244, 2025.

Darwish, Y., ElGawady, M.A., Kirby, J., Keegan, J., “Experimental Testing of Full-scale Retrofitted Metal Deck System Under Wind Uplift,” Structures, Vol. 75, pp. 108722, 2025.

Sheta, A., Ma, X., Zhuge, Y., ElGawady, M.A., Mills, J., Abd-Elaal, E., “Shear Behavior of Thin-Walled Composite Cold-Formed Steel/PE-ECC Beams,” Steel and Composite Structures, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 75-92, 2023.

Dimitri Feys

Associate Professor MATERIALS

ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Rheology of cement-based materials and complex suspensions; mix design, workability and placement of concrete

Honors or Awards

• Post-Tenure Review Excellence Award, S&T, 2024

• Clyde E. Kesler Education Award, ACI, 2024

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Minimizing the Effect of Pumping on SCC Workability and Freeze-Thaw Durability, ACI-CRC

• Influence of Casting Conditions on Durability and Structural Performance of HPC-ARL: Changes in Workability and Air-Void System of Concrete due to Pumping, RE-CAST

• Understanding Early Age Behavior of Cement: Rheology and Hydration Kinetics of Pure C3S and C3A, UMRB

• How much consolidation energy is really required to create concrete specimens?, ACI CRC

• Cost-Effective and Ecological 3D Printing of Reinforced Concrete Structures through Vibration Dynamics and Granular Physics, Missouri S&T Ignition Grant

Selected Publications and Presentations

Feys, D., Schutter, G., Fataei, S., Martys, N., Mechtcherine, V., “Pumping of Concrete: Understanding a Common Placement Method with Lots of Challenges,” Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 154, No. 106720, 2022.

Feys, D., M&S Highlight: De Larrard et al.(1998), Fresh Concrete: A Herschel-Bulkley Material, Materials and Structures, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 1-4, 2022.

Kosacki, J., Feys, D., Dogan, F., “The Effect of Sodium Polymethacrylate on the Rheology of the Positive Paste and Performance of the Lead-Acid Battery,” International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 2029-35, 2022.

Sonebi, M., Feys, D., “An Overview of the Achievements of RILEM TC-266: Measuring the Rheological Properties of Concrete (MRP),” 76th Annual RILEM Week, Kyoto, Japan, September 2022.

Feys, D., Schutter, G., Fataei, S., Martys, N., Mechtcherine, V., “Pumping of Concrete: Understanding a Common Placement Method with a Lot of Challenges,” 15th International Conference on Recent Advances in Concrete Technology and Sustainability Issues,” Milan, Italy, July 2022.

William Gillis

Associate Teaching Professor CIVIL AND ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., engineering management, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; building electrical systems; architectural materials and construction methods; LEED certification; commissioning of new-building construction, the building envelope, and existing buildings; project management for quality building systems design; project management and construction management for quality constructed buildings through commissioning

Honors or Awards

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty Teaching and Service Achievement Award, S&T, 2020

• Outstanding Professional Engineer in Higher Education, Missouri Society of Professional Engineers, St. Louis Chapter, 2015

Seongho Han

Assistant Research Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Sustainable cement-based materials; concrete rheology and printability; NCO2 curing and carbon utilization for construction materials; 3D concrete printing and additive manufacturing; low-carbon binders and alkali-activated materials;durability and performance-based evaluation of concrete systems; machine learning applications in concrete materials science

Honors or Awards

• Recognized Researcher Award, Research Center for Underground City of the Future, KAIST, 2022

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Sustainable Anti-Icing Solutions Reducing Concrete Damage with Organic-Based Agents, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Co-PI, 2025-27

Selected Publications and Presentations

Han, S., Ahn, E., Shin, M., Popovics, J.S., Khayat, K.H., “Methodology for Surface Defect Assessment in 3D Concrete Printing Using Computer-vision and Ultrasonic Testing Considering Structural Build-up,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 167, No. 106439, 2026.

Han, S., Shin, T. Y., Kim, S.M., Kim, J.H., Khayat, K.H., “CO2-induced Changes in Rheology, Structural Evolution, and Particle Characteristics of Cement Paste,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 163, No. 106180, 2025.

Han, S., Kim, J.H., Singh, R.K., Shah, S.P., “CO2 Utilization for Cementitious Materials - A Review,” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 29, No. 100227, 2025.

Han, S., Khayat, K.H., Park, S., Yoon, J., “Machine Learningbased Approach for Optimizing Mixture Proportions of Recycled Plastic Aggregate Concrete Considering Compressive Strength, Dry Density, and Production Cost,” Journal of Building Engineering, Vol. 83, No. 108393, 2024.

Kamal Khayat Emad Hassan

Assistant Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Colorado State University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Infrastructure performance under extreme loadings; natural hazard risk assessment and mitigation; community resilience; and smart cities and data analytics

Honors or Awards

• Listed in Who's Who in America

• The Outstanding Presentation Award, AGU Fall 2022, Chicago, IL, 2022

• The Best Paper Award, ASMA Conference, India, 2021

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Seismic Performance of Buckled Cold-Formed Steel Panels Repaired with Fiber-Reinforced Polymers, NSF, 2025-27

• Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports

• Associate Editor, Innovative Infrastructure Solutions Journal, Springer Nature

• Associate Editor, Journal of Engineering and Applied Science, Springer Open

• Assessment of Seismic Resilience of Healthcare Systems in Developing Countries, World Bank, 2024-25

Selected Publications and Presentations

Chulahwat, A., Hassan, E.M., Tariverdi, G., Nunez-del-Prado, M., Mahmoud, H., “Identifying Influential Assets in Higher Order Interdependent Infrastructure Networks Through Population Impact,” Scientific Reports, doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-025-15824-w, 2025.

Hassan, E.M., Riveros, G., Mahmoud, H., “Experimental Investigation of Steel Beams with Mechanically Reduced Sections Strengthened with Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Polymers,” Journal of Structural Engineering, doi.org/ 10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-13853, 2025.

Hassan, E.M., Mahmoud, H., “Human-Centered Approach for Resilience Assessment of Healthcare Networks Subjected to Sequential Earthquakes,” Natural Hazards Review, doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1887, 2024.

Hassan, E.M., Mahmoud, H., “Analytical and Numerical Behavior of Double Composite Steel Bridges,” Journal of Bridge Engineering, ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/ %28ASCE%29BE.1943-5592.0001972, 2023.

Riveros, G., Hassan, E.M., Hudak, L., Mahmoud, H., “Basalt Fibers for Underwater Fatigue Repair of Steel Panels,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ascelibrary.org/doi/ full/10.1061/%28ASCE%29ST.1943-541X.0003489, 2022.

Vice Chancellor S&T RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Vernon and Maralee Jones Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

High-performance cement-based materials for structural applications and rehabilitation; self-consolidating concrete; high-performance concrete with adapted rheology; ultrahigh-performance concrete; fiber-reinforced composites; structural materials for 3D printing; low-carbon hydraulic binders; recycled materials for concrete

Honors or Awards

• Listed in 2% Top Scholars in the World published by Stanford University (ranking No. 20), 2025

• Academy of Civil Engineers, Missouri S&T, 2025

• President’s Award for Sustained Career Excellence, University of Missouri System, 2020

• Robert E. Philleo Award, ACI Concrete Research Council, 2020, “For outstanding contributions to research, teaching, innovation, and leadership targeting the advancement of high-performance concrete with adapted rheology and self-consolidating concrete (SCC), and the relentless pursuit of knowledge transfer regarding the science, performance, design, and testing standards of SCC”

• Fellow: RILEM, 2015; ACI, 2004

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• AQUA-MINE, DARPA

• AI-Based Smart Toolbox for 3D Printing of Concrete, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

• Tier-1 DurRe-Transp, University Transportation Center, USDoT (sub to UT Arlington)

• Ecocem Low Carbon binder Technology ACT and Concrete: Ecocem Materials Ltd, France

Selected Publications and Presentations

Khayat, K.H., Meng, W., “Innovation and Eco-Efficiency of Nanostructured Cement-Based Materials,” Elsevier, p. 216, ISBN: 978-0-12-817832-4, January 2023.

Bessaies-Bey, H., Khayat, K.H., Palacios, M., Schmidt, W., Roussel, N., Le Chatelier Invited Paper Highlight, Best Invited Paper Category, “Viscosity Modifying Agents: Key Components of Advanced Cement-Based Materials with Adapted Rheology,” Cement and Concrete Research, 2022.

Khayat, K.H., Kawashima S., Editors (37 papers), “Advances in Concrete Rheology and Additive Manufacturing in Construction,” Special Issue, ACI Materials Journal, November-December, 2021.

Nicolas Ali Libre Wenyu Liao

Assistant Research Professor MATERIALS ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Multifunctional low-carbon concrete; solid waste upcycling; large-scale carbon sequestration; thermal energy storage, phase change materials; additive manufacturing; machine learning; life-cycle assessment; critical mineral materials recovery

Honors or Awards

• Panel Reviewer, NSF, 2025

• The Game Changer Award, Greentown Labs, Boston, 2024

• CEC Dean’s Ph.D. Scholar, 2021

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• AI-Guided Blending of Indigenous Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials toward Maximum Substitution of Cement, DOE/EERE, 2025-28

• Converting CO2 and Alkaline Solid Wastes into Carbon Negative Supplementary Cementitious Materials for Co-Decarbonization of Multiple Sectors, DOE/FECM, 2023-25

• Reduce Comminution Energy and Improve Energy Relevant Mineral Yield Using Carbon-Negative Reactions, ARPA-E, 2023-26

Selected Publications and Presentations

Liao, W., Cai, K., Huang, Y., Zhang, N., Deng, G., Javed, M.H., Ma, H., “CO2 Utilization in Cement and Concrete,” Industrial Decarbonization, pp. 287-322, 2025.

Zhang, N., Deng, G., Liao, W., Ma, H., Hu, C., “Aqueous Carbonation of Steel Slags: A Comparative Study on Mechanisms,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 155, No. 105838, 2025.

Zhang, B., Liao, W., Ma, H., Huang, J., “In Situ Monitoring of the Hydration of Calcium Silicate Minerals in Cement with a Remote Fiber-optic Raman Probe,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 142, No. 105214, 2023.

Liao, W., Zeng, C., Zhuang, Y., Ma, H., Deng, W., Huang, J., “Mitigation of Thermal Curling of Concrete Slab Using Phase Change Material: A Feasibility Study,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 120, No. 104021, 2021.

Cai, R., Han, T., Liao, W., Huang, J., Li, D., Kumar, A., Ma, H., “Prediction of Surface Chloride Concentration of Marine Concrete Using Ensemble Machine Learning,” Cement and Concrete Research, Vol. 136, No. 106164, 2020.

Associate Teaching Professor STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Teaching innovations and educational technologies; computational mechanics and applied mathematics; advanced composite materials

Honors or Awards

• Dean’s Educator Award, S&T College of Engineering and Computing, 2025

• Provost’s eFellows Grant Program Recipient, S&T

• Educational Research Grant Recipient, Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence, S&T

• UM System President’s Award for Innovative Teaching

• FTTC Teaching with Technology Award, UMSL

• Faculty Achievement Award, S&T

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty Teaching and Service Achievement Award, S&T

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Ignition Grant for Sustainable Educational Transformation (IGSET), “Flipping the Mechanics of Materials Course: Embedding Entrepreneurial Mindset through Experiential, Project-Based Learning,” April 2025

• Lattice Reinforced Concrete for Ballistic and Blast Mitigation, Awarded by U.S. Army

• Embedding Entrepreneurial Mindset through Experiential, Project-Based Learning, Kummer Institute’s IGSET Grant

• Development and Evaluation of an Early Alert System to Identify Academically At-Risk Students, Educational Research Grant, Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence

• Develop, Implement, Assess, and Disseminate Entrepreneurially Minded Modules in Mechanics of Materials, Awarded by Lawrence Technological University and KEEN Partners

• Roller Compacted Concrete for Rapid Pavement Construction, MoDOT

Selected Publications and Presentations

Fasihi, A. and Libre, N.A., “Towards Accurate In-situ

Static Yield Stress Measurement for 3D Concrete Printing: A Study on Novel Fast Penetration Test,” Journal of Building Engineering, Vol. 108, No. 1, Article ID 113002, doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2025.113002, 2025.

Jenny Liu

James A. Heidman Professor MATERIALS AND PAVEMENT ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Texas A&M University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Engineering characterization and modeling of infrastructure materials; pavement design, testing, preservation, and condition assessment; sustainable materials and resilient infrastructure adapting to climate change/extreme events

Honors or Awards

• Faculty Service Award, Missouri S&T, 2025

• Dean’s Service Award, S&T College of Engineering and Computing, 2024-25

• Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Fellow, 2024-25

• Leadership Achievement Recognition, ASCE Construction Institute, 2024

• Best Paper Award (four times), 2014, 2016, 2017, 2024

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Handling Editor, Transportation Research Record

• Editor, Construction and Building Materials in Transportation

• Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

• Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering Part B: Pavements

• Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Cold Regions Engineering

• Use of Colloidal Silica as a Finishing Aid for Concrete Pavement, MoDOT

• Correlating Pavement Conditions and Traffic Accidents through AI-based Data Mining, MATC

• Fellowship Program in Civil Engineering for Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience with Emerging Technologies, DOEd GAANN

Selected Publications and Presentations

Liu, C., Zhang, X., and Liu, J., “A Rapid Field Moisture Measurement Unit for Compaction Acceptance of Unbound Materials,” Transportation Geotechnics, Vol. 57, No. 101885, doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2025.101885, 2026.

Jiang, P., Lin, B., Wang, Y., Liu, J., Ghanoon, S., “An Improved Method to Calculate Stripping Inflection Point (SIP) and its Application in Evaluating Moisture Susceptibility of Asphalt Mixtures,” Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 492, No.142851, doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat. 2025.142851, 2025.

Lin, B., Wang, Y., Liu, J., “Development of a Balanced Mix Design Approach for Stone Matrix Asphalt Mixtures,” Cleaner Materials, Vol. 17, No. 100328, doi.org/10.1016/ j.clema.2025.100328, 2025.

Hongyan Ma

Kummer Impact Professor, Francisco Benavides Faculty Scholar and Professor MATERIALS ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Carbon-negative cements and carbon-neutral concrete; solid waste upcycling; large-scale carbon utilization and storage; critical mineral recovery; smart materials and systems; biotechnology in construction; multi-scale modeling; durability of concrete structures; thermal energy storage; mechanics of materials

Honors or Awards

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award, S&T, 2024

• Faculty Excellence Award, S&T, 2020, 2023

• Faculty Research Award, S&T, 2019, 2022, 2024

• Game Changer Academies Panel Fellow, CMMI, NSF, 2022

• Outstanding Teaching Award, S&T, 2021

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Validation and Best Practices for CO2 Removal and Sequestration in Cement and Concrete, DOE/OTT, 2023-26

• Converting CO2 and Alkaline Solid Wastes into CarbonNegative Supplementary Cementitious Materials for Co-Decarbonization of Multiple Sectors, DOE/FECM, 2023-25

• Concrete Assisted by Particles Sealed Under Large-Scale Encapsulation (CAPSULE), DARPA, 2023-27

• Converting CO2 and Alkaline Solid Wastes to Carbon-Negative Alternative Cement for Precast Concrete Units, 2023-25, DOE/ FECM, 2023-25

• Reduce Comminution Energy and Improve Energy Relevant Mineral Yield Using Carbon-Negative Reactions, ARPA-E, 2023-26

• ECO-CBET: GOALI: CAS-Climate: Expediting Decarbonization of Cement Industry through Integration of CO2 Capture and Conversion, NSF, 2022-26

Selected Publications and Presentations

Zhang, N., Deng, G., Liao, W., Ma, H., Hu, C., “Aqueous Carbonation of Steel Slags: A Comparative Study on Mechanisms,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 155, No. 105838, DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2024.105838, 2025.

Zhang, B., Liao, W., Ma, H., Huang, J., “In Situ Monitoring of the Hydration of Calcium Silicate Minerals in Cement with a Remote Fiber-Optic Raman Probe,” Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol. 142, No. 105214, DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconcomp. 2023.105214, 2023.

Li, Z., Zhou, X., Ma, H., Hou, D., “Advanced Concrete Technology, 2nd Edition,” Hoboken: Wiley, ISBN: 978-1-119-80625-7, 2022.

John J. Myers

Professor, Director, Missouri Center for Transportation Innovation STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Structures/high-performance concrete (HPC) behavior and durability performance; fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) in structural repair/strengthening and new construction applications with an emphasis related to concrete and masonry structures and durability performance; development of environmentally sensitive construction materials; hybrid materials and enhanced systems for blast-resistant structures

Honors or Awards

Daniel Oerther

Professor ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ENGINEERING

Ph.D., environmental engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Renowned for leadership and excellence in environmental engineering and science policy, innovation in teaching and learning, practical applications of humanitarian technology, and discovery research in environmental biotechnology

Honors or Awards

• Distinguished Public Policy Fellow, Inaugural cohort inducted into the Public Health Academy of the National Academies of Practice, 2025

• Prestressed-Precast Concrete Institute (PCI) Educator of the Year Award, 2025

• Society Fellow, ACI, ASCE, IAAM, IIFC, TMS and VEST

• National Educator of the Year, PCI

• National Outstanding Educator Award, AEI

• Professional Recognition Award, ASCE

• Honorary Member, S&T Academy of Civil Engineers

• Faculty Excellence Award (nine times), Faculty Research Award (twice), Faculty Teaching Award and Commendation (eight times), S&T

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Durability of GFRP Bar Reinforcement Extracted from In-Service Concrete Structures, ACI-SDC, USDoT

• GFRP Reinforced Bridge Barriers Phase I and II, MoDOT

• GAANN Program for Doctoral Training in Civil Infrastructure Condition Assessment, Sustainability, and Resiliency, U.S. Department of Education

Selected Publications and Presentations

Alghazali, H.H., Algburi, A.H.M., Myers, J.J., “Bond Behavior of Full-scale Beams Using Sustainable Self-Compacting Concrete,” Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, by Springer Nature, Vol. 10, No. 538, November 2025.

Giraldo-Isaza, J.P., Giraldo-Londono, O., Washer, G.A., Myers, J.J., “Numerical Modeling of the Effects of Impact Conditions, Foundation Stiffness, and Cable Pretension on the Behavior of High-Tension Guard Cable Systems,” Elsevier’s Engineering Failure Analysis, Vol. 165, pp. 18, November 2024.

Myers, J.J., “Review and Analysis of FRP Bond Lengths from Pull-out Testing Database with Reduced Embedment Lengths,” ACI SP 360, FRPRCS-16, Farmington Hills, MI, SP-360-02, pp. 25-35, March 2024.

• Listed in 2% Top Scholars in the World published by Stanford University, 2025 and Career

• Fellow: American Academy of Nursing, Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, National Academies of Practice, National League for Nursing, Royal Society for Public Health, Society of Operations Engineers

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Executive Director, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists

• President, Council of Engineering and Scientific Certification Boards

• Consensus Study Member, “Education for Thriving in a Changing Climate,” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)

Selected Publications and Presentations

Oerther, D.B., Environmental Engineering Body of Knowledge: Preparing the Future Environmental Engineer (2nd Ed), American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 2025.

Oerther, S., Oerther, D.B., “The Importance of Transparency, Accountability, and Verifiability when using Artificial Intelligence in Nursing Education,” Nurse Education in Practice, ePub ahead of print, 2025.

Oerther, D.B., “Hold Paramount the Health, Safety, and Welfare of the Public and the Planet,” Journal of Environmental Engineering, ePub ahead of print, 2025.

Heath Pickerill

Assistant Teaching Professor ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., human environmental science, with an emphasis in architectural studies, University of Missouri-Columbia

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Teaches design courses focused on the fundamental principles of architectural concepts and their application to successful solutions of contemporary building designs. Co-teaches a green engineering course, analyzing construction to help students understand design and construct projects that minimize environmental impacts, and a daylighting design course, exploring outcomes of exterior fenestrations on occupant comfort and building performance. Also teaches engineering communications and computing course, increasing students’ written, oral and technical communications skills applicable to the professional engineering practice.

Director of Missouri’s Local Technical Assistance Program and Rural Transit Assistance Programs

Manages the operations and administration of Missouri LTAP and RTAP located at Missouri S&T. These programs provide workforce development training, technology transfer and technical assistance in infrastructure management and maintenance to Missouri’s local public agencies and rural transit providers. Leads a Kauffman Foundation project as PI, focused on workforce development and entrepreneurial training in area of community resilience. Oversees the Missouri Safety Circuit Rider Program, funded through MoDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant. Serves as the director of the annual Missouri Concrete Conference and Missouri Asphalt Conference.

Honors or Awards

• National Local Technical Assistance Program Association 4.5-year president’s track, 2026-27 past president, 2024-26 president, 2023-24 president-elect, 2022-23 vice president

• Missouri’s State Transportation Innovation Council

• Traffic Engineering Association of Missouri, Governing Board Member

• Missouri Roadway Safety Coalition – Infrastructure Subcommittee, Member

• Behind Every Graduate Faculty Award Recipient, December 2024-25

• Student Life’s Outstanding Advisor of the Year, 2014

Selected Publications and Presentations

Pickerill, H., Keynote Speaker, Missouri Chapter American Public Works Association Fall Conference, October 2025.

Pickerill, H., Keynote Speaker, Missouri Association of County Transportation Officials Conference, October 2025.

William Schonberg

Professor and Assistant Chair, Distance Education and Remote Programs

CIVIL, ARCHITECTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Northwestern University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Armor/anti-armor, penetration mechanics, spacecraft shielding against meteoroid and orbital debris impacts, hypervelocity impact phenomena, building failure and collapse, design and construction of moon and Mars habitats, professionalism and engineering ethics, engineering education – national and international

Honors or Awards

• Top 2% World Ranked Scientist, 2019-25

• Associate Editor, International Journal of Impact Engineering

• Fulbright Specialist Program Award

• Fulbright Distinguished Chair, Advanced Science and Technology

• Distinguished Scientist Award, Hypervelocity Impact Society

• Honor Award, NASA Engineering and Safety Center

• Fraunhofer Bessel Research Award, Humboldt Foundation

• Manuel T. Pacheco Academic Leadership Award, University of Missouri System

• Fellow, ASME, ASCE, IAASS; Associate Fellow, AIAA

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Mars Sample Return Capture, Containment and Return System Project, NASA

• Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization, NASA

• Development of Dual-Career Hiring Policies and Inclusive P&T Criteria, ADVANCE (NSF)

Selected Publications and Presentations

Schonberg, W.P., Squire, M.D., Williamsen, J., Stellingwerf, R., “Enhancing the Protection of Shielded Thermal Protection Systems in Sample Return Spacecraft Against MMOD Impact,” Acta Astronautica, Vol. 237, No. 12, pp. 23-33, 2025.

Schonberg, W.P., “Towards More Inclusive Promotion and Tenure Criteria, Policies, and Processes,” International Journal of Higher Education, Vol 14, No. 4, pp. 66-76, 2025.

Schonberg, W.P., “An Overview of Dual-Career Assistance Programs at Four-Year Higher Learning Institutions,” International Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 8-16, 2025.

Schonberg, W.P., and Haque, S., “Re-Analysis of the Anthropogenic Effect of the COVID-19 Global Lockdown on Nighttime Lunar Surface Temperatures,” Monthly Newsletter of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 539, No. 1, pp. L14-L17, 2025.

Hunter Schroer

Assistant Professor ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, University of Iowa

Bong Chul Seo

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Environmental biotechnology; protein engineering and directed evolution; synthetic biology; biomining

Honors or Awards

• Scialog Fellow: Sustainable Minerals, Metals, and Materials, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, 2025-26

• Excellence in Review Award, Environmental Science & Technology, 2024

• Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2018

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Collaborative Research: Discovering Enzymatic Pathways to Break Carbon Fluorine Bonds in Perfluorinated Carboxylic Acids, PI, 11/25-10/28, National Science Foundation

• Buoyant Microbes for Bioflotation and Coarse Mineral Separations, PI, 12/25-11/26, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation/ Research Corporation for Science Advancement

• Extraction and Recovery of Copper, Cobalt, and Nickel from Low Grade Ores using Bioleaching, Co-PI, Missouri S&T O’Keefe Center for Critical Minerals Seed Funding

Selected Publications and Presentations

Amoh, P.O., Idowu, A.E., Grube, E.R., Mormile, M.R., Schroer, H.W., “Draft Genome Sequences of Four Phosphatesolubilizing Microbes of the Family Burkholderiaceae Isolated from Tailings from the Former Pea Ridge Mine in Washington County, Missouri, USA,” Microbiology Resource Announcements, Vol. 14, 2025.

Schroer, H.W., Markland, K., Ling, F., Just, C.L., “Hydraulic Connectivity and Hydrochemistry Influence Microbial Community Structure in Agriculturally Affected Alluvial Aquifers in the Midwestern United States,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 59, 2025.

Schroer, H.W., Just, C.L., “Feature Engineering and Supervised Machine Learning to Forecast Biogas Production During Municipal Anaerobic Co-digestion,” ACS ES&T Engineering, Vol. 4, 2023.

Schroer, H.W., Londono, E., Li, X., Arnold, W., Lehmler, H.J., Just, C.L., “Photolysis of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one: Mechanisms and Products,” ACS ES&T Water, Vol. 3, 2023.

Schroer, H.W., “Environmental Biotechnology for a Sustainable Future,” Iowa State University Environmental and Water Resources Seminar, Ames, IA, January 2024.

Assistant Professor WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, University of Iowa

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Quantitative precipitation estimation with radar and satellite remote sensing; hydrologic modeling and flood prediction; rainfall forecasting for prediction of pluvial flooding; multiscale modeling of rainfall estimation uncertainty; machine learning applications in hydrology; hydroinformatics

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Deep-learning-based Rainfall Forecasting for Prediction of Pluvial Flooding, CIROH/NOAA

• Adapting the Iowa Flood Center’s Hillslope Link Model for Compatibility with the NextGen Framework, CIROH/NOAA

• Comparative Assessment of the NWM Channel Routing Models for Enhanced Streamflow Data Assimilation, CIROH/NOAA

• MoHIC Stream Prioritization for Gage Network Expansion, MoDNR

• University of Missouri Flood Risk Resiliency and Inland Waterway Navigation Research, NIST

Selected Publications and Presentations

Siddiqua, A., Seo, B.-C., Corns, S., Burken, J., Holmes, R.R. Jr., Kim, C.-S., “A Web-based Platform for Integrated Real-time Water Information: A Prototype System for Missouri,” Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 194, No. 106687, doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106687, 2025.

Velásquez, N., Krajewski, W.F., Seo, B.-C., “Assessing the Impact of Radar-Rainfall Uncertainty on Streamflow Prediction,” Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 26, Issue 2, pp. 169-184, doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-24-0047.1, 2025.

Sit, M., Seo, B.-C., Demiray, B., Demir, I., “EfficientRainNet: Leveraging EfficinetNetV2 for Memory-efficient Rainfall Nowcasting,” Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 176, No. 106001, doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2024. 106001, 2024.

Seo, B.-C., Krajewski, W.F., Quintero, F., “Multi-Scale Hydrologic Evaluation of the National Water Model Streamflow Data Assimilation,” Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 57, Issue 6, pp. 875-884, doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12955, 2021.

Seo, B.-C., Krajewski, W.F., Ryzhkov, A., “Evaluation of the Specific Attenuation Method for Radar-based Quantitative Precipitation Estimation: Improvements and Practical Challenges,” Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 21, Issue 6, pp. 1333-1347, doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-20-0030.1, 2020.

Eric Showalter

Assistant Chair and Teaching Professor CIVIL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Purdue University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Teaches introductory courses in construction and the capstone design course, along with construction cost estimating, construction methods and project delivery

Honors or Awards

• Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

National Outstanding Educator, 2020

• St. Louis Section ASCE Professional Recognition Award, 2019

• Faculty Achievement Award, Missouri S&T, 2019, 2021

• Kiewit Faculty Scholar, 2018

• LEED Accredited Professional

• Fulbright Award, 2010

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Advisor to the S&T AGC Student Chapter, Concrete Canoe Student Design Team and the Blacksmith Club

Sanjay Tewari

Associate Teaching Professor

MSU PROGRAM AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, Texas A&M University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Teaching undergraduate/graduate courses on wastewater/ water treatment, fluid mechanics and water-resources; research interests are electro-chemical processes such as capacitive deionization, electrokinetics, electro-coagulation and desalination

Honors or Awards

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Faculty Teaching and Service Achievement Award, 2021, 2025

• Missouri S&T CEC Dean’s Educator Award, 2024-26

• ASCE ExCEED Fellow, 2022

• Faculty Achievement Award, Missouri S&T, 2022

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant - Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance and Training, $336,774, Co-Program PI/Manager, Missouri State University, 2025-27

Improving the quality of life in our nation and around the world

The department provides many research opportunities on cutting-edge projects — giving our students hands-on experience that has significant societal impact.

Explore our research areas:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant, Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance and Training, $296,424, Co-Program PI/Manager, Missouri State University, 2023-25

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant, Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance and Training, $45,710, Co-Program Manager, October 2020September 2022

Selected Publications and Presentations

Tewari, S., “Experiential Learning and Exposure to Professional Experience in Civil Engineering Education,” ASEE Midwest Section Conference, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, September 10-12, 2023, Published July 24, 2024, peer.asee.org/46348.

Singh, D., Singh, S., Singh, D., Kushwaha, J., Mishra, V., Patel, S.K., Tewari, S., Giri, B.S., “Sustainable Pathways for Solar Desalination Using Nanofluids: A Critical Review,” Environmental Research, No. 117654, ISSN 0013-9351, doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.117654, 2023.

Ahmed M.A., Tewari, S., “Performance Evaluation of Asymmetric Capacitive Deionization with Carbon Aerogel Based Fiber-Paper Electrodes: Effect of Gold Deposition vs. Acid Treatment,” Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Vol. 835, pp. 30-39, doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem. 2019.01.006, 2019.

Jeffery Thomas

Teaching Professor MSU PROGRAM AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., engineering mechanics, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Educational media, computer-based learning assessments, measurement of student engagement

Honors or Awards

• Joseph H. Senne Jr. Teaching and Service Award, Academy of Civil Engineers, 2022

• Dean’s Educator Award, College of Engineering and Computing, 2020

• Faculty Achievement Award, Missouri S&T, 2020

• Faculty Excellence in Teaching, Missouri State University, 2018

Selected Publications and Presentations

Karan Venayagamoorthy

Kummer Department Chair and Professor CIVIL, ARCHITECTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil and environmental engineering, Stanford University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Environmental fluid mechanics (e.g., flow turbulence, mixing and transport) and water resources engineering as well as its broader applications in engineering, oceanography and atmospheric science, especially concerning climate change, environmental sustainability and renewable energy

Honors or Awards

• Outstanding Contributions to Student Success, National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), Rams Chapter, 2024

Mechanics of Materials: An Integrated Learning System, 5th edition, An Indian Adaptation, John Wiley & Sons, 2023.

Mechanics of Materials: International Adaptation, John Wiley & Sons, 2022.

Mechanics of Materials: An Integrated Learning System, 5th edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2020. (used by 40,000 students)

Mechanics of Materials: An Integrated Learning System, 4th edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2017. (used by 26,000 students)

Mechanics of Materials: An Integrated Learning System, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2013. (used by 25,000 students)

WileyPLUS Learning Environment containing 2,000 reading questions, 2,750 problems, 1,100 tutorials and 770 videos.

Educational websites used by 805,000 people from 208 countries.

More than 7 million hours of student and faculty engagement with learning materials.

• Faculty Excellence in Service Award, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, CSU, 2022

• Most Inspiring Professor Award, Engineering College Council, CSU, 2021

• CSU Board of Governors Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2020

• ASCE State of the Art of Civil Engineering Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2020

Selected Publications and Presentations

Klema, M., Venayagamoorthy, S.K., “Nonlinear Flow Structures from the Interaction of Internal Waves with Topography,” Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol. 55, pp. 2477-2489, doi:10.1017/jfm.2024.646, doi: 10.1175/ JPO-D-24-0228.1, 2025.

Behl, M., Clem, S., Mouw, C., Legg, S., Hackett, E., Burkholder, K. Karnauskas, K.B., Gille, S.T., Fratantoni, P., Freeman, L., Venayagamoorthy, S.K., Miller, J.L., “Mentors: The Hidden Beneficiaries of Mentoring,” Oceanography, Vol. 38, No. 3, doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2025.e307, 2025.

Pugh, J., Venayagamoorthy, S.K., Gates, T.K., “Demystifying the Discharge Coefficient for Flow Over Thin Weirs.” FLOW, Vol. 5, No. E31, doi.org/10.1017/flo.2025.10022, 2025.

Pugh, J., Venayagamoorthy, S.K., Gates, T.K., Berni, C., Rastello, M., Closure to “A Novel and Enhanced Calibration of the Tilting Weir as a Flow Measurement Structure,” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 151, No. 4: 07025004, 2025.

Jianmin Wang

Professor ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Delaware

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Sustainable technologies for water and wastewater treatment, water reuse, waste-to-energy conversion

Honors or Awards

• CAPEES Best Paper Award

• Faculty Research Award

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• Development of Robust Technologies for Advanced Wastewater Treatment and Reuse, U.S. Army

• Understanding the Oxygen Transfer Process in Biological Wastewater Systems

Selected Publications and Presentations

Zhang, Q., Wu, G., Liao, S., Zhu, X., Li, B., Wang, J., Liu, G., “Application and Practical Implementation of iMLE Process for Enhancing Nitrogen Removal and Energy Saving and Consumption Reduction,” China Water & Wastewater, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 88-94 (in Chinese), 2025.

Opu, R.K., Jaffari, Z.H., Wang, J., “Effects of Water Properties on Oxygen Transfer Performance,” Mid-American Environmental Engineering Conference, Washington University, St. Louis, oral presentation, 2025.

Wang, J., “Innovative AIO Process for Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR),” Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), invited talk, 2025.

Wang, J., “Chemical Reaction Thermodynamics – How Temperature and Pressure Impact Reaction Equilibrium and Rate,” Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tongji University, invited talks, 2025.

Farrow, E.M., Wang, J., Shi, H., Yang, J., Hua, B., Deng, B., “Selected Trace Element Uptake by Rice Grain as Affected by Soil Arsenic, Water Management and Cultivar - A Field Investigation,” Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol. 12, No. 1347330, 2024.

Campbell, K., Wang, J., “Understanding the Role of Activated Sludge in Oxygen Transfer: Effects of Sludge Settleability, Solids Retention Time, and Nitrification Reaction,” Water Environment Research,Vol. 94 , No. 11, e10806, (Cover story), 2022.

Grace Yan

Professor STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., engineering mechanics, Harbin Institute of Technology, China

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Quantum computing, risk assessment, tornado resilience, coastal resilience, climate change adaptation

Honors or Awards

• ASCE Fellow

• Selected women engineers for EngineerGirl Program, National Academy of Engineering

• DOD Faculty Fellowship Award, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center, 2025

• NSF-Missouri S&T ADVANCE Fellowship, 2025-26

• Behind Every Graduate Award, Missouri S&T, 2025

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• National Testing Facility for Enhancing Wind Resiliency of Infrastructure in Tornado-Downburst-Gust Front Events (NEWRITE), NSF

• Collaborative Research: EAGER: The Role of Inverse Energy Cascade in Tornadogenesis, NSF

• Collaborative Research: RAPID: Real-world Experiment on Investigating Influence of Terrain on Tornado Intensity and Behavior, NSF

• IUCRC Planning Grant Lehigh University: Center for Climate, Equity and Resilience in Catmodeling (CERCat), NSF

• Collaborative Research: RAPID: Examining Critical Infrastructure and Protective Decision-making During a Multi-state Nocturnal Tornado Outbreak, NSF

Selected Publications and Presentations

Boswell, H., Han, F.D., Yan, G., Mostert, W., “Energetics Analysis of Solitary Waves Using a Multi-layer Model,” Coastal Engineering, Vol. 203, No.104868, doi.org/10.1016/ j.coastaleng.2025.104868, 2025.

Zhao, Y., Qin, R., van de Lindt, J.W., Sharpe, J., Yan, G., “Understanding the Relationship Between Structural Failure and Fatalities in Tornadoes: A Quantitative Investigation of the 2021 Midwest Tornado Outbreak,” Advances in Wind Engineering, Vol. 2, Issue 3, No. 100070, doi.org/10.1016/ j.awe.2025.100070, 2025.

Yang, J., Chen, Y., Tang, Y., Duan, Z., Yan, G., Ou, J., Gong, T., Yang, Z., Yin, J., “Evaluations of Storm Tide Hazard Along the Coast of China Using Synthetic Dynamic Tropical Cyclone Events,” Coastal Engineering, Vol. 104, No. 104604, doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2024.104604, 2024.

Xiong Zhang Adjunct Faculty

Professor GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Ph.D., civil engineering geotechnical engineering, Texas A&M University

Scholarly Focus, Teaching or Research Areas

Unsaturated soil mechanics, advanced testing techniques, constitutive modeling, numerical methods and modeling, remote sensing, expansive and collapsible soils, frozen ground engineering, permafrost degradation, frost heave and thaw weakening, image analysis and computer vision

Honors or Awards

• Invited Themed Lecturer, 8th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Milos, Greece, May 2-5, 2023

• Main Plenary Speaker, 3rd Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 25-28, 2021

• Keynote Speaker, 7th Asia-Pacific Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Nagoya Japan, August 23-25, 2019

Selected Academic Activities or Research Projects

• PI, “Comprehensive Characterization of Unsaturated Soils using Advanced Photogrammetry and Novel Fiber Optic Sensors,” National Science Foundation, $605,118, August 2023-July 2026

• PI Missouri S&T Campus, “Navigating the New Arctic Track 1: Collaborative Research: Sociodemographic, Cultural, and Infrastructure Resilience and Adaptation under the Effects of Permafrost Degradation and Coastal Erosion,” National Science Foundation, $350,000, September 2019-July 2024

• Co-PI Missouri S&T Campus, “National Center for Transportation on Infrastructure Durability & LifeExtension (TriDurLE),” U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), $7,500,000, October 2019-September 2023

Selected Publications and Presentations

Zhang, X., Houston, S., “Indefinability of Effective Stress for Unsaturated Soils,” ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 150, No. 8, August 2024, ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/ JGGEFK.GTENG-12435, 2024.

Zhang, X., Li, L., Chen, G., Lytton, R.L., “A PhotogrammetryBased Method to Measure Volume Changes of Unsaturated Soil Specimens during Triaxial Testing,” Acta Geotechnica, Vol. 10, No.1, pp. 55-82. (*This paper was selected for the 2016 International Innovation Award in Unsaturated Soil Mechanics), 2015.

Zhang, X., Lytton, R.L., “A Modified State Surface Approach on Unsaturated Soil Behavior Study (I) Basic Concept & (II) General Formulation,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 536-570, 2009.

Daniel Abbott MECHANICS

B.S./M.S., mechanical engineering, Missouri S&T

Engineering mechanics: statics, materials testing, introduction to engineering design

Robert Holmes Jr. WATER RESOURCES/USGS

P.E., F.ASCE, F.EWRI, D.WRE

Ph.D., civil engineering, University of Illinois

Chief, Hydrodynamics Branch, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS/retired)

Water resources engineering, hydrologic modeling

Dhruv Mitroo AIR POLLUTION

B.S., chemical Engineering, Columbia University, Ph.D. energy, environmental and chemical engineering, Washington University, St. Louis Research Scientist, Veterans Research and Education Foundation (VREF)

Robert Tucker ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGY

Ph.D., geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines

U.S. Army (retired)

Frontier Environmental Technology Tunnel detection in Iraq; deployable baffled bioreactors for army trials of new equipment; adobe blocks for theater building materials

Changing the World

The CArEE department continues to be a “destination of choice” for those who want to solve some of society’s greatest challenges and truly change the world by implementing new approaches and technological advancements towards achieving a better quality of life.

Student Recognition

Students receive Beavers Foundation scholarships

Civil, architectural and environmental engineering students

Rachel Winingear

a social, honorary organization formed, organized and managed by construction companies engaged in heavy engineering construction.

Ph.D. students recognized by college

Four Ph.D. students from the department received dean’s honors from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). Congratulations to the following honorees:

DEAN’S PH.D. SCHOLAR AWARD

• Radwa Eissa, nominated by Dr. Islam El-adaway, associate provost for St. Louis Operations and the Hurst-McCarthy Endowed Professor of Construction Engineering and Management

• Haodao Li, nominated by Dr. Kamal Khayat, vice chancellor for research and innovation and Vernon and Maralee

• Alireza Roshan, nominated by Dr. Magdy Abdelrahman, Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association Professor of Civil Engineering

DEAN’S GRADUATE EDUCATOR AWARD

• Varuni Abhayaratne, nominated by Dr. Joel Burken, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering.

Dunahee receives Remington R. Williams Award for leadership

Kaitlyn Dunahee, a senior in civil engineering at Missouri S&T from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was named a 2025 recipient of the Remington R. Williams Award.

A member of the Kummer Vanguard Scholars Student Steering Committee, Dunahee has held leadership roles for the Residential Commons Hall Association and the Residential Hall Association, represents Christian Campus Fellowship for Student Council, tutors fellow students and is a peer mentor in S&T’s Cornerstone Peers program.

The Remington R. Williams Award recognizes exceptional student leaders who inspire and advocate for their fellow students. To be considered for the award, students must be involved in at least two student organizations and hold a major leadership position in at least one and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Williams, a law student at UMKC and a master’s student at UMSL, served as student representative to the UM Board of Curators from 2020 until his death in June 2022. He was a model of committed student leadership, and the board created this award to honor his legacy of kindness, collaboration and service.

Dunahee was nominated for the award by two faculty members, an administrator and a fellow student at Missouri S&T.

Multiple nominators noted that Dunahee asked questions to better understand concepts and was eager to help her classmates.

211 Butler-Carlton Hall, 1401 N. Pine St. Rolla, MO 65409-0030

Missouri S&T-ASCE competed against 16 teams from other Midwestern universities at the 2025 Mid-America Student Symposium in Nebraska.

The Steel Bridge Design Team won the overall competition and advanced to nationals, where they finished in fifth place.

S&T’s Concrete Canoe Team won all five of its races and finished third in the competition overall.