Research topics and advisors

GAANN fellows will provide input in the selection of their faculty advisor, and work with that advisor to develop their research program. Potential faculty advisors are indicated below, along with some suggested general research topic areas. GAANN applicants are encouraged to reach out to one or more potential faculty advisors during the application process to discuss the research topics in more detail, understand the desired skills and qualifications, and determine if the faculty advisor would be a good fit.

Note that GAANN applicants are asked to list two to three faculty that they are interested in working with as part of the GAANN pre-screening application. Some research topics may be conducive to faculty co-advisors.

Ian Buckle
Foundation Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
igbuckle@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Buckle

Next generation protective systems for buildings and bridges including seismic isolation and energy dissipation.
Nonlinear soil-structure interaction studies for massive structures with deep foundations using large-scale experiments and high-end numerical simulations.
Coastal resilience to inundation by tsunami and/or hurricane storm surge using large-scale experiments and high-end numerical simulations.

Hamed Ebrahimian
Assistant Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
hebrahimian@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Ebrahimian

Nonlinear structural system identification, structural health monitoring, and damage diagnosis
Bayesian filtering for the integration of computational models with data
Computer-vision techniques for structural sensing and monitoring
Nonlinear computational solid and structural mechanics, nonlinear mechanics of reinforced concrete
Wildfire simulation and probabilistic risk assessment

Elnaz Esmaeilzadeh Seylabi
Assistant Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
elnaze@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Esmaeilzadeh Seylabi

Physics-based ground motion modeling
Seismic performance assessment of distributed lifelines and buried infrastructure
Development and validation of multi-fidelity tools for modeling soil-structure interaction problems
Data assimilation and uncertainty quantification for complex systems

Elie Y. Hajj
Associate Professor

Pavement Engineering & Science
elieh@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Elie Hajj

Sustainability of pavement systems
Dynamic response of pavement structures
Full-scale testing of pavement systems
Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis of pavements

David Hanigan
Assistant Professor

Environmental engineering
dhanigan@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Hanigan

Trace organic contaminants in the environment
Potable and nonportable water reuse, including agricultural irrigation
PFAS and organofluorine remediation and occurrence in the environment
Disinfection by-products

Adam Hand
Associate Professor

Pavement engineering and science
adamhand@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Hand

Accelerated pavement construction
Intelligent pavement construction technologies
Sustainable pavement materials and design
Alternative construction project procurement and delivery

Eric Marchand
Associate Professor; Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs

Environmental Engineering
marchand@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Eric Marchand

Water treatment and reuse applications
Nutrient removal and energy optimization associated with wastewater treatment processes
Advanced membrane bioreactor technology
Stormwater management and control

David McCallen
Professor Director of the Center for Civil Engineering Earthquake Research
Earthquake and structural engineering
dmccallen@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. McCallen

High performance computing for regional-scale evaluations of earthquake hazard and risk
Integrated, coupled geophysics/engineering simulations for studying the interaction between incident seismic waves and infrastructure systems
Computer simulations and the nonlinear earthquake response of soil-structure systems for performance-based evaluations and design
Innovative seismic sensors and mesh network data acquisition systems for near real-time earthquake damage assessment
Innovative manufacturing for civil engineering applications

Ramin Motamed
Associate Professor

Geotechnical engineering
motamed@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Motamed

Shake table tests on shallow foundations in liquefiable soils and mitigation measures
Nonlinear site response analysis and validation using instrumented sites
Analysis and interpretation of ground motions for soil-foundation-structure system response evaluation

Mohamed Moustafa
Assistant Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
mmoustafa@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Moustafa

Real-time hybrid simulation and new testing techniques for multi-hazard performance based assessment
Structural applications of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)
Applications of digital image correlation and video monitoring for infrastructure health monitoring and system identification
Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) with applications to seismic ABC connections and systems

Krishna Pagilla
Ralph E. and Rose A. Hoeper Engineering Professor
Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering Environmental Engineering

pagilla@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Pagilla

Development of water and wastewater treatment systems
Sustainable water use and reuse
Optimal technologies for contaminant removal and resource recovery

Gokhan Pekcan
Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
pekcan@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Pekcan

Earthquake protective systems
Structural control: Passive, semi-active and active
Structural/Infrastructure Health Monitoring; vibration-based, machine learning
Advanced experimental simulation
Seismic fragility of structural and nonstructural systems

Floriana Petrone
Assistant Professor

Earthquake and structural engineering
florianapetrone@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Petrone

Study of the correlation of building nonlinear dynamic response with near-field synthetic ground motion
Investigation of site-specific earthquake risk to critical infrastructure
Implementation of advanced deterministic simulations into a probabilistic framework to account for model and parameter uncertainties
Development and experimental testing of innovative techniques for structural damage assessment

Keri Ryan
Associate Professor
GAANN Project Director

Earthquake and structural engineering
klryan@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Ryan

Research that furthers the implementation of seismic isolation systems
Development of new low damage or seismic protective systems concepts
Characterization of both horizontal and vertical seismic demands in building components considering soil-structure interaction
Evaluation and mitigation of seismic-induced damage to nonstructural components and building contents

Raj Siddharthan
Professor
Geotechnical Engineering

siddhart@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Siddharthan

Soil response modelling and laboratory investigation under static and dynamic loading including liquefaction behavior
Dynamic pavement response (analytical and laboratory modelling) to traffic and moving load effects
Dynamic behavior of rigid and flexible retaining walls
Wave loading on offshore slopes

Zong Tian
Professor

Transportation engineering

zongt@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Tian

Data-driven traffic safety analysis
Trajectory-based traffic operation
Driver behavior study

Hao Xu
Associate Professor

Transportation engineering

haox@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Xu

Advanced traffic sensor technologies
Traffic data processing, fusion and mining
LiDAR-enhanced smart traffic infrastructure
Connected and autonomous traffic

Yu (Frank) Yang

Associate Professor

Environmental engineering

yuy@unr.edu

Research topics with Dr. Yang

Novel degradation of emerging organohalogen contaminants
Reaction and cycles of carbon during redox processes
Fate, transport and health impacts of trace organics during water reuse for agriculture
Soil contamination and human exposure in the Arctic
Sustainable application of carbonaceous nanomaterials in agriculture