Research Opportunities

Construction engineering faculty and students research an array of construction engineering and management-related topics. Current research projects seek solutions to the three functional areas of construction engineering and management: management techniques, construction operations and construction methods.

Research Faculty

Cristina Poleacovschi Assistant Professor	Knowledge sharing and expertise in construction and engineering organizations Marginalization Gender issues in engineering education and organizations
Jennifer Shane Construction Engineering Professor-in-Charge, Associate Professor, W.A. Klinger Teaching Professor in Civil Engineering	Design-build/alternative contracting Pavement preservation project management Rapid infrastructure renewal
Roy Sturgill Assistant Professor	Alternative contracting methods Construction management & administration Sustainable infrastructure
Katherine MadsonAssistant Professor	Decision-making Front end planning Asset management
Yunjeong “Leah” MoAssistant Professor	Smart building energy management and occupant behavior Construction work process automation Emerging technologies (VR/AR, BIM, Digital-Twin, etc.) for construction research and education

Research conducted by faculty in environmental and water resources engineering is geared toward understanding the fundamental physical, chemical and biological principles of engineered and natural systems. The research has a strong emphasis on practical applications as demonstrated by bench-scale experimentation, pilot- and field-scale demonstration projects, and computer modeling and simulations.

Research Faculty

Timothy Ellis Associate Professor	Environmental biotechnology processes Water pollution control plant design Air pollution control technology
Joseph Charbonnet Assistant Professor	Emerging organic contaminants including PFAS, flame retardants, and biocides Remediation of nutrients and toxic metals Water and stormwater reuse Novel materials for water treatment
Kaoru Ikuma Assistant Professor	Environmental microbiology and biotechnology Biodegradation of hazardous contaminants Sustainable water and wastewater treatment
Lu Liu Assistant Professor	Water-energy-climate nexus Urban water sustainability Human-natural system interactions Climate change adaptations
Antonio Arenas Amado Assistant Professor	Hydrology and hydraulics Computational modeling Climate change adaptation Nutrient fate and transport Spatial analysis for water resources management
Say Kee Ong Professor	Fate and biodegradation of toxic compounds and micro-pollutants in engineered and natural systems Wastewater engineering with a focus on innovative compact treatment technologies for toxic compounds, nitrogen and phosphorus removal Sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure
Chris Rehmann Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs, Associate Professor	Water resources Environmental fluid mechanics “Researchers mix data, engagement to develop plan for Squaw Creek”

Geotechnical/materials engineering faculty continue the legacy of cutting-edge research, investigating issues related to soil mechanics, geomaterials behavior and stabilization, asphalt concrete, Portland Cement Concrete, in situ testing, environmental geotechnology, bio-based materials and pavement design.
Major initiatives include Iowa State University’s Center for Earthworks Engineering Research, an internationally recognized resource for earthworks engineering and geo-construction technologies. Faculty from geotechnical/materials engineering also are heavily involved in the nationally acclaimed Wind Energy Initiative at Iowa State.

Research Faculty

Jeramy Ashlock Richard L. Handy Associate Professor	Full-scale multi-modal dynamic testing of surface and deep foundations Development of instruments and techniques for in situ and laboratory soil testing Geotechnical earthquake engineering
Halil Ceylan Professor	Design of Portland cement concrete and asphalt cement concrete Impacts of overweight implements of husbandry on roads and bridges Validation of pavement performance models for the mechanistic-empirical pavement design
Cassandra Rutherford Assistant Professor	Characterization of marine sediments subjected to dynamic loading Relationship between geohazard triggering mechanisms and sediment properties Advancement of laboratory testing devices
Peter Taylor Research Associate, Professor	Improving concrete materials and performance Durability aspects of concrete pavements Sustainability and improved specifications/protocols for concrete pavements
Kejin Wang Wilson Engineering Professor	Chemistry and microstructure of concrete Portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials Sustainable concrete materials
Christopher Williams Gerald and Audrey Olson Professor in Civil Engineering	Asphalt materials characterization Asphalt design, performance and construction Development and performance of bioasphalts

Our faculty and graduate students work at Town Engineering Building facilities and with the Bridge Engineering Center at Iowa State’s research park. These activities encourage multidisciplinary and high-impact research, such as seismic engineering, structural health monitoring, bridge engineering and risk-based management. Recently, structural engineering faculty have been working on the nationally acclaimed Iowa State University Wind Energy Initiative.

Alice Alipour Associate Professor	Resilience quantification methods for infrastructure systems under extreme events Multi-hazard design and assessment criteria for structures Post-disaster functionality of complex networks
In Ho Cho Associate Professor	Big data-oriented engineering and science High performance computing/parallel computing algorithms Earthquake engineering
Simon Laflamme Associate Professor	Structural control Structural health monitoring Smart structures and intelligent systems engineering
Brent Phares Research Associate Professor	Field testing of bridges Forensic engineering/failure investigation Nondestructive evaluation
Behrouz Shafei Associate Professor	Vulnerability assessment of structures under mechanical and environmental stressors Nano-scale investigation of cement-based materials Evaluation of uncertainties involved in aging mechanisms
Jiehua ‘Jay’ Shen Associate Professor	Performance-based seismic design of steel structures Model-based simulations Inelastic behavior of steel structures
David Sanders Greenwood Department Chair and Professor	Bridge engineering Seismic design Behavior of structures (concrete)
Sri Sritharan Interim Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Wilkinson Professor of Interdisciplinary Engineering	Seismic design Earthquake-resistant design of structures Precast concrete structural systems

Our faculty and graduate students work on all aspects of transportation engineering, including traffic safety, highway design, traffic data analysis and sustainable transportation systems. Our faculty are closely associated with Iowa State’s Institute for Transportation (InTrans), with transportation engineering centers at Iowa State’s Research Park and with other units across campus. This collaboration encourages multi-disciplinary and high-impact research.

Christopher Day Assistant Professor	Performance measures Intelligent transportation systems Connected and automated vehicles
Jing Dong Assistant Professor	Transportation energy analysis Travel demand modeling Intelligent Transportation Systems
Shauna Hallmark Director of Institute for Transportation, Robert J. and Roxann L. Paulsen Fellow for CCEE Excellence, Professor	Development of analytical tools to evaluate road departure crashes using naturalistic driving study data Integration of analysis methods and development of analysis plan Evaluation of speed activated displays on curves
Anuj Sharma Associate Professor	Big data analytics in transportation and data-driven decision making Safety and efficiency of traffic operations Smart rural transportation
Omar Smadi Center for Transportation Research and Education Director, Associate Professor	Transportation asset management Transportation safety
Jonathan WoodAssistant Professor	Connected and autonomous vehicles Data-driven decision making with uncertainty Transportation safety analytics

Recent technological advances are enabling civil infrastructure systems with intelligent capabilities to adapt to dynamically changing environments. For example, concepts of machine learning combined with sensors and actuators can allow a system to learn from an environment and take actions to optimize its response.

Future engineers must be equipped with capabilities to design such systems to provide society with more efficient infrastructures. This requires a highly multi-disciplinary approach (e.g., control theory, artificial intelligence, sensing systems, optimization theory, asset management, etc.). The Intelligent Infrastructure Engineering program offers such training opportunity to students desiring to pursue this non-traditional path. Typical students will be Ph.D. candidates conducting multi-disciplinary research that addresses the intelligent infrastructure challenge.

Alice Alipour Associate Professor	Resilience quantification methods for infrastructure systems under extreme events Multi-hazard design and assessment criteria for structures Reliability assessment of deteriorating infrastructure components
Halil Ceylan Professor	Design of Portland cement concrete and asphalt cement concrete Pavement analysis and design “Iowa State’s Ceylan awarded FAA grant on ice- and snow-free pavements”
In Ho Cho Associate Professor	Big data-oriented engineering and science High performance computing/parallel computing algorithms Earthquake engineering
Simon Laflamme Associate Professor	Structural control Structural health monitoring Smart structures and intelligent systems engineering
Anuj Sharma Associate Professor	Big data analytics in transportation and data-driven decision making Safety and efficiency of traffic operations Smart rural transportation
Omar Smadi Center for Transportation Research and Education Interim Director, Associate Professor	Transportation asset management Transportation safety
Christopher Day Assistant Professor	Performance measures Intelligent transportation systems Connected and automated vehicles
Jonathan WoodAssistant Professor	Connected and autonomous vehicles Data-driven decision making with uncertainty Transportation safety analytics
Simon LaflammeAssociate Professor	Structural health monitoring Adaptive systems Structural control Intelligent systems Nonlinear time series

Yunjeong “Leah” MoAssistant Professor

Smart building energy management and occupant behavior Construction work process automation Emerging technologies (VR/AR, BIM, Digital-Twin, etc.) for construction research and education