Civil Engineering Full Time Faculty

Nabil F. Grace, Ph.D., P.E.
Chair, Civil Engineering
Professor 
Dr. Grace received his Ph.D. from the University of Windsor, Ontario. His specialization is Structural Engineering. Dr. Grace is the Director of the Structural Testing Center at Lawrence Tech University. This facility is primarily devoted to the investigation of the use of composite materials in concrete structural applications. His research interests include application of carbon fiber composites to structural engineering, assessment of dynamic behavior of composite automobile components, environmentally dependent behavior of composites, and infrastructure rehabilitation using composite materials. His research activities have been implemented in the design and construction documents of the first CFRP prestressed bridge in the USA.

Donald D. Carpenter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Dr. Carpenter received a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Michigan. His specializations include Hydraulics, Water Resources, River Engineering and Coastal Engineering. Research interests include urban stream restoration, coastal processes, and watershed rocesses. Dr. Carpenter is a member of ASCE and advisor for the student chapter. Dr. Carpenter is also very active with ASEE and conducts educational research on academic dishonesty among engineering undergraduates and use of learning objectives.

Hiroshan Hettiarachchi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Dr. Hettiarachchi received his PhD from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), a master’s in geotechnical engineering from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand, and a bachelor’s in civil Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. His specialization is geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering. His research interests include settlement mechanics of landfills, geotechnical aspects of solid waste management, soil mechanics, rock mechanics, and foundation engineering.

Elin Jensen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Dr. Jensen received her Ph.D from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.  Her specialization is Material and Structural Engineering.  Research interests include construction and highway materials with special emphasis on Portland Cement Concrete, highway analysis and design, and distress development of concrete pavements as affected by environmental and mechanical lading.  Her research work is based on experimental and finite element methods.  Dr. Jensen is an active member of the ACI Commitee on Fatigue of Concrete, ISCP (International Society for Concrete Pavements), ASCE, and SWE.

Edmund Yuen, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor

Dr. Edmund Yuen received his Ph.D. from the University of Windsor, Ontario. His specialization is Water Resources Engineering and Environmental Engineering. He has worked the past few summers for DaimlerChrysler in their Advanced Manufacturing Engineering division. His recent DaimlerChysler projects include abatement of volatile organics compounds from paint processes, paint booth control and odor control of stacks discharges. He is also involved in numerical simulation of lake circulation models and physical modeling of air stack plume discharges.