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.

Kevin R. Collins, Ph.D.

Prof. Collins joined the civil engineering faculty at LTU in August 2006.  His area of specialization is structural engineering.  He received his BCE degree from the University of Delaware in 1988, his MS degree from Virginia Tech in 1989, and his PhD degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995.  Prior to LTU, Prof. Collins taught for 3½ years at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, and 7 years at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.  Between his MS and PhD degrees, he worked for 2½ years at a consulting engineering firm in Washington, DC.  His research interests include earthquake engineering and structural reliability.  He is a member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Chi Epsilon, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi.

Civil Engineering Adjunct Faculty

Naji Arwashan, B.S.E., 1987, University of Damascus; M.S.E., 1988, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees; Ph.D., 1992, University of Michigan. LTV Steel Company, Inc. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 1999, 1999.

Hani Emari, B.S.C.E., 1998, M.CM., 1999, Ph.D., 2003, Wayne State University. EBI Detroit, Inc. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 2003, 2003.

Mounir Karam, P.E.; B.S.C.E., 1982, Lawrence Technological University; M.S.C.E., 1983, Wayne State University. Consultant. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 1991, 1991.

Stefan Neuhaeuser, B.S.C.E., 2000, M.C.E., 2001, Lawrence Technological University. Ruby & Associates. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 2001, 2001.

Andrew Rener, B.S.C.E., 1999, M.C.E., 2000, Lawrence Technological University. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 2001, 2001.

Pattabhi Sitaram, B.S.C.E, 1983, Bangalore University; M.C.E., 1987, Indian Institute of Science; Ph.D., 1993, Kansas State University. General Motors. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 2000, 2000.

Te-Yang Soong, B.S.C.E., Chung-Yuan Christian University, 1989; M.S.C.E., Drexel University, 1992; Ph.D., Drexel University, 1996. Earth Tech. Lecturer in Civil Engineering,1999. 1999.

John Tocco, B.S.C.E., 1983, Lawrence Technological University; J.D., 1992, Detroit College of Law. Lecturer in Civil Engineering, 1996, 1996.