Expert Details
Soil Properties,Stormwater and Flooding, Waste Management, Landfilling, Groundwater, Coal Ash, fly Ash landfills, Hazardous Waste
ID: 731017
North Carolina, USA
He was hired by a legal firm to provide expert assessment of flooding that resulted due to the widening of a highway. He visited the site, engaged a subcontractor to carry out drilling at the site to collect soils samples and subcontracted a soil testing lab to measure the hydraulic properties of the soils to evaluate why the site repeatedly flooded. He carried out computer modeling to simulate the weather at the site and assess the flooding. He prepared an expert technical report to his client (the legal firm). The legal firm was able to use the report and settle the lawsuit.
He was hired by a legal firm to provide expert technical advice for clean up of soil contamination that had resulted due to the historic operations of dry cleaning. He visited the site and based on the soil types and depth of groundwater, he recommended the appropriate cost-effective technology and the name of qualified contractors to carry out the cleanup.
He was hired by a waste operator to provide expert advice on how to improve the gas yield from his landfills. The gas is used to run gas to energy plant. He visited the landfill site and evaluated the properties of the waste including water content, density, age, and type of placement and recommended a different design to extract the gas more efficiently.
He was hired by a civil engineering consulting company to design a gold mine leach pond. The gold mine created a waste product which had to be drained in a pond and the leachate had to be treated. He carried out computer modeling of the drainage from the mine waste using a sophisticated state-of-the-art numerical model that simulates the hydraulic flow. The technical report he prepared helped the client secure a permit from the local regulatory agency. He was hired by a waste operator to install hydrologic monitoring systems at a number of landfill sites. He installed weather stations and subsurface sensors that measure soil water contents, soil water potentials, soil temperatures, and water pressures. He installed dataloggers to log the data and access the data remotely using telemetry.
KEY EXPERTISE
▪ Hydrology with expertise to estimate runoff and evaluate flooding problems
▪ Measurement and modeling of hydraulics and hydrology of Landfills & Contaminated Sites
▪ RCRA Investigations
▪ Management of liquids and gases in municipal solid waste landfills
▪ Field-scale projects requiring “bigger picture” understanding and instrumentation
▪ Applied industrial projects as well as basic research on soil, waste, and water.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1995 | Degree: Ph.D. | Subject: Civil and Environmental Engineering | Institution: University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| Year: 1992 | Degree: MS | Subject: Civil & Environmental Engineering | Institution: University of Miami |
| Year: 1988 | Degree: BS | Subject: Civil & Environmental Engineering | Institution: University of Bombay |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2014 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Professor | Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering |
Responsibilities:He is responsible for writing grants to fund research projects in the field of soil, waste, and water treatment and management. He is responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses related to soil mechanics, geotechnical engineering, hydrology, landfill design, groundwater management and treatment. He also responsible for testing of soil and waste in the lab and field. He carries out expert consulting for industrial, commercial and legal clients. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2002 to 2013 | Employer: Michigan State University | Title: Associate Professor | Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for writing grants to fund research projects in the field of soil, waste, and water treatment and management. He was responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate level and professional courses related to soil mechanics, geotechnical engineering, hydrology, landfill design, groundwater management and treatment. He carried out expert consulting for industrial, commercial and legal clients. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1999 to 2001 | Employer: Tonkin & Taylor | Title: Senior Geoenvironmental Engineer | Department: Civil Engineering |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for project management and expert technical oversight for projects related to design of landfills, flood protection systems, and assessment and cleanup of contaminated soils and ground water. He wrote technical reports and technical papers and was involved in marketing the serviced provided by his employer. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1995 to 1999 | Employer: Geosyntec Consultants | Title: Project Engineer | Department: Waste and Remediation |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for project management and expert technical oversight for projects related to design of landfills, and assessment and cleanup of contaminated soils and ground water. He wrote technical reports and technical papers. He also worked with the soil and geosynthetic testing laboratory to customize tests based on project needs. |
|||
Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2005 to Present | Agency: National Science Foundation | Role: Principal Investigator | Description: He is carrying out research related to flow through soils for projects where protection of groundwater is critical. |
| Years: 2012 to Present | Agency: Michigan Department of Transportation | Role: Principal Investogator | Description: He is responsible for carrying out tests on various types of soils that are used in the highway subgrade. He is also provide consulting services for predicting freeze/thaw of highway subgrades which impacts the spring loading restrictions due to the thaw. |
| Years: 1996 to 1999 | Agency: NASA | Role: Project Manager | Description: He managed 5 projects that were located at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Station (Florida) where soil, groundwater, and sediments were contaminated. He managed the sampling and testing of soils, sediments and water and worked with a subcontracted environmental testing lab. He put together technical reports that delineated the level of contamination and prepared a scope for cleaning up the sites to meet regulatory requirements. |
International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 1988 to 1989 | Country / Region: India | Summary: He carried out surveying and estimated quantities from engineering drawings for a Nuclear Power Plant Project. |
| Years: 1999 to 2001 | Country / Region: New Zealand | Summary: He managed projects related to design and installation of stormwater management systems for commercial and industrial projects, design and permitting of waste disposal facilities, and assessment and cleanup of sites where soils and groundwater were contaminated due to wood treatment and waste disposal operations. |
| Years: 2008 to 2008 | Country / Region: France | Summary: Carried out experiments of waste collected from French Landfills at University of Grenoble |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| ASCE ASEE NGWA |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS ▪ A registered professional engineer (P.E.) in the State of Michigan ▪ A registered professional engineer (P.E.) in the State of Texas ▪ Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) ▪ Honor Member, Chi Epsilon ▪ Honor Member, Sigma Xi ▪ Member, American Engineering Education Society (AEES) |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Co-Editor of Special Edition of Environmental Geotechnics COURSES TAUGHT • CE 271: Introduction to Civil Engineering (Co-Instructor for Geotechnical Teams) • CE 312: Soil Mechanics • CE 485: Landfill Design • CE 495: Senior Design (Co-Instructor for Geoenvironmental Teams) • ENE 800: Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar (Course Coordinator) • CE 812: Properties of Soil INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE ▪ American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and American General Contractors (AGC) Chapter Advisor – advised over 300 students and worked with local and national industries for fundraising. ▪ Chair, Graduate Studies Committee, Civil & Environmental Engineering ▪ Chair, MSU Engineering Graduate Studies Committee, College of Engineering ▪ Technical advisor of ASCE GeoChallenge Teams which were selected to compete at the Nationals. ▪ University Grievance Panel ▪ Chair, Faculty Search Committee for Departmental Technologist Position ▪ Undergraduate Awards Committee Rep., College of Engineering ▪ CEE Dept. Rep., College of Engr. Library Committee ▪ CEE Dept. Rep., College of Engr. Task Force for Graduate Research EXTRAMURAL SERVICE ▪ Conference Planning Committee Member, Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) Annual Solid Waste Technical Conference ▪ Research Proposal Review for Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences ▪ Research Proposal Review for National Research Foundation, S. Africa ▪ Technical Panel Co-Chair, “Challenges and Opportunities: Coal Combustion Residuals from Energy Generation,” ASCE Geotechnical ▪ “Fundamentals of Landfill Design,” instructed short course for undergraduate seniors and MS Students, GMR Institute of Technology, Rajam, India ▪ Technical Session Co-Chair, GeoCongress ▪ Research Proposal Panel, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Economy and Planning ▪ Technical Committee Member, Global Waste Management Symposium, ▪ Technical Session Co-Chair (Landfills), GeoFlorida ▪ Technical Program Co-Chair, GeoCongress, ASCE Geo-Institute, New Orleans. ▪ Editorial Board Member, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE ▪ Proposal Panelist, NSF, CMMI, Geoenvironmental and Geohazards Program ▪ Proposal Panelist for EPA’s SBIR – Phase I Grant Program ▪ Proposal Reviewer for U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) ▪ The reviewer of over 100 technical manuscripts submitted to ASCE’s Journal of Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering, Journal of Environmental Engineering, and Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. ▪ Reviewer for Canadian Geotechnical Journal, ASCE Geotechnical, and Geological Engineering Journal, Geotechnique Letters, Waste Management ▪ Reviewer for Waste Management & Research and Waste Management (Elsevier). ▪ Task Force Committee Member on Geo-environmental Engineering, Geo-Institute, ASCE ▪ Technical reviewer for GeoFrontiers, GeoCongress, GeoDenver, GeoCongress, GeoFlorida, GeoFrontiers, GeoCongress, and Geotechnical Frontiers ▪ Technical reviewer for 8th International Conference on Geosynthetics, Japan. |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Croes Medal (ASCE) Exemplary Service Award (ASCE) Alpha Award (Engineering Society of Detroit) Lilly Fellowship (Michigan State University) Severson Geotechnical Award (UW-Madison) |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| He is 3 U.S. Patents and he has published 100 technical papers and edited 3 books. |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert witness for a flooding related lawsuit due to highway widening in a mid-western state in the US. My expert witness work involved writing an expert report for the plaintiff to demonstrate the widening of the highway and poor stormwater management for runoff from the highway resulted in flooding many adjacent properties. I used hydrologic data, assisted in engaging a drliing company and soil testing lab to test hydraulic properties of the soils and run a hydrologic computer model to demonstrate why the plaintiff's properties were flooded. The expert report I prepared helped in a settlement that was favorable for the plaintiff. Expert witness for flooding of a private property related lawsuit where an adjacent subdivision construction resulted in flooding of plaintiff's property. I helped the attorney representing plaintiff to evaluate the reasons why the flooding was occurring before the lawsuit was filed by the plaintiff. Expert witness for a lawsuit where the defendant was sued due to problems from separation of recycled materials in a material recovery facility (MRF). I assisted the attorneys representing the defendant and prepared an expert report on technical data that supported how MRFs are designed and operated. I was hired to prepare designs of water balance covers for landfills in Texas. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was the key reviewer of the design report I prepared and many landfill owners/operators were the key stake holders. The project involved mapping hydrology of the entire state of Texas (from El Paso to Houston) and testing soils across many sites in Texas and running state-of-the-art computer model UNSAT-H to simulate the field hydrology of landfill covers. The design report that I prepared has been adapted by TCEQ into its design guidance for landfill covers and is widely used across the state of Texas. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Design and operation of engineered landfills Design of water balance covers for landfills Groundwater cleanup using electrochemical methods |
| Vendor Selection |
|---|
| Sourced suppliers for sensors to measure soil water contents, soil temperatures, water levels, water pressures and weather parameters. |
| Marketing Experience |
|---|
| He has extensive experience with the waste management industry and treatment technologies for treating leachate or effluents. He also have worked with the geosynthetic industry for the applications of products such as geotextiles, geonets, geogrids, and geomembranes. |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| Computer modeling of flow of water in soil and waste, installation of field monitoring systems using sensors. |
Language Skills
| Language | Proficiency |
|---|---|
| English | |
| Hindi | |
| Marathi |
Fields of Expertise
clay liner, dredge material disposal, dredge material landfill cover, field testing, flexible membrane liner, full-scale test, groundwater, groundwater remediation, hazardous waste landfill, hazardous waste landfilling, hydraulics, hydrogeology, hydrology, landfill, landfill cover, landfill gas, landfill gas recovery, landfill liner, landfill trench, landfill-leachate disposal equipment, landfilling, lining material, methane, mulch, nonhazardous solid waste landfilling, nonhazardous solid waste management, sediment material landfill cover, sludge landfilling, sludge monofilling, soil gas extraction, soil mechanics, soil remediation, soil sampling, soil testing, solid waste, testing, waste-disposal facility, slope stability, mine safety, mine-tailings management, mine, environmental geology, geotextile, environmental site auditing, geotechnical engineering, geotechnical centrifuge modeling, highway maintenance, thermal insulation material, geothermal energy, composting