PhD

Nguyen Engineering Building

Revolutionize Civil and Infrastructure Engineering!

Delve into challenging research problems using technology that’s revolutionizing the profession. Our PhD in civil and infrastructure engineering represents the highest academic attainment for a civil engineer. Our doctoral students select from five concentration areas, which align with current faculty research expertise. Our students:

  • Work beside world-renowned researchers who are experts in building sustainable and long-lasting infrastructure, monitoring structural conditions, and anticipating and reducing the impact of natural hazards. 

  • Conduct research in one of our advanced labs, such as the Flood Hazards Research Lab, the Sustainable Geotransportation/Geoenvironmental Infrastructure (SGI) Lab, and the Advanced Infrastructure Monitoring (AIM) Lab.

  • Benefit from our connections with local industry and government agencies, which provide research experiences and career opportunities.

  • Benefit from our Consortium status. Our graduate program is part of the Washington Consortium of Universities, which permits students to cross-register at other participating universities. More information can be found at Washington Consortium of Universities.

 

Doctoral Resources

Advisor for Graduate Programs

Dr. Laura Kosoglu

 

Dr. Laura Kosoglu, Director for Graduate Programs
Nguyen Engineering Building
Room 1300
Phone: (703) 993-5319
Email: lkosoglu@gmu.edu

For information on graduate admissions, please contact the office of graduate admissions at (703) 993-9700 or via e-mail at masongrad@gmu.edu.

We offer competitive research or teaching assistantships to PhD students. Contact our faculty in your research area to find out more about available positions.

Graduate Concentrations

Construction Engineering and Management

Investigate the best ways to prevent construction injuries on work sites. Use the latest building information modeling and infrastructure asset-management tools to monitor, repair, and retrofit existing infrastructure, as well as ensure an on-time and cost-effective delivery of lean and green construction.
 

Research Faculty:

Dr. Sam Salem

     

Dr. Sam Salem
Infrastructure and Construction Management

      

 

 

 

 

Dr. Wenying Ji

 

Dr. Wenying Ji
Construction Informatics and Simulation

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Construction and Engineering Management Research

Environmental Engineering

Improve the understanding and resolution of complex environmental engineering problems related to air, soil, water quality, pollution, and human health.

Research Faculty:

Dr. Kirin Furst

 

Dr. Kirin Emlet Furst
Drinking Water Quality and Treatment

Disinfection and Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water Distribution Systems
Advanced Treatment of Wastewater for Potable and Non-Potable Reuse
 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Lucas Henneman

 

Dr. Lucas Henneman
Atmospheric Modeling
Air Pollution Health Impacts and Environmental Justice

 

 

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Research

Geotechnical Engineering

Use digital elevation models (DEM) and geographic information systems (GIS) to predict landslides. Experiment with the best new building materials, including geosynthetics for geo-environmental design and recycled aggregate for long-lasting, cost-effective highways.

 

Research Faculty:

Dr. Burak Tanyu

 

Dr. Burak Tanyu
Forecasting Landslides in Transportation Corridors
Geosynthetics in Reinforced Soil/Bridge Systems
Recycled Asphalt-Highway Systems

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kuo Tian

 

Dr. Kuo Tian

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Geotechnical Engineering Research

Structural Engineering

Improve decision-making using data-driven approaches to assess the condition of ships, bridges, and buildings. Use the latest technology, such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and drones.
 

Research Faculty:

Dr. Girum Urgessa

 

Dr. Girum Urgessa
Response of Structures Subjected to Explosions

 

 

 

 

Dr. David Lattanzi

 

Dr. David Lattanzi
Virtual Robotic Bridge Inspection
Structural Evaluation through Computer Vision
Extracting Finite Element Models from Images

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Structural Engineering Research

Transportation Engineering

Explore the power of big data to increase the performance, potential, resiliency, and sustainability of transportation systems. Use GIS/GPS in transportation modeling, sustainable transportation, and transportation economics.
 

Research Faculty:

Dr. Elise Miller-Hooks

 

Dr. Elise Miller-Hooks
Disaster Planning and Response
Intermodal Passenger and Freight Transport
Multi-Hazard Civil Infrastructure Resilience Quantification and Infrastructure Protection Investment

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mohan Venigalla

 

Dr. Mohan Venigalla
Travel Demand
Transportation Air Quality

 

 

 

Dr. Shanjiang Zhu

 

Dr. Shanjiang Zhu
Demand and Traveler Behavior

 

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Transportation Engineering Research

Water Resource Engineering

Explore natural and nature-based defenses for coastal resiliency. Use remote-sensing techniques to develop land surface models to forecast changing weather patterns to predict droughts and floods.
 

Research Faculty:

Dr. Viviana Maggioni

 

Dr. Viviana Maggioni
Advanced Modeling and Remote Sensing Techniques to Estimate and Monitor Hydrological Variables

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Celso Moller Ferreira

 

Dr. Celso Moller Ferreira
Field-based monitoring of Hurricane Storm Surge
Numerical Modeling of Coastal Hazards
Natural and Nature-based Defenses for Coastal Resilience

 

 

 

 

To learn more about research in this area follow this link: Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Research

 

Research and Labs
Research + Labs

Admissions Information