Chadi El Mohtar

As a geotechnical scholar researching pore fluid engineering geotechnics, I have developed a research program focused on auto-adaptive solutions for mitigating geo-challenges to existing and future infrastructures. My research involves engineering pore fluids and soils for resilient response to adverse and unforeseen loading conditions, with minimal compromise to the performance under normal working loads. Particularly, my work has focused on advancing the fundamental understanding of viscous flow within porous media through relating rheological properties of fluids and suspensions to the mechanical and hydraulic characteristics of geomaterials. Over the course of my research career, I have expanded my work on pore fluid-soil micro-mechanics from ground improvement contexts to include mobilization of non-aqueous fluids within porous media in geo-environmental and petroleum engineering applications. As such, my research integrates the areas of rheology, deep-bed filtration, geotechnical, geo-environmental and petroleum engineering to better understand the progressive temporal and space variations during and post flow of complex fluids in porous media.

As a teacher, Prof. EL Mohtar combines state-of-the-art field applications with academics so that students are prepared for the workplace. He has developed physical and computer models to simulate soil behavior so students can better visualize the various geotechnical phenomena.

Prof. El Mohtar has received multiple awards including NSF CAREER award, ASCE Casagrande Professional Development Award, SRA award, among others.

Educational Qualifications:

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Geotechnical, Purdue University, Indiana, 2008

• M.S., Civil Engineering, Geo-Pave, Michigan State University, Michigan, 2003

• B.E., Civil Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon, 2001

Technical Interests:

• Pore fluid engineering

• Non-Aqueous flow through porous media,

• Containment of contaminated sediments under water bodies

• Earthquake engineering,

• Liquefaction,

• Soil improvement,

• Fatigue life and behavior of asphalt concrete