I am an associate professor in the Department of Engineering at Hofstra University. I received my B.S. from Cornell University and my M.S.E. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. In 2008, I was awarded an SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Trav­el Fellowship to study European physical modeling and testing laboratories and the structures that emerged from those facilities. The objective of this research was to identify potential roles for physical models as complements to computational models in design and education. In 2017, I received the ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In 2019, I was selected to be an ASCE ExCEEd Fellow. From 2008 to 2011, I worked at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger and I am a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) in New York.

Education

Ph.D., Princeton University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sept. 2011 – June 2015

Thesis: “Characterization of Polyester-Rope Suspended Footbridges”

Advisor: Sigrid Adriaenssens

M.S.E., Princeton University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sept. 2006 – June 2008

Thesis: “The Thin Concrete Shells of Jack Christiansen”

Advisor: David P. Billington

B.S., Cornell University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Aug. 2002 – Jan. 2006

Magna cum laude

Licensure

  • Professional Engineering (P.E.) License (New York State License Number: 093294)

Work Experience

  • Hofstra University, Department of Engineering, Hempstead, NY, Associate Professor, Sept. 2022 – present
  • Hofstra University, Department of Engineering, Hempstead, NY, Assistant Professor, Sept. 2015 – Aug. 2022
  • Carnegie Mellon University, School of Architecture, Pittsburgh, PA, Adjunct Instructor, Jan. 2023 – Mar. 2024
  • Princeton University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton, NJ, Visiting Assistant Professor, Sept. 2020 – Jan. 2021
  • Princeton University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton, NJ, Visiting Lecturer, Jan. 2009 – May 2011
  • Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., New York, NY, Staff Engineer, Aug. 2008 – Aug. 2011

Honors and Awards

  • ASCE Long Island Branch Spotlight, Private Sector, American Society of Civil Engineers, Long Island Branch, 2023
  • 2022 Grant Seeker of the Year, Hofstra University, 2022
  • 58th Distinguished Faculty Lecture, Hofstra University, selected to deliver the Spring 2022 lecture, 2021
  • Teacher of the Year Award in the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, Hofstra University, 2019-2020
  • ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Fellowship, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2019
  • Runner-up for the Young Authors’ Award at Footbridge 2017, 2017
  • ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2017
  • Tsuboi Award for the most outstanding paper in the Proceedings of the 2014 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Symposium-6th Latin American Symposium on Tension Structures, Brasília, Brazil, 2014
  • Keller Center Fellowship in Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship, Princeton University, Sept. 2013 – May 2014
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Engineering Councils’ Excellence in Teaching Award, Mechanics of Solids, Princeton University, Fall 2012 and Fall 2013
  • Sherrerd Fellowship, Princeton University, July – Aug. 2012, Sept. 2014 – Jan. 2015
  • Upton Graduate Fellowship in Engineering, Princeton University, Sept. 2011 – June 2015
  • SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship, 2008
  • The Norman J. Sollenberger Fund, Princeton University, July – Aug. 2007, July – Aug. 2013, Aug. 2014
  • Margaret Arronet Corbin ’21 Prize, Cornell University, 2006
  • John E. Perry Undergraduate Prize, Cornell University, 2006
  • Engineers for a Sustainable World, Ojojona, Honduras, Summer Engineering Experience in Development (SEED) Fellow, Jan. – May 2006