Claudia Zapata

Claudia Zapata

Associate Professor,
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Other ASU affiliations
Senior Global Futures Scientist, Global Futures Scientists and Scholars
  • CLAUDIA.ZAPATA@asu.edu
  • Phone: 480-727-8514
  • ‌
  • Office: GWC 124 Mail: College Avenue Commons, P.O. Box 873005 UPS and FedEx: GWC, 650 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281 TEMPE, AZ 85287-3005
  • Mail code: 3005
    Campus: Tempe
  • ‌
Biography Research Teaching Public Work Industry Experience
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Long Bio

Civil Engineer, Associate Professor at the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University (ASU), current Associate Director of the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation (NCIT) under the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), and Deputy Director of the Engineering Research Center for Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dr. Zapata is the author of more than 90 technical publications related to research on the behavior of unsaturated soils, characterization of expansive soils, thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of soils under static and repeated loads, empirical modeling of fluid flow and soil volume change applied to pavement structures and residential foundation systems; environmental effects on soil behavior; and soil improvement induced by microbes and biological enzymes, as well as geotextiles.

Career Highlights include her active participation in the development of the most recent Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide in the United States; the development of models to incorporate environmental effects and problematic soil behavior into current pavement design practices; and the creation of a database containing properties of over 35,000 unsaturated soils across the United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Zapata has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Carl Monismith Award 2025 from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for her outstanding contributions to research in Pavement Engineering; the Victoria Foundation Award 2021, honoring Latino faculty working to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in engineering; and the Community Service Award 2011 for her significant contributions to advancing pavement and materials programs and technology in Arizona, presented at the ASU Pavement Materials Conference and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Honorable Mentions include her nomination for the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award at ASU in 2019 and 2020; her recognition in the Top 5% of Superior Teaching by the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering in 2019; and her nomination for the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award by the ASU Campus Inclusion Committee in 2015.

Education
  • Ph.D. Geo-Environmental Engineering, Arizonz State University 1999 
  • M.S.E. Geotechnical Engineering, Arizona State University 1996
  • B.S. Civil Engineering, Universidad Nacional-Manizales-Colombia 1988
CV
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar URL
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k4_Zjc8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
ORCID Profile ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2940-9841
Research Interests

My area of expertise deals with unsaturated soil mechanics. The importance of this area is that it allows for the most cost-effective design possible and therefore, promotes the sustainable development of infrastructure. The research I am currently pursuing comprises several distinctive areas:

The first area deals with fundamental research on temperature effects on moisture movement under covered areas. Geotechnical problems where coupled thermal-moisture flow phenomenon is an important design factor include: 1) Thermal behavior of ground as a source of geothermal energy; 2) Analysis of barriers for nuclear waste storage; 3) Water balance of evapotranspirative (ET) covers for municipal solid waste containment; 4) Assessment of  vapor barriers for building slabs and subsurface walls; 5) Heat transfer/dissipation from buried electrical cables, underground tanks and pipelines; 6) Heat applied directly to the soil to clean up degraded areas; 7) Vapor migration calculations at contaminated soil and groundwater sites, and 8) Coupled thermal-moisture movements in pavement systems.

The second area, and undoubtedly the one of greatest technical impact, deals with matric suction/moisture content effects on the resilience of soil materials subjected to dynamic loading. These studies are aimed at conducting laboratory testing and modeling required to incorporate environmental effects into fundamental theories and models that only consider externally applied mechanical loads. This applied research is fundamental to the advancement of mechanistically based pavement design methodologies, and it is of paramount interest and national and international levels. It is of importance to note that the US recently adopted a new, mechanistic pavement design methodology through the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. I am proud to note that I was in charge of the research team at ASU that introduced these advanced models that account for real time environmental effects upon the response of  soil and pavement materials. For the first time, in pavement design methods, environmental effects were incorporated into pavement performance in a rational and mechanistic manner. Future research in this area is being pursued, and is very promising given the importance to tranportation infrastructure nationally and internationally. 

Publications

Abstracts

  1. Gaspard, K., Zhang, Z., Gautreau, G. Hanifa, K. Zapata, C. and Abufarsakh, M. (2018). Modeling the In-situ Seasonal Variation Potential of Resilient Modulus in Subgrade Soils. Proc. of the 97th Transportation Research Board annual meeting, Jan. 7-11, 2018, Washington DC.

Articles in National Magazines

  1. Zapata, C.E.* and Houston, W.N. (2009). Application of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics to Pavement Subgrade Design, Geo-Strata, Geo-Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers, May/June Issue. 3 pgs.
  2. Darter, M.I., Mallela, J.*, Titus-Glover, L., Rao, C., Larson, G., Gotlig, A., Von Quintus, H., Khazanovich, L., Witczak, M., El-Basyouny, M., El-Badawy, S., Zborowski, A. and Zapata, C. (2006). Research Results Digest 308: Changes to the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Software through Version 0.900, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, September 2006. 22 pgs. 

Book Co-Edited

  1. Miller, G.A., Zapata, C.E., Houston, S.L. and Fredlund, D.G. (eds). (2006). Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147. The Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 2581. Also, Proc. of the Fourth Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils. April 2-6, Carefree, AZ.  Zapata's contribution: 30%

Book Chapters Published

  1. Jiang, Y., Ullah, S. Fan, X., Zapata, C.E. and Yu, X. (2023). Analyses of Frost Susceptible Flexible Pavement Adaption for Climate Change. Geo-Risk 2023 Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Arlington, VA, July 23-26, 2023, pp. 156-165.
  2. Olaiz, A.H., Zapata, C.E. and Soltanpour, Y. (2023). A Bayesian Forecast Framework for Climatic Parameters in Geotechnical Modeling. Geo-Risk 2023 Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Arlington, VA, July 23-26, 2023, pp. 88-97. 
  3. Salour, F. Erlingsson, S. and Zapata, C.E. (2014). Chapter 107. Resilient Modulus Modeling of Unsaturated Subgrade Soils with Matric Suction Control. Asphalt Pavements. Kim, Y.R. (editor). International Society for Asphalt Pavements (ISAP).  CRC Press 2014, Print ISBN: 978-1-138-02693-3, pp. 1145-1154.
  4. Pedarla, A., Puppala, A.J., Hoyos, L.R., Vanapalli, S.K., and Zapata, C.E. (2012). SWRC Modelling Framework for Evaluating Volume Change Behavior of Expansive Soils. In: Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications. DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-31116-1_30, pp. 221-228.

Refereed Conference Publications

  1. Adegoke, A.H, Kashour, Y, Alothman, S. Zapata, C.E., and Salifu, Emmanuel (2025). Influence of Fungal Mycelium on Desiccation Cracking in Expansive Soils. Submitted to the First International Conference on Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics, Tempe, AZ, May 2025. Accepted.
  2. Alothman, S., Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C.E. (2025). Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of EICP and CaCl₂ Treatments on Compaction and Unconfined Compression Strength of Sandy Soil. First International Conference on Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics, Tempe, AZ, May 2025. ICBBG. Accepted.
  3. Jain, S., Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C.E. (xx). Effect of EICP Treatment on Erosion Resistance and Strength of a Clayey Sand Material. First International Conference on Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics. Accepted.
  4. Jiang, Y., Alajlan, Z., Zapata, C.E. and Yu, Xiong (Bill). (2024). Multiphysics simulation of the effects of wicking geotextile on mitigating frost effects on cold region pavement. Transportation Research Board Meeting Proceedings, Washington DC, January 6-9, 2024.
  5. Nassiri, S., Zapata, C.E. and Mahabadi, N. (2023). Evolution of Water Retention Characteristics in Bio-Geochemically Altered Unsaturated Soils: A Pore-Scale Study. Eight Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, Milos, Greece, May 2-5, 2023, E3S Web of Conferences 382, 18004 (2023).
  6. Olaiz, A.H. and Zapata, C.E. (2023). Climate-Driven Soil Suction Variation using a Natural-Order Fourier Series Approach. Eight Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT Milos, Greece, May 2-5, 2023, E3S Web of Conferences 382, 22002 (2023). 
  7. Olaiz, A.H., Houston, S.L., Zapata, C.E. and Mosawi, M. (2023). Suction-Volume Change Indices for Natural and Recompacted Clay -Soils. Proc. of 2023 Geo-Congress: Geotechnical Systems from Pore-Scale to City-Scale, ASCE, Los Angeles, CA, March 26-29, pp. 681-692.
  8. Larson, J., Zapata, C.E. and Kavazanjian, E. (2022). Connecting Research to the Broader Community: Developing and Implementing a Graduate Course Across an Engineering Research Center’s Partner Universities. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2022 annual conference and exposition, Minneapolis, MN, June 26-29, pp. 1-7, https://peer.asee.org/41901.
  9. Kelly, R., Indraratna, B., Powrie, W., Zapata, C.E., Kikuchi, Y., and Gomes Correia, A. (2022). State of the Art in Transportation Geotechnics. In Proc. of the 20th Int. Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Sydney 2022, pp. 1-52. Invited paper and keynote.
  10. Stallings Young, E.G., Zapata, C.E. and van Paassen, L.A. (2022). Experimental Investigation of Microbial Induced Desaturation and Precipitation (MIDP) in a Layered Granular Soil System. In Proc. of the 2022 Geo-Congress, ASCE. GSP 331, https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784484012.036, March 20-23, 2022, pp. 347-355.
  11. Stallings Young, E.G.*, Zapata, C.E. and van Paassen, L. (2020). Unsaturated Fluid Flow through Granular Soils Treated with Microbial Induced Desaturation and Precipitation. In Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Unsaturated Soils (E-UNSAT 2020) Online Conference, 195, 05003 (2020), October 19-21st, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202019505003
  12. Larson, J., Barnard, W., Chandler, J., O’Donnell, M., Savenye, W. and Zapata, C.E. (2020). Moving Beyond Technical Skills: Fostering the Development of Essential Skills Needed for a Successful Career in Engineering. In Proceedings of the ASCE Geo-Congress 2020: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Special Topics, GSP 318, ISBN (PDF): 9780784482810, Hambleton, J.P., Makhnenko, R. and Budge, A.S (eds.), Feb. 25-28, 2020, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pp. 694-701 
  13. Vann, J.D., Olaiz, A.H., Morgan, S. and Zapata, C.E. (2019). A Practical Approach to a Reliability-Based Stability Evaluation of Precariously Balanced Granite Boulders. In Proceedings of the 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, Brooklyn, United States, Jun 23-26, 2019, pp. 1-15.   
  14. Savenye, W., Larson, J., Zapata, C., Kavazanjian, E., Elwood, K., Barnard, W., O'Donnell, M., Chandler, J., Saenz, D., Woolley, M., Van Paassen, L., Bronzer, C., DeJong, J. & Martinez, A. (2018). Building and Evaluating Education and Outreach Programs for an NSF Engineering Research Center, the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG). In Proceedings of EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/184300/, pp. 966-971.
  15. Zapata, C.E. (2018). Empirical Approach for the Use of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Pavement Design. Geotechnical Special Publication, Proceedings of the Second Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Nov. 11-14, 2017, Dallas, Texas. DOI: 10.1061/9780784481677.008, GSP 300, pp. 149-173. Invited paper and featured presentation. 
  16. Thirthar Palanivelu, P.* and Zapata C.E. (2018). Assessment of Cary and Zapata Suction Based Model for Prediction of Resilient Modulus in Fine Grained Subgrade Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication, Proceedings of the Second Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Nov. 11-14, 2017, Dallas, Texas. DOI: 10.1061/9780784481684.053, GSP 301, pp. 523-532. 
  17. Elwood, K.*, Savenye, W., Jordan, M.E., Larson, J., and Zapata, C.E. (2018). Design Thinking: A New Construct for Educators. Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Las Vegas, NV, Vol. 1, 43-52.
  18. Thirthar Palanivelu, P. and Zapata, C.E. (2017). Evaluation of a Resilient Modulus Model for Unsaturated Soil Conditions. In Proc. of the 10th Int. Conf. on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, BCRRA 2017. June 2017, Athens, Greece. pp. 3-10.
  19. Larson, J.*, Savenye, W., Zapata, C.E. and Kavazanjian, E. (2017).  Implementation of an Introductory Module on Biogeotechnics in a Freshman Engineering Course. In Proceedings of the 2017 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Columbus, OH, June 25-28, 2017, pp. 1-19.
  20. Dalal, M.*, Larson, J., Zapata, C. Savenye, W., Hamdan, N. and Kavazanjian, E. (2017). An Interdisciplinary Approach to Developing an Undergraduate Module on Biogeotechnical Engineering. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education Int. Conf. 2017. Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). pp. 2074-2079.
  21. Lu, Y.* and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Temperature Effects on the Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties of Two Fine-Grained Soils and Their Influence on Moisture Movement under an Airfield Test Facility. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, ASCE, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 569-583.
  22. Gowda, R.P.C.* and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Effect of Bagasse Fiber on the Properties of Compressed Cement Stabilized Earth Blocks. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, ASCE, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 1435-1449.
  23. Palanivelu, P.T.*, Zapata, C.E. and Underwood, S. (2016). Effect of As-Compacted Moisture Content and Density on Pavement Performance in Different Climatic Regimes. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, ASCE, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 1303-1316.
  24. Abbaszadeh, S. ∞*, Houston, S.L. and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Effect of Desiccation Cracking on Swell and Swell Pressure of Expansive Clay. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, ASCE, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 2054-2065.
  25. Rosenbalm, D. ∞* and Zapata, C.E. (2015). Stochastic Solution to the Subgrade Resilient Modulus: Monte Carlo Approach. Proceedings of the XV Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, November 15-18. Buenos Aires, Argentina, pp. 314-321.
  26. Ornelas, A.*, Houston, S., Savenye, W., Zapata, C.E., Ramirez, E. and Corral, A. (2015). Disciplinary Diversity in the Development of Geotechnical Engineering Undergraduate Education Materials. 2015 International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo (IFCEE), pp. 2161-2168. doi: 10.1061/9780784479087.200
  27. Pedarla, A. ∞*, Puppala, A., Hoyos, L., Zapata, C.E. and Chittoori, B. (2014). Study of SWRC Modeling Parameters with Variation in Swelling Behavior and Mineralogy of Four Compacted Expansive Clays. Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014, v 2, pp. 951-957. 
  28. Ornelas, A., Sadauskas, J., Houston, S., Savenye, W.C., Ramirez, E. and Zapata, C.E. (2013). An Engineering and Educational Technology Team Approach to Introducing New Unsaturated Soils Mechanics Material into Introductory Undergraduate Geotechnical Engineering Courses. Proceedings of the 120th American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference. June 2013, Atlanta, GA. pp. 1-24. 
  29. Rosenbalm, D.C. and Zapata, C.E. (2013). Incorporation of the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Hysteresis in Pavement Design. Advances in Unsaturated Soils. Caycedo et al. (eds). Proceedings of the First Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, ASCE, Cartagena, Colombia, February 20-22, 2013, Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 461-467. 
  30. Bani Hashem, E.* and Zapata, C.E. (2013). Enhancement of the Permanent Deformation Model for Unbound Materials Used by DARWin-ME. Transportation Research Board annual meeting, January 2012. Annual Meeting DVD. Student participation: 50%
  31. Kuna, B.*, Walsh, K., Houston, S.L., Zapata, C.E. and Welfert, B. (2013). Full Scale Test of Periodic Irrigation Infiltration in a Cracked and Intact Clay Slope. GeoCongress 2013 Proceedings, ASCE, San Diego, CA, March 2013, pp. 828-837. 
  32. Rosenbalm, D.C.* and Zapata, C.E. (2012). Incorporating Stochastic Evaluation in the Estimation of Soil Resilient Modulus. In GeoCongress 2012 Proceedings, Geotechnical Special Publication 225, ASCE, Oakland, CA, March 2012, pp. 1458-1467. 
  33. Pedarla, A.*, Puppala, A.J., Chittoori, B., Hoyos, L.R., Zapata, C.E. and Houston, S.L. (2012). Influence of Mineral Montmorillonite on Soil Suction Modeling Parameters. In GeoCongress 2012 Proceedings, Geotechnical Special Publication 225, ASCE, Oakland, CA, March 2012, pp. 1126-1135. 
  34. Cary, C. and Zapata, C. (2010). Feasibility of a New Resilient Modulus Predictive Equation for Unsaturated Unbound Materials. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Transport Infrastructures, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 4-6 August, 2010, pp. 147-156. Awarded one of the best three papers in conference. 
  35. Abbaszadeh, M.*, Houston, S., and Zapata, C.E., Houston, W., Welfert, B. and Walsh, K. (2010). Laboratory Determination of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves for Cracked Soil. Proceedings of the International Conference for Unsaturated Soils, Barcelona, Spain, September 2010. pp. 409-415. 
  36. Cary, C. and Zapata, C.E. (2009). Resilient Modulus Testing for Unsaturated Unbound Materials.  Transportation Research Board annual meeting, January 2009. Annual Meeting DVD. 
  37. Arab, M.G.*, Zapata, C.E. and Marinho, F.A.M. (2009). Using MEMS based RH Sensor to Measure High Total Suction. 17th International Conference on Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering.  Alexandria, Egypt, Vol. 3, pp. 1881-1884. 
  38. Zapata, C.E. (2009). Considerations of Climate in the New AASHTO Mechanistic Empirical-Pavement Design Guide.  Transportation Research Board annual meeting, January 2009. Annual Meeting DVD.
  39. Cary, C. and Zapata, C.E. (2009). Evaluating the Utility of Existing Pavement Management System State Deflection Data for Use in the Implementation of the Mechanistic Empirical-Pavement Design Guide for Arizona. Transportation Research Board annual meeting, January 2009. Annual Meeting DVD. Student participation: 50%
  40. Zapata, C. E. and Cary, C. (2009). A New Generation of Resilient Modulus Characterization of Unbound Materials. Contemporary Topics in Ground Modification, Problem Soils, and Geo-Support. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 187: Selected papers from the 2009 Int. Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo. ASCE. Orlando, Florida, March 15-19, 2009. pp. 377-384. Student participation: 50%
  41. Perera, Y.Y., Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N. and Houston, S.L. (2007). Prediction of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) of Granular and Fine Grained Soils.  In Proceedings of the First Sri Lankan Geotechnical Society International Conference on Soil and Rock Engineering, Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 6-11, 2007. CD-ROM.
  42. El-Basyouny, M., Witczak, M.W. and Zapata, C.E. (2007). Development of Asphalt Concrete Rutting Model Using Permanent Strain Database.  Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting CD-ROM, National Research Council, Washington D.C.  (Paper accepted also for publication in the Transportation Research Record, J. of the TRB but pulled out for revision).
  43. Zapata, C.E., Houston, S.L., Houston, W.N., and Dye, H. (2006). Expansion Index and Its Relationship with Other Index Properties. Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147.  Also in Miller, et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, April 2-6, Carefree, AZ. pp. 2133-2137. 
  44. Dye, H., Zapata, C.E. and Houston, S. (2006). Geotechnical Evaluation of the Design of Post-Tensioned Slabs on Expansive Soils Using the PTI Third Edition Procedure for Arizona Conditions. Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147.  Also in Miller, et al. (eds.), Proc. of the Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, April 2-6, Carefree, AZ. pp. 355-366. 
  45. Houston, W.N., Dye, H.B., Zapata, C.E., and Perera, Y.Y. (2006). Determination of SWCC Using One Point Suction Measurement and Standard Curves. Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147. Also in Miller, et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, April 2-6, Carefree, AZ. pp. 1482-1493. 
  46. Raghavendra, S., Zapata, C.E., Mirza, M.W., Houston, W. and Witczak, M.W. (2006). Verification of the Rate of Asphalt Mix Aging Simulated by AASHTO PP2-99 Protocol. Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting CD-ROM, National Research Council, Washington D.C. 
  47. Perera, Y.Y., Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N., and Houston, S.L. (2005). Prediction of the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Based on Grain-Size Distribution and Index Properties.  In E.M. Rathje (ed.), Geotechnical Special Publications 130-142 & GRI-18; Proceedings of the Geo-Frontiers 2005 Congress, Jan. 24-26, Austin, Texas; ASCE Geo-Institute and Geosynthetic Materials Association of the Industrial Fabrics Association International Geosynthetic Institute. CD-ROM, 49-60. 
  48. Perera, Y.Y., Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N., and Houston, S.L. (2004b). Moisture Equilibria beneath Highway Pavements, Transportation Research Board 83rd Annual Meeting CD-ROM, National Research Council, Washington D.C. Student participation: 30%; Zapata's contribution: 30%
  49. Perera, Y.Y., Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N., and Houston, S.L. (2004a).  Long-Term Moisture Conditions under Highway Pavements.  In M.K. Yegian & E. Kavazanjian, (eds.), Geotechnical Special Publication No. 126, Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Projects, ASCE Geo-Institute. Los Angeles, CA, Vol. 1, pp. 1132-1143.  Also, in Proc. of Geo-Trans 2004, July 27-31. Student participation: 30%; Zapata's contribution: 30%
  50. Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N., Houston, S.L., and Walsh, K.D. (2000). Soil-Water Characteristic Curve Variability. In C.D. Shackelford, S.L. Houston, & N-Y Chang (eds), Advances in Unsaturated Geotechnics. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 99. Also, in Proc. of Sessions of Geo-Denver 2000, August 5-8, 2000, Denver: ASCE Geo-Institute. pp. 84-124.
  51. Houston, W., Houston, S., Zapata, C.E., Manepally, C. and Lawrence, C. (1999).  Influence of Compressibility on Use and Interpretation of Soil-Water Characteristic Curve.  In Proceedings of the XI Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. August 8-12, 1999. Foz do Iguassu, Brazil: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. pp. 947-954. 

Technical Reports

  1. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C. E. (2024). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Eight Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  2. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C. E. (2023). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Eight Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  3. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C. E. (2022). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Seventh Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  4. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C. E. (2021). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Sixth Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  5. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C. E. (2020). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Fifth Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  6. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, Claudia E. (2019). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Fourth Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  7. Zapata, C.E., Yu, B., Olaiz, A. Mosawi, M. and Dong, S. (2019). Proposed Enhancements to Pavement ME Design: Improved Consideration of the Influence of Subgrade Soils Susceptible to Shrink/Swell and/or Frost Heave on Pavement Performance, Interim report for Project NCHRP 01-59, The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), Transportation Research Board of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Tempe, AZ
  8. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, Claudia E. (2018). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Third Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  9. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, Claudia E. (2017). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, Second Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  10. Zapata, C.E., Palanivelu, P.T., Lu, Y., Contreras, J. and Gowda, R.P.C. (2017). Investigation of Subgrade Moisture Flow in an Airfield Pavement System. Federal Aviation Administration. Research Project No. 13-G-008 Final Report. Tempe, AZ.
  11. Kavazanjian, E. and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics Engineering Research Center, First Annual Report, Tempe, AZ. 
  12. Zapata, C.E. and Cary, C.E. (2012). Unsaturated Soil Modeling for Military Airfield Pavement Design. A Feasibility Study. Final Report to U.S. Air Force and Tigerbrain Inc. (subsidiary). Tempe, AZ.
  13. Zapata, C.E. and Cary, C.E. (2012). Integrating the National Database Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curves and Soil Index Properties with the MEPDG. NCHRP 9-23B Project Final Report.
  14. Zapata, C.E. (2010). A National Catalog of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) Default Inputs and Selected Soil Properties for Use with the ME-PDG. NCHRP 9-23A Final Report. 
  15. Mamlouk, M. and Zapata, C.E. (2009). Pavement Design Research towards the Implementation of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Maricopa County Department of Transportation. Final Report. ASU-MCDOT Project. 
  16. Cary, C. E.* and Zapata, C. E. (2008). Evaluating the Utility of Existing PMS State FWD Deflection Data for Use in Implementing the ME-PDG for the Arizona DOT. SPR 606-Development and Implementation of the Mechanistic Empirical (M-E) Pavement Design Guide for Arizona, Inter Team Technical Report, August 2008. 
  17. Witczak, M.W., Zapata, C.E.* and Houston, W.N. (2006). Models Incorporated into the Current Enhanced Integrated Climatic Model: NCHRP 9-23 Project Findings and Additional Changes after Version 0.7. Final Report. Project NCHRP 1-40D.
  18. Houston, S.L., Zapata, C.E., Houston, W.N. and Dye, H. (2006). A Study of the Performance of Slab on Grade Residential Foundations on Expansive Soils in Arizona. Final Report. Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA). 
  19. Houston, W.N., Mirza, M.W. and Zapata, C.E.* (2006). Calibration and Validation of the ICM Version 2.6. Final Report. Project NCHRP 9-23: Environmental Effects in Pavement Mix and Structural Design Systems. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board.
  20. Houston, W.N., Mirza, M.W., Zapata, C.E. and Raghavendra, S.* (2005). Calibration of PP1-98 (AASHTO Designation PP1-98: Standard Practice for Accelerated Aging of Asphalt Binder Using a Pressurized Aging Vessel) and PP2 (AASHTO Designation PP2-99: Standard Practice for Mixture Conditioning of Hot Mix Asphalt) Protocols. Final Report. Project NCHRP 9-23: Environmental Effects in Pavement Mix and Structural Design Systems. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board. 
  21. Witczak, M.W., Zapata, C.E., and Konareddy, P.* (2003). Input Data for the Calibration and Validation of the 2002 Design Guide for Rehabilitated Pavement Sections with HMA Overlays. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures –Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Project 1-37A. Federal Highway Administration. 
  22. Witczak, M.W., Mirza, M.W.*, and Zapata, C.E. (2002). Estimation of Distress Quantities for Smoothness Models for HMA-Surface Pavements. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures –Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP).  Project 1-37A.
  23. Witczak, M.W., and Zapata, C.E.* (2002). Input Data for the Calibration and Validation of the 2002 Design Guide for New Constructed Flexible Pavement Sections. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures –Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Project 1-37A.
  24. Witczak, M.W., Zapata, C.E.*, and Mirza, M.W. (2001). Estimating Original Air Voids of GPS-LTPP Sections. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures –Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Project 1-37A.
  25. Houston, W.N., Mirza, M.W., Zapata, C.E.*, and others. (2001). Environmental Effects in Pavement Mix and Structural Design Systems. Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Project 9-23.
  26. Witczak, M.W., Houston, W.N., and Zapata, C.E.* (2001). Correlation of CBR Values with Soil Index Properties. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures –Technical Report. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Project 1-37A.
  27. Witczak, M.W. and Zapata, C.E.* (2000). Implementation of the EICM to Arizona Climatic Conditions. Development of Performance Related Specifications for Asphalt Pavements in the State of Arizona, Project Report. ASU-ADOT Research Program.
  28. Witczak, M.W., Houston, W.N., Zapata, C.E., Richter, C., Larson, G., and Walsh, K. (2000). Improvement of the Integrated Climatic Model for Moisture Content Predictions. Development of the 2002 Guide for the Design of New and Rehabilitated Pavement Structures – Inter Team Technical Report (Seasonal 4). NCHRP project 1-37A.
  29. Houston, S.L.*, Houston, W.N., Zapata, C.E. and Johnson, M.J. (2000). Hydraulic Loading Capacity for Groundwater Recharge Sites. 15th Int. Conf., ISSMCE, Istanbul, Turkey: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Referred Archival Journal Publications from ASU

  1. Kwon, P., Karmacharya, D., Zapata, C.E., Kavazanjian, E., and van Paassen, L. (2024). Microbial Induced Desaturation and Precipitation in Stratified Soils with Fine Sand and Silt Layers, Acta Geotechnica, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-024-02324-w.
  2. Jiang, Y., Alajlan, Z., Zapata, C.E., Yu, X. (2024). Multiphysics Simulation of the Effects of Wicking Geotextile on Mitigating Frost Heave under Cold Region Pavement. Geosciences 2024, 14, 34. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14020034.
  3. Olaiz, A.H, Mosawi, M, and Zapata, C.E. (2021). An improved framework for volume change of shrink/swell soils subjected to time-varying climatic effects. Soils and Rocks, An International Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 44(3), [e2021065621]. https://doi.org/10.28927/SR.2021.06562, pp. 1-14. Invited paper and keynote.
  4. Stallings-Young, E.G., Mahabadi, N., Zapata, C.E. and van Paassen, L.A. (2021). Microbial-Induced Desaturation in Stratified Soil Conditions. Int. Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering, ASCE, 7 (37). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-021-00276-9
  5. Gaspard, K.*, Zhang, Z., Gautreau, G., Hanifa, K., Zapata, C. and Abu-Farsakh, M. (2019). Modeling the Resilient Modulus Variation of In Situ Soils due to Seasonal Moisture Content Variations. Advances in Civil Engineering, Vol. 2019, Article ID 1793601, 7 pages. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1793601.
  6. Zapata, C.E.*, Witczak, M.W. and Palanivelu, P. (2017). Evaluation of the Federal Aviation Administration Methodology for Characterizing the Nonlinear Behavior of Granular Base and Subbase Materials. Transportation Geotechnics Journal. doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2017.06.004. Vol. 13, pp. 13-27.
  7. Rosenbalm, D.* and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Effect of Wetting and Drying Cycles on the Behavior of Expansive Soils. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE. Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 1-9.
  8. Cary, C.* and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Pore Water Pressure Response of a Soil Subjected to Dynamic Loading under Saturated and Unsaturated Conditions. International Journal of Geomechanics, 10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000642, D4016004, pp. 1-9.
  9. Puppala, A.J., Pedarla, A.*, Hoyos, L. R., Zapata, C.E. and Bheemasetti, T.V. (2016). A Semi-Empirical Swell Prediction Model Formulated From 'Clay Mineralogy and Unsaturated Soil' Properties. Engineering Geology Journal. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.12.007, Vol. 200, pp. 114-121. 
  10. Abbaszadeh, M.*, Houston, S.L. and Zapata, C.E. (2015). Influence of Soil Cracking on the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve of Clay Soil. Journal of Soils and Rocks. Vol. 38(1), pp. 49-58. 
  11. Salour, F.* ∞, Erlingsson, S. and Zapata, C.E. (2015). Model for Seasonal Variation of Resilient Modulus in Silty Sand Subgrade Soil: Evaluation with Falling Weight Deflectometer. Transportation Research Record. Vol. 2510, pp. 65-73.
  12. Salour, F.* ∞, Erlingsson, S. and Zapata, C.E. (2014). Modelling Resilient Modulus Seasonal Variation of Silty Sand Subgrade Soils with Matric Suction Control. Canadian Geotechnical Journal.  Vol. 51(12), pp. 1413-1422.
  13. Cary, C.E.* and Zapata, C.E. (2014). Unsaturated Soil Modeling for Airfield Pavement Design. Journal of Transportation Engineering, ASCE. Vol. 140 (1), pp. 50-60.  
  14. Cary, C.E.* and Zapata, C.E. (2013) Integrating a National Database of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curves and Soil Index Properties with the M-EPDG. Transportation Research Record. Vol. 2349, pp. 41-51. 
  15. Zapata, C.E.*, Cary, C.E., Souliman, M., Rosenbalm, D., and Salim, R. (2012). Comparison of Airfield Flexible Pavement Design Thickness based upon Differing Agency Limiting Subgrade Strain Criteria. Transportation Research Record. Vol. 2305, pp. 141-149. Zapata's contribution: 30%. 
  16.  Cary, C.E. and Zapata, C.E.* (2012). Modelo de Predicción del Módulo Resiliente para Suelos No Saturados. Revista Internacional de Desastres Naturales, Accidentes e Infraestructura Civil. Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 110-119.
  17. Zapata, C.E.* and Salim, R. (2012). Impact of Environmental Site Location and Groundwater Table Depth on the Thickness of Flexible Airfield Pavements. Transportation Research Record: J. of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2282, pp. 22-33. 
  18. Souliman, M.I.*, Mamlouk, M., Zapata, C.E. and Cary, C.E. (2011).  Data Collection to Support Implementation of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide for County Roads. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2225, pp. 67-77.  Zapata's contribution: 25%. 
  19. Souliman, M.* and Zapata, C.E. (2011). International Case Studies of Peat Stabilization by Deep Mixing Method. Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 424-430. Student participation: 60%
  20. Cary, C.* and Zapata, C.E. (2011). Resilient Modulus for Unsaturated Unbound Materials.  International Journal of Roads Materials and Pavement Design.  Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 617-640. 
  21. Houston, S.L. Dye, H.B.*, Zapata, C.E., Walsh, K.D. and Houston, W.N. (2011). Study of Expansive Soils and Residential Foundations on Expansive Soils in Arizona. ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 31-44. 
  22. Souliman, M., Mamlouk, M., El-Basyouny, M. and Zapata, C.E. (2010). Calibration of the AASHTO MEPDG for Flexible Pavement for Arizona Conditions.  International Journal of Pavements. Vol. 9. No. 1-2-3, pp. 2-13. 
  23. Mamlouk, M.* and Zapata, C.E.* (2010). Necessary Assessment of Use of State Pavement Management System Data in Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Calibration Process. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Vol. 2153, pp. 58-66. Zapata's contribution: 50%
  24. Cary, C. and Zapata, C.E. (2010). Enhanced Model for Resilient Response of Soils Resulting from Seasonal Changes as Implemented in "Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide".  Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, No 2170, Geology and Properties of Earth Materials 2010, pp. 36-44. 
  25. Zapata, C.E.*, Perera, Y.Y. and Houston, W.N. (2009). Matric Suction Prediction Model Used in the New AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2101, Geology and Properties of Earth Materials, pp. 53-62. 
  26. Carlson, J.*, Kaloush, K., Golden, J., Arab, M., and Zapata, C. (2008). Evaluation of In Situ Temperatures, Water Infiltration and Regional Feasibility of Pervious Concrete Pavements. International Journal of Pavements, Vol. 7, No. 1-2-3, pp. 96-108. 
  27. Zapata, C.E.*, Andrei, D., Witczak, M.W., & Houston, W.N. (2007). Incorporation of Environmental Effects in Pavement Design. Int. J. of Road Materials and Pavement Design, Vol. 8, Issue 4.  pp 667-693. Invited and keynote presentation.
  28. Raghavendra, S.*, Zapata, C.E., Mirza, M.W., Houston, W.N., and Witczak, M.W. (2005). Verification and Improvement of the Rate of Asphalt Aging Simulated by AASHTO PP1-98 Protocol. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board No.1901, Bituminous Binders, pp. 24-32. Student participation: 40%; Zapata's contribution: 30%
  29. Houston, S.L., Houston, W.N., Zapata, C.E., and Lawrence, C. (2001). Geotechnical Engineering Practice for Collapsible Soils. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering Journal. Vol. 19(3-4). pp.  333-355. Also, in Unsaturated Soil Concepts and Their Application in Geotechnical Practice, David G. Toll (ed). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Durham, U. K.; Zapata's contribution: 25% 

Monographs/Books – Other Scholarly Work

  1. Zapata, C.E., Mosawi, M., Olaiz, A.H., Yu, X, Dong, S., Jiang, Y. (2024). Subgrade Soil Susceptibility to Shrink/Swell and Frost Heave: Effects on Pavement Performance, DOI: 10.17226/27778, ISBN: 978-0-309-70963-7, April 2024.
  2. Zapata, C.E. and Alothman, S. (2023). Moisture Measurement for Pavement Foundations and Slopes, NCHRP Synthesis 612. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. ISBN 978-0-309-70914-9 | DOI 10.17226/27299, 79 pages. 
  3. Zapata, C.E.* (2010). Research Results Digest 347: A National Catalog of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curves and Selected Soil Properties for Use with the MEPDG. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, of the National Academies. ISSN 0077-5614. ISBN: 978-0-309-09929-5. Library of Congress Control Number 2008924251. pp. 23. 
  4. Zapata, C.E.* and Houston, W.N. (2008). Calibration and Validation of the Enhanced Integrated Climatic Model for Pavement Design. NCHRP Report 602. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, of the National Academies. ISBN: 978-0-309-15494-9. pp. 62. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_602.pdf

5. Houston, W.N., Mirza, M.W.X, Zapata, C.E. and Raghavendra, S. (2007). Research Results Digest 324: Simulating the Effects of Hot Mix Asphalt Aging for Performance Testing and Pavement Structure Design, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. October 2007. pp. 7. 

Research Activity
  • Zapata, Claudia; Ozer, Hasan; Kaloush, Kamil. USDOT, National Center for Infrastructure Transformation (NCIT), 11/27/2023 – 11/26/2028
  • Zapata, Claudia, National Academy of Sciences, NCHRP Synthesis Project 53-18 – Moisture Measurements for Foundations and Slopes, 10/6/2022
  • Zapata, Claudia, US Army Corps, Development of a Recommended Approach to Implement Environmental Effects into the New ERDC Pavement Design and Evaluation JED Programs, 7/31/2022
  • Zapata, Claudia, National Academy of Sciences, NCHRP Project HR 01-59, Proposed Enhancements to Pavement ME Design: Improved Consideration of the Influence of Subgrade Soils Susceptible to Shrink/Swell and/or Frost Heave on Pavement Performance, 2018
  • Kavazanjian,Edward*, Allenby,Braden Richard, Cadillo-Quiroz,Hinsby, Garcia-Pichel,Ferran, He,Ximin, Krajmalnik-Brown,Rosa, Neithalath,Narayanan, Savenye,Wilhelmina C, Shock,Everett, Shock,Everett, Torres,Cesar I, Vivoni,Enrique, Vivoni,Enrique, Zapata,Claudia E. Engineering Research Center for Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics (CBBG). NSF-ENG-EEC(8/1/2015 - 7/31/2020).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. Investigation of Subgrade Moisture Flow in an Airfield Pavement. DOT-FAA(6/7/2013 - 5/31/2016).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. Effectiveness of the EcSS 3000 soil stabilizer on expansive soils in Arizona. (12/1/2012 - 3/31/2013).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. Evaluation of Pavement Installations, Corps of Engineers Study. (11/1/2011 - 8/6/2012).
  • Houston,Sandra L*, Savenye,Wilhelmina C, Zapata,Claudia E. Advancement of Unsaturated Soils Theory into the Undergraduate Civil Engineering Curriculum. NSF-EHR(8/1/2011 - 7/31/2014).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*, Houston,Sandra L. Collaborative Research: SWCC Based Models for Realistic Simulation of Swell Behavior of Expansive Soils. NSF-ENG-CMMI(9/1/2010 - 8/31/2014).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. 09-23B: Integrating the National Database of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curves and Soil Index Properties with the MEPDG. NAS-TRB-NCHRP(8/27/2010 - 8/31/2012).
  • Houston,Sandra L*, Welfert,Bruno Denis, Zapata,Claudia E. Collaborative Research: Surface Flux for Cracked and Intact Clays for Ponded and Sloped Conditions. NSF-ENG-CMMI(8/15/2008 - 3/30/2013).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. Implementing a National Catalog of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic (SWCC) Default Inputs for Use with the MEPDG. NAS-TRB-NCHRP(7/24/2008 - 5/31/2010).
  • Witczak,Matthew Walter*, Kaloush,Kamil Elias, Mamlouk,Michael Sobhi, Zapata,Claudia E. Development and Implementation of the Mechanistic Empirical (M-E) Pavement Design Guide for Arizona. ADOT(9/19/2007 - 6/15/2009).
  • Zapata,Claudia E*. Partnership with Industry to Advance Unsaturated Soil Mechanics. H&A(6/15/2007 - 5/15/2010).
  • Mamlouk,Michael Sobhi*, Zapata,Claudia E. Pavement Design Research Towards the Implementation of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. MARICOPA CNTY(3/14/2007 - 6/30/2009).
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number Course Title
CEE 792 Research
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 592 Research
CEE 580 Practicum
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
2024 Fall
Course Number Course Title
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 799 Dissertation
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 592 Research
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
2024 Summer
Course Number Course Title
CEE 792 Research
CEE 592 Research
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 792 Research
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 593 Applied Project
2024 Spring
Course Number Course Title
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 592 Research
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
CEE 580 Practicum
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
CEE 558 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
2023 Fall
Course Number Course Title
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 592 Research
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
CEE 494 Special Topics
2023 Summer
Course Number Course Title
CEE 592 Research
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 792 Research
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 593 Applied Project
2023 Spring
Course Number Course Title
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
2022 Fall
Course Number Course Title
CEE 452 Foundations
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 598 Special Topics
CNE 452 Foundations
CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 592 Research
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 598 Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
2022 Summer
Course Number Course Title
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
2022 Spring
Course Number Course Title
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
CEE 580 Practicum
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
CEE 558 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
2021 Fall
Course Number Course Title
CEE 452 Foundations
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 598 Special Topics
CNE 452 Foundations
CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 592 Research
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 494 Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
2021 Summer
Course Number Course Title
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 792 Research
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 792 Research
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
2021 Spring
Course Number Course Title
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 554 Shear Strength/Slope Stability
CEE 792 Research
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
CEE 580 Practicum
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
2020 Fall
Course Number Course Title
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 792 Research
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 799 Dissertation
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
CEE 592 Research
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 494 Special Topics
CEE 598 Special Topics
2020 Summer
Course Number Course Title
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 792 Research
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
2020 Spring
Course Number Course Title
CEE 499 Individualized Instruction
CEE 790 Reading and Conference
CEE 599 Thesis
CEE 799 Dissertation
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 590 Reading and Conference
CEE 592 Research
CEE 792 Research
CEE 595 Continuing Registration
CEE 795 Continuing Registration
CEE 492 Honors Directed Study
CEE 593 Applied Project
CEE 554 Shear Strength/Slope Stability
CEE 792 Research
VIP 194-HON Special Topics
CEE 580 Practicum
CEE 493 Honors Thesis
CEE 599 Thesis
VIP 294-HON Special Topics
VIP 394-HON Special Topics
VIP 494-HON Special Topics
VIP 194-FSE Special Topics
VIP 294-FSE Special Topics
VIP 394-FSE Special Topics
VIP 494-FSE Special Topics
Presentations

Keynote Speaker – International Venues

  1. Keynote: State of the Art: Transportation Geotechnics. 20th International Conference of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ISSMGE, Sydney, Australia, May 2022.
  2. Keynote: Aspectos Geotécnicos en el Diseño de Pavimentos: De la Corrección a la Prevención. XI Mexican Congress of Asphalt, Cancún, MX, Oct 27, 2021
  3. Keynote: An Improved Framework for Volume Change of Shrink/Swelling Soils Subjected to Time-Varying Climatic Effects, Third Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, ISSMGE, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 25-28 July, 2021. 
  4. Keynote: Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Considerations of Swelling/Shrinkage of Expansive Soils, 4th International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics (ICTG), Chicago, May 24-27, 2021.  
  5. Keynote Closing Speaker, Geotechnical Aspects of Pavement Design, International Society of Asphalt Pavements, Costa Rica, March 19, 2021
  6. State of the Art: Implementing Environmental Effects on a Mechanistic-Empirical Approach to Pavement Design, University of Piura, Lima, Peru. August 6, 2013.
  7. Workshop: “Unbound Soils /Subbase and Base Materials”. U. Costa Rica (UCR) LANAMME, San Jose, Costa Rica. Dec 5-6, 2012.
  8. "Geotechnical Engineering and Problematic Soils".  Universidad Metropolitana, San Juán, Puerto Rico.  Nov. 2007.
  9. “Incorporation of Environmental Effects in Pavement Design”. XVI Colombian Symposium in Pavement Engineering, Manizales, Colombia.  Sept. 2007.
  10. "Incorporation of Environmental Effects in Pavement Design". International Workshop on Water in Pavements – WIP'05, Oct. 27th, Madrid, Spain. Oct. 2005.
  11. "Sustainable Development: A New Approximation to the Design Materials and Construction of Roads".  12th International Symposium of Civil Engineering.  Monterrey Tec University, Monterrey, Mexico. Feb. 2005.

Invited Speaker – International Venues

  1. “Consideraciones Climáticas y Uso de Teoría de Suelos No Saturados en el Diseño de Pavimentos: Enfoque Empírico”, Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia, Nov. 2020
  2. “Unsaturated Soil Mechanics for Compacted Materials”, Rail Track Technology & Geotechnical Engineering Research Showcase 2019, Wollongong, Australia, Dec 18, 2019.
  3. “Use of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Pavement Design: Empirical Approach”, Workshop on Asphaltic Materials Technology: 2019 Women in Engineering. Monterrey, Mexico, March 19, 2019.
  4. “Empirical Approach for the Use of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Pavement Design”. Second Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 13, 2017.
  5. “Volume Change Behavior of Expansive Soils due to Wetting and Drying Cycles”. International Series. Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China, Sept. 26, 2017
  6. “Considerations of Climate in the Latest AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. International Series. Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China, Sept. 25, 2017
  7. Seminar on the Operation of New Aircraft at Existing Airports - Physical Characteristics and Pavements, Unbound Material Characterization. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Lima, Peru. August 6-9, 2013.
  8. "Development of a Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide for Latin-American Countries". XVI CILA -Ibero-Latin-American Congress on Asphalt, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nov. 2011.
  9. "Resilient Modulus Testing for Unsaturated Unbound Materials". Second International Summit of Hispanic Geotechnical Engineering Professors. Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Oct. 2011.
  10. "Sensitivity Analysis of Environmental Factors on Flexible Pavement Performance". Workshop on Climate Effects on Pavement Infrastructure for the 8th Int. Conf. on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways, and Airfields, Urbana-Champaign, IL. July 2009.
  11. "Expansion Index and Its Relationship with Other Index Properties". Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, April 2-6, 2006, Carefree, AZ. 
  12. "State of the Art on the Behavior of Partially Saturated Soils.  From the Theory to the Practice". First Week of Civil Engineering, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico. April 2003.

Invited Speaker – National Venues

  1. Mechanistic-Stochastic Framework for the Implementation of Swell/Shrink Soils in Pavement Design Procedures. Guest lecture, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, April 19, 2024.                                                                                   
  2. Moisture Measurement for Pavements, Foundations and Slopes. NCHRP Synthesis Topic 53-18 Overview. AKG40 Committee on Mechanics and Drainage of Saturated and Unsaturated Geomaterials Meeting, TRB, Jan 10, 2023, Washington, DC.
  3. “Moisture Measurements for Foundations and Slopes in Pavement Infrastructure. NCHRP Synthesis Topic 53-18 Overview” AKG60 Committee on Geotechnical Instrumentation and Modeling Meeting, TRB, Jan 11, 2022, Washington, DC.
  4. “NCHRP 01-59: Proposed Enhancements to Pavement ME Design: Improved Consideration of the Influence of Subgrade Soils Susceptible to Shrink/Swell and/or Frost Heave on Pavement Performance”. AKG40 Committee on Mechanics and Drainage of Saturated and Unsaturated Geomaterials Meeting, TRB, Jan. 2021
  5. “Integrating Education and Research at All Levels”. Geotechnical Engineering Faculty Teaching Strategies and Resources Workshop, Minneapolis, MN, Feb 25, 2020.
  6. “Considerations of Climate in the Latest AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide”. Geo-Institute Oklahoma Chapter meeting, Oklahoma City, OK, April 20, 2017.
  7. “Volume change Behavior of Expansive Soils due to Wetting and Drying Cycles”. Oklahoma U., Norman, OK, April 20, 2017.
  8. 'Incorporation of Unsaturated Soil Principles into Common Geotechnical Problems", AMEC Technical Summit, Atlanta, GA, October 15-16, 2011.
  9. "Applications of Unsaturated Soils to Pavement Design", ASCE Continuing Education and the Geo Institute. Webinar, August 2010; June 2011.
  10. "A National Catalog of Subgrade Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) Default Inputs and Selected Soil Properties for Use with the ME-PDG". NCHRP Workshop in conjunction with FHWA Expert Task Group Meetings, National Academy of Science, Irvine, CA, February 2010; Also, Webinar in March 2010.
  11. "Unbound Material Moisture Prediction Models Incorporated into the ME-PDG". 2009 TRB Annual Meeting Workshop. Environmental Effects in the MEPDG. Washington D.C., January 2009.
  12. "Characterization of Expansive Soils using Simple Index Properties". Symp. on Problem Soils and Surficial Deposits. Santa Fe, NM, May 2008.
  13. "Unsaturated Soil Concepts applied to Environmental Effects in Pavement Design". 87th Transportation Research Board Meeting, AFP60 Committee Meeting.  January 2008.
  14. "Climate in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide –MEPDG". AASHTO Joint Committee on Pavements Seminar. Irvine, CA. April 10-11, 2007.

Conference Presentations

  1. Larson, J., Zapata, C.E. and Kavazanjian, E. (2022). Connecting Research to the Broader Community: Developing and Implementing a Graduate Course Across an Engineering Research Center’s Partner Universities. American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2022 annual conference and exposition, Minneapolis, MN, June 26-29, pp. 1-7, https://peer.asee.org/41901.
  2. Stallings Young, E.G., Zapata, C.E. and van Paassen, L.A. (2022). Experimental Investigation of Microbial Induced Desaturation and Precipitation (MIDP) in a Layered Granular Soil System. In Proc. of the 2022 Geo-Congress, ASCE. GSP 331, https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784484012.036, March 20-23, 2022, pp. 347-355.
  3. Stallings Young, E.G.*, Zapata, C.E. and van Paassen, L. (2020). Unsaturated Fluid Flow through Granular Soils Treated with Microbial Induced Desaturation and Precipitation. In Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Unsaturated Soils (E-UNSAT 2020) Online Conference, 195, 05003 (2020), October 19-21st, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202019505003
  4. Larson, J., Barnard, W., Chandler, J., O’Donnell, M., Savenye, W. and Zapata, C.E. (2020, Feb). Moving Beyond Technical Skills: Fostering the Development of Essential Skills Needed for a Successful Career in Engineering. In Proceedings of the ASCE Geo-Congress 2020: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Special Topics, GSP 318, ISBN (PDF): 9780784482810, Hambleton, J.P., Makhnenko, R. and Budge, A.S (eds.), Feb. 25-28, 2020, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  5. Savenye, W., Chandler, J. L. S., Larson, J., Zapata, C.E., Bronner, C., Hong, Y-C., Archambault, L., Elwood, K., Nielsen, M., Strand, E., Spector, M., & Dalal, M. (2019, Oct). Building Up the Next Generation through Mentoring: Lessons Learned and Best Practices from Three Perspectives. Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Oct 19-25, Las Vegas, Nevada.
  6. Savenye, W. ~, Larson, J., Zapata, C., Kavazanjian, E., Elwood, K., Barnard, W., O'Donnell, M., Chandler, J., Saenz, D., Woolley, M., van Paassen, L., Bronner, C., DeJong, J., Martinez, A., Greer, J., Mitchell, M., Brown, S., Frost, D., Newstetter, W., Vangla, P., & Siegel, A. (2018, June). Building and evaluating education and outreach programs for an NSF engineering research center, the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG). Paper session presented at the meeting of the EdMedia + Innovate Learning, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  7. Gaspard, K.~, Zhang, Z., Gautreau, G. Hanifa, K. Zapata, C. and Abufarsakh, M. (2018). Modeling the In-situ Seasonal Variation Potential of Resilient Modulus in Subgrade Soils. TRB meeting, Jan. 6-11, 2018.
  8. Elwood, K.~, Savenye, W., Larson, J., Jordan, M. E., & Zapata, C. (2017, November). Wicked instructional problems: Exploring how STEM teachers use design thinking.  Paper session presented at the meeting of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology, Jacksonville, FL.
  9. Zapata, C. E. ~(2017). Empirical Approach for the Use of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Pavement Design. Presented on the Second Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Nov. 12-15, Dallas, Texas.
  10. Thirthar Palanivelu, P. and Zapata, C.E.~ (2017). Assessment of Cary and Zapata Suction Based Model for Prediction of Resilient Modulus in Fine Grained Subgrade Soils. Presented on the Second Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Nov. 12-15, Dallas, Texas.
  11. Thirthar Palanivelu, P. and Zapata, C.E. (2017). Evaluation of a Resilient Modulus Model for Unsaturated Soil Conditions. In Proc. of the 10th Int. Conf. on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, BCRRA 2017. June 28-30, Athens, Greece. pp. 3-10.
  12. Larson, J.*~, Savenye, W., Zapata, C.E. and Kavazanjian, E. (2017).  Implementation of an Introductory Module on Biogeotechnics in a Freshman Engineering Course. In Proceedings of the 2017 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition, Columbus, OH, June 25-28, 2017, pp. 1-19.
  13. Dalal, M.~, Larson, J., Zapata, C., Savenye, W., Hamdan, N. & Kavazanjian, E. (2017, March). An Interdisciplinary Approach to Developing an Undergraduate Module on Biogeotechnical Engineering. Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, Austin, TX, USA.
  14. Elwood, K., Savenye, W., Jordan, M.E., Larson, J., and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Design Thinking: A New Construct for Educators. Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Las Vegas, NV, Vol. 1, 43-52.
  15. Savenye, W., Larson, J., Zapata, C., Kavazanjian, E., Elwood, K., Reed, A., Mitchell, M., Brown, S., Bronner, C., Saenz, D., Newstetter, W., Benton-Johnson, F., Dalal, M., Gomez, M., & Delgado, N. (2016). The Ultimate Higher Education Start-Up: Building Education, Outreach and Diversity for an NSF Engineering Research Center. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Las Vegas, NV, October 17-21, 2016.
  16. Lu, Y. and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Temperature Effects on the Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties of Two Fine-Grained Soils and their Influence on Moisture Movement under an Airfield Test Facility. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 569-583.
  17. Gowda, R.P.C. and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Effect of Bagasse Fiber on the Properties of Compressed Cement Stabilized Earth Blocks. Proceedings of the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ, pp. 1435-1449.
  18. Palanivelu, P.T., Zapata, C.E. and Underwood, S. (2016). Effect of As-Compacted Moisture Content and Density on Pavement Performance in Different Climatic Regimes. Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ.
  19. Abbaszadeh, S., Houston, S.L. and Zapata, C.E. (2016). Effect of Desiccation Cracking on the Swell and Swell Pressure of Expansive Clay. Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress, Feb. 14-17, Phoenix, AZ.
  20. Rosenbalm, D. and Zapata, C.E. (2015). Stochastic Solution to the Subgrade Resilient Modulus: Monte Carlo Approach. Proceedings of the XV Pan-American Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Nov 15-18. Buenos Aires, Argentina, pp. 314-321. 
  21. Ornelas, A., Houston, S., Savenye, W., Zapata, C.E., Ramirez, E. and Corral, A. (2015). Disciplinary Diversity in the Development of Geotechnical Engineering Undergraduate Education Materials. 2015 International Foundations Congress and Equipment Expo (IFCEE), pp. 2161-2168. doi: 10.1061/9780784479087.200
  22. Pedarla, A., Puppala, A., Hoyos, L., Zapata, C.E. and Chittoori, B. (2014). Study of SWRC Modeling Parameters with Variation in Swelling Behavior and Mineralogy of Four Compacted Expansive Clays. Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014, v 2, pp. 951-957. 
  23. Rosenbalm, D. and Zapata, C.E. Stochastic Approach to Estimate the Resilient Modulus for Unbound and Subgrade Materials. 94th annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C, Jan. 2015.
  24. Rosenbalm, D. and Zapata, C.E. Volume Change Behavior of Compacted Expansive Soils Subjected to Multiple Wetting and Drying Cycles.  Association of Engineering Geologists Annual meeting. Scottsdale, AZ. 2014.
  25. Savenye, W., Houston, S., Zapata, C., Ornelas, A., Corral, A., Sadauskas, J., & Ramirez, E. Needs assessment for designing an interdisciplinary, flexible, engineering instruction module. In M. Simonson (Ed.), Annual meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Anaheim, CA, Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2013. 
  26. Ornelas, A., Savenye, W. Sadauskas, J., Houston, S., Zapata, C. and Ramirez, E. An Engineering and Educational Technology Team Approach to Introducing New Unsaturated Soils Mechanics Material into Introductory Undergraduate Geotechnical Engineering Courses: Cross-Curricular Coordination & Working Outside of Your Comfort Zone. Conference in California, June 2013.
  27. Rosenbalm and Zapata. First Pan-American Conference on Unsaturated Soils. Cartagena, Colombia, February 2013.
  28. Cary and Zapata. Integrating a National Database of Subgrade Soil-water Characteristic Curves and Soil Index Properties with the MEPDG.  Transportation Research Board meeting. Washington D.C. Jan. 2013.
  29. “Environmental Effects on Airfield Design”. 2012 Pavement/Materials Conference, Tempe, AZ, October 31st 2012. 
  30. "Comparison of Airfield Flexible Pavement Design Thickness Based upon Differing Agency Limiting Subgrade Strain Criteria" Transportation Research Board meeting. Washington D.C. Jan. 2012
  31. "Impact of Environmental Site Location and Groundwater Table Depth on the Thickness of Flexible Airfield Pavements". Transportation Research Board meeting. Washington D.C. Jan. 2012
  32. "Laboratory Determination of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves for Cracked Soil". International Conference of Unsaturated Soils UNSAT 2010 – Barcelona, Spain, September 2010.
  33. "A New Generation of Resilient Modulus Characterization of Unbound Materials". International Foundation Congress & Equipment Expo 2009 – IFCEE, Orlando, FL, March 2009.
  34. "Matric Suction Prediction Model Used in the New AASHTO Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide". 2009 Transportation Research Board annual meeting. National Academies. Washington D. C., January 2009.
  35. "Considerations of Climate in the New AASHTO Mechanistic Empirical-Pavement Design Guide". 2009 Transportation Research Board annual meeting.  National Academies. Washington D.C., January 2009.
  36. "Evaluating the Utility of Existing Pavement Management System State Deflection Data For Use in the Implementation of the Mechanistic Empirical-Pavement Design Guide for Arizona". Poster. 2009 Transportation Research Board annual meeting. National Academies. Washington D. C., January 2009.
  37. "Prediction of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) of Granular and Fine Grained Soils". First Sri Lankan Geotechnical Society International Conference on Soil and Rock Engineering. Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 2007.
  38. "Unbound Material Properties". ASU-ADOT Arizona Pavements/Materials Conference. Tempe, AZ. Oct. 2007.
  39. "Development of Asphalt Concrete Rutting Model Using Permanent Strain Database", Transportation Research Board annual meeting. National Academies. Washington D. C., January 2007.
  40. "Expansion Index and Its Relationship with Other Index Properties". Fourth International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, Carefree, AZ. April 2006.
  41. "Environmental Effects in Pavement Mix Design – Arizona Perspective". ASU-ADOT Arizona Pavements/Materials Conference. Tempe, AZ. April 2006.

Invited Speaker – Local Venues

  1. Workshop: “Soils Engineering for Pavements”, Maricopa Department of Transportation, Phoenix, AZ, Aug. 2016.
  2.  “Incorporating Environmental Effects in Pavement Design”, Geo-Institute Arizona Chapter meeting, Tempe, AZ, Oct. 2014. 
  3. ASCE Geo-Institute Student chapter, talk to Geotechnical students at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, March 2013.
  4. Barrett’s Honor College, talk to freshmen residents about Geotechnical Engineering, Tempe, AZ, March 2013.
  5. Arizona Chapter of the ASCE, Tempe, AZ, August 2012.
  6. "Implementation of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics into Engineering Practice". AMEC. Tempe, AZ. March 2011.

Invited Speaker – ASU Internal

  1. “Unsaturated Soils in Pavement Design”, Hydrosystems Engineering Seminar Series, SSEBE, Tempe, AZ, Feb. 2021.
  2. Xhi Epsilon, Arizona State University Chapter, Tempe, AZ, April 2012.
  3. More Graduate Education @ Mountain States Alliance (MGE@MSA) Graduate Student Workshop. Graduate College, Arizona State University.  Tempe, AZ, February 2012.
  4. "A Journey to Be Able to Be Here with You Today". More Graduate Education @ Mountain States Alliance (MGE@MSA) Graduate Student Workshop. Graduate College, Arizona State University.  Tempe, AZ, December 2008.
Honors / Awards

Awarded with the 2025 Carl Monismith Lecture Award for outstanding research contributions in Pavement Engineering. ASCE, 2025

Awarded with the 12th Annual Arizona Higher Education Award. Dr. William Yslas Velez, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Award. The Pete C. Garcia Victoria Foundation. Sept. 2021. These awards honor and recognize the contributions of Arizona’s scholars and leaders in higher education institutions, who champion the recruitment and degree completion of Latino students., 2021

Nominated to the ASU Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award  2020

Nominated as a Badass Women of ASU by the ASU Women’s Coalition: “She stands up against that silent and constant pressure in STEM to defer to the straight White old men and what they want, what they think, and what they value. She does this over and over and over and over."    2020

Ira A Fulton School of Engineering Top 5% Teaching Award. Arizona State University    2019

Nominated to the Faculty Women Association (FWA) 2019 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award    2019

Nomination to the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Committee for Campus Inclusion, Arizona State University 2015

Community Service Award for "making significant contributions to the advancement of the pavement/materials technology and programs in Arizona" – Academia award from the Pavement/Materials conference committee. Nov 2011

Senior Sustainability Scientist. Global Institute of Sustainability. Honorific designation awarded for her "…achievements in sustainability-related research".  May 2011

Honors Disciplinary Faculty, ASU Barrett Honors College, for "her outstanding contributions and commitment of time to the honors students".   2006-Present

Teaching Award from the Office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs at ASU. "Leader, mentor, and a person who has contributed in a significant way to the success of ASU students"   Nov. 2004

Editorships

Miller, G.A., Zapata, C.E., Houston, S.L. and Fredlund, D.G. (eds). (2006). Unsaturated Soils. Geotechnical Special Publication No. 147. The Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 2581. Also, Proc. of the Fourth Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils. April 2-6, Carefree, AZ.  

Professional Associations
  • Member of the International Geosynthetics Society, Since 2015
  • Member, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists - Arizona Section,Since 2009
  • Member, The International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC), Since 2008
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers, Since 2007
  • Member, The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Eng. (ISSMGE), Since 2007
  • Member, The Chicano and Latino Faculty and Staff Association of Arizona State University, 2006-2020
  • Member, The Faculty Women Association of Arizona State University since 2006.
  • Member, The United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER),Since 2006

Registered Professional Engineer. Colombian National Professional Board of Engineering and Architecture. April 14, 1989. License # 17202-31908CLD, Since 1989

Graduate Faculties / Mentoring History

Post-doctoral Supervision: 1

Ramadam Salim (2020-2022, 2023-2024)

Total Number of Graduate Students Advised: 104

Thesis Advisor Committee Chair or Co-Chair: A total of 37 students

13 Ph.D. students (4 current): 

  1. Kalani Madushani Rajamanthri (Chair, 2023-current)
  2. Yasen Mousa Kashour (Chair, 2023-current)
  3. Saleh Alothman (Co-Chair, 2022-current)
  4. Shivangi Jain (Co-Chair, 2022-current)
  5. Austin Olaiz (Chair, 2018-2022). Dissertation: A Bayesian Forecast Model for the Climatic Response of Unsaturated Soils. 
  6. Mohammad Mosawi (Chair, 2018-2022). Dissertation: Improved Analysis of the Influence of Subgrade Soils Susceptible to Shrink/Swell on Pavement Performance
  7. Elizabeth Stallings (Co-chair, 2017-2021). Dissertation: Fluid Flow through Granular Soils Treated with Microbially Induced Desaturation and Precipitation 
  8. Hani Alharbi (Chair, 2017-2020, Shaqra University). Dissertation: Stabilization of Expansive Soil Using Plant-Extracted Silicate Solution
  9. Ashley Evans (Co-chair, 2018, DiGioia Gray). Dissertation: Estimation of Pressuremeter Modulus from Shear Wave Velocity In the Sonoran Desert
  10. Pughazvel Palanivelu (Chair, 2017, Geocomp). Dissertation: Investigation of Subgrade Moisture Flow Caused by Thermo-Hydro Gradients in Airfield Pavements
  11. Daniel Rosenbalm (Chair, 2013, Ninyo & Moore). Dissertation: Volume Change Behavior of Expansive Soils due to Wetting and Drying Cycles
  12. Mohammad Abbaszadeh (Co-chaired with Dr. S.L. Houston: 2011, MWH Americas Inc.). Dissertation: The Effect of Cracks on Unsaturated Flow and Volume Change Properties of Expansive Clays and Impacts on Foundation Performance.
  13. Carlos Cary (Co-chaired with Dr. M.W. Witczak: 2011, Horizon Engineering Consulting). Dissertation: Pore Water Pressure Response of a Soil Subjected to Traffic Loading under Saturated and Unsaturated Conditions

17 M.Sc. students (1 current):

Mayank Bagtharia (current), Limon Bogere (2020), Ahmad Sayed Mostafa (2019), Rakshith Gowda (2016), Yutong Lu (2015-ACS Services), Zachery Shafer (2014-AECOM), Eddy Ramirez (2013-Western Technologies), Daniel Rosenbalm (2011-ASU), Ramadan Salim (2011-ASU), Maie El-Keshky (2011), Sean Jacquemin (2011-Tetra Tech), Gustavo Torres (2011-Colombia), Elham Hashem (2010-ASU), Jesse Graham (2010-Yakima, WA), Brian Amos (2009 – Speedie & Associates), Carlos Cary (2008 - ASU), Mohamed Arab (2008 - ASU)

7 M.S.E. students:

Jonathan Soto (current), Scott Morgan (2019), Daniel Rossman (2015), John Furniss (2015), Christina Buckle (2013-ECI), Jeff Rodgers (2013-Ninyo & Moore), Kiran Mohanraj (2007-Western Technologies, Co-chaired with Dr. Kamil Kaloush).

Thesis Advisor Committee Member: A total of 67 students.

22 Ph.D. students:

Yusheng Jiang (2024), Carlos Obando (2022), Kimberly Martin (2021), Sichuan Huang (2020), Daehyun Kim (2019), Jeff Vann (2019-Vann & Associates), Abdullah Almajed (2017-ASU CBBG), Xuan Wu (2017), Rouwen Liu (2017), Ali Fakih (2017), Angel Gutierrez (2016-ASU CBBG), Elham Bani Hashem (2013- MWH Americas Inc.), Anushree Bharadwaj (2013), Waleed Zeiada (2012-ASU), Mehdi Bakhshi (2011), Mohamed Arab (2011-Egypt), Abdullah Al-Sanad (2011-Kuwait), Maria Rodezno (2010-National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University), Sonal Singhal (2010-United Arab Emirates), Krishna Biligiri (2008 - VTI: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Inst., Linköping, Sweden), Heather Dye (2008 – Tao Engineering Inc.), Natalia Perez (2006 - Mexican Institute of Transportation), Andres Sotil (2005 - Peru).

22 M.S. students:

Rajesh Dangi (2024), Jack Harker (2023), Juan Paez (2018), Devinne Ramirez (2018), Jake Andresen (2017), Eduardo Raudales (2016), Brian Knorr (2014), Zachery Heim (2014), Angel Gutierrez (2013-ASU), Matthew Olson (2013), Tina Pourshams (2013), Matild Dosa (2012), Joseph Walsh (2011), Kanyembo Katapa (2011), Zbigniew Czupak (2011), Jeff Schaper (2011-Quality Testing, LCC), Srivatsav Kandala (2009 - ASU), Smita Dwivedi (2008), Atish Nadkarni (2007 – AMEC), Sudheen Anantharaman (2007), Suresh Raghavendra (2003 – PBS&J), Andres Sotil (2002 – University de Piura-Peru).

21 M.S.E. students:

Joe Reilly (2021), Joel Ramirez (2020), Robin Cheng (2020), John Heck (2017), Jeff Fijalka (2013), Pugazhvel Thirthar Palanivelu (2012), Bhagirath Reddy Andapali (2012), Leroy Johnson (2012), Michael Fernandez (2012), Ali Fakih (2012), Derek Boland (2012 – ADOT), David Ramsey (2012), Patrick Montgomery (2012), Jose Miguel Rodriguez (2012), Zeljorad Maricic (2012 - GCTS), Naida Causevic (2010 - AMEC), Sterling Crandell (2010 - HDR), Jared Wegner (2007 – Kimley-Horn), Rama Sabat (2006), Maria Rodezno (2005), Heather Czupak (2005).

2 Honors students:

Samuel Montano (2024), Molly Pavey (2020)

Visiting Scholars:

Miriam DeLuca (2016-MS student from Polytechnical University of Turin, Italy), Farhad Salour (2013- PhD student from VTI, Sweden)

Undergraduate students that have worked under my Supervision: A total of 22 students:

Samuel Montano (2023-2024), Jeremy Nez (2018-2020), Oniya Silas (2018-2020), Sammy Alsohbe (2019), Austyn Howard (2018-2019), Angela Egan (2017-2018), Magdaleno Meza (2018-HON thesis), Limon Bogere (2018-ASU), Paulo Carvalho de Oliveira (2015-Brazil), Joshuah Contreras (2014 – MS student at ASU), Eddy Ramirez (2012 – Western Technologies), Robert Jarrett (2011-2012), Seth Plas (2010 – City of Mesa), Kuo Tian (2009-2010 – Research Center in Germany), Natalie Lopez (2007-2009), Sean Jacquemin (2009), Krishna Kilambi (2008), Berenice Barranco (B.S. in 2008 – Drake Cement LLC), Armando Fuentes (B.S. in 2008 – Arizona Department of Transportation), Leidy Feliz (MGE@MSA summer internship program, Universidad Metropolitana, Puerto Rico), Waleska Vasquez (MGE@MSA summer internship program, Universidad Metropolitana, Puerto Rico), Arianna Valle (B.S. in 2004 – University of California at Irvine)

Work History

LEADERSHIP POSITIONS 

Associate Director for the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation.  2023-Present

  • Accomplishments in 2024 included a summer program for Research Experience for Teachers: Two participants. 

Deputy Director for CBBG in charge of overviewing the Education, Diversity and Outreach Programs.                                                  2015-Present

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Associate Director, National Center for Infrastructure Transformation, US Department of Transportation                                                                2023-Present

Deputy Director, Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                                    2015-Present

Associate Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, ASU, Tempe, AZ.                                                                                       2014-Present

Assistant Professor, Geotechnical Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ASU, Tempe, AZ.                                             2006-2013

Faculty Research Associate, Advanced Pavement Group, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                         2000 – 2006

Research Specialist, Sr., Advanced Pavement Group, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                         1999 – 2000

Graduate Research Assistant, Geotechnical Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                         1995 – 1999

Graduate Research Assistant, Geotechnical Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                         1991 – 1992

INDUSTRY and CONSULTING EXPERIENCE

ZW Consultants – Consultant on environmental effects and unsaturated soil behavior on transportation geotechnics field                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          2015-Present

Department of Defense, ERDC - Expert Panel member: Advisor to the DoD on upgrading their pavement design procedures.                                                     2014

Louisiana State Department of Transportation – Consultant: implementation of environmental models into pavement
design procedures.                                                                                       2011-2013

Applied Research Associates, Inc. – Consultant: Mississippi DOT Project: AASHTO 2002 Pavement Design Guide– Phase II                                                       2011-2012

US Army Corps of Engineers – Consultant: evaluation of airfield design procedures.                                                                                                                                 2010

Associate Geotechnical Engineer, AMEC, Earth & Environmental. Tempe, AZ – Consultant on-call                                                                                         2008-2013

Parsons International, Consultant on-call: geotechnical evaluation of road damages in the Middle East.                                                                         2007-2012

Engineering Consultant, Tomas Shuk Engineers Inc. Bogota, Colombia.    1993-1995

Intern Research Assistant, Project for Sergent, Hauskins & Beckwith & Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                                        1990-1991

Engineering Consultant, AQUATERRA, Engineering Consultants, Ltd. Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                                      1988-1989

Engineering Assistant, Hydroelectric Power Station of Caldas, Colombia (CHEC) & Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                    1987-1988

Engineering and Geology Assistant, Colombian Geological Survey (INGEOMINAS). Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                    1986-1988

Service
  •  Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University – FSE Research Advisory Committee, Technical committee member (2008 - Present)
  • Transportation Research Board - Engineering Behavior of Unsaturated Soils Committee (AFP60), Technical committee member (2007 - Present)
  • Arizona American Society of Civil Engineers – Arizona Geotechnical Division (AzASCE) subcommittee, Technical committee member (2006 - Present)
  •  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IAFSE, Arizona State University – Academic Affa, Technical committee member (2006 - Present)
  • Transportation Research Board – Latin American Transportation Research and Practice Subcommittee –, Technical committee member (2006 - Present)
  •  ASU-ADOT Pavements/Materials/ Transportation Committee – 5 conferences, Technical committee member (2002 - Present)
  • ASCE Geotechnical Engineering Division, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • Geo-Institute Congress, ASCE Geo-Institute, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • International Journal of Road Materials and Pavement Design, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • PWS Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • Soil Science Society of America Journal, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • Transportation Research Board, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • – American Society of Testing Materials - Geotechnical Testing Journal, Official reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • The American Society of Civil Engineers - Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Official Reviewer (1997 - Present)
  • 2006 Unsaturated Soils International Conference, Tempe,, Technical committee member (2004 - 2006)
Consulting

ZW Consultants – Consultant on environmental effects and unsaturated soil behavior on transportation geotechnics field                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          2015-Present

Department of Defense, ERDC - Expert Panel member: Advisor to the DoD on upgrading their pavement design procedures.                                                     2014

Louisiana State Department of Transportation – Consultant: implementation of environmental models into pavement
design procedures.                                                                                       2011-2013

Applied Research Associates, Inc. – Consultant: Mississippi DOT Project: AASHTO 2002 Pavement Design Guide– Phase II                                                       2011-2012

US Army Corps of Engineers – Consultant: evaluation of airfield design procedures.                                                                                                                                 2010

Associate Geotechnical Engineer, AMEC, Earth & Environmental. Tempe, AZ – Consultant on-call                                                                                         2008-2013

Parsons International, Consultant on-call: geotechnical evaluation of road damages in the Middle East.                                                                         2007-2012

Engineering Consultant, Tomas Shuk Engineers Inc. Bogota, Colombia.    1993-1995

Intern Research Assistant, Project for Sergent, Hauskins & Beckwith & Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.                                                                        1990-1991

Engineering Consultant, AQUATERRA, Engineering Consultants, Ltd. Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                                      1988-1989

Engineering Assistant, Hydroelectric Power Station of Caldas, Colombia (CHEC) & Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                    1987-1988

Engineering and Geology Assistant, Colombian Geological Survey (INGEOMINAS). Manizales, Colombia.                                                                                    1986-1988

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