Geotechnical Engineering & Geomechanics

Welcome to the Center for Infrastructure, Energy, and Space Testing (CIEST) at CU Boulder, an experimental facility offering geotechnical centrifuges, structural dynamics and materials testing and research for business, government, and academic partners. CIEST is home to a massive array of cutting edge, specialized facilities to conduct small and large...

Engineering a sustainable and equitable future takes innovation and collaboration. Shideh Dashti is the Acting Associate Dean of Research at CU Boulder's College of Engineering & Applied Science, as well as an Associate Professor in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department. Dean Dashti's research is specifically focused on geotechnical...

The drone whirs to life on a driveway in the Spanish Hills neighborhood of Boulder County. Its four spinning motors lift it to nearly 200 feet above the ground. Below, the cul-de-sac comes into view, revealing the stone chimneys and blackened foundations that dot the hillside—what remains of many of...

Nearly one month after the Marshall Fire became the most destructive and one of the most unique wildfires in Colorado history, CU Boulder researchers from across campus—many of them personally affected by the fire—have pivoted and applied their expertise to the aftermath, hoping to learn from a tragedy in their...

The Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Interdisciplinary Research Theme is funding two new projects this summer through its seed grant initiative. Interdisciplinary Research Themes in the college are made of faculty, staff and students. They help researchers coordinate faculty hires, share facilities and use seed funding to leverage work...

Associate Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and Geomechanics Shideh Dashti has received the 2021 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize for “her work in advancing the state-of-the-art in evaluating and improving the seismic performance of structures on liquefiable soil deposits.” The award consists of a certificate and $400 cash prize...

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the Fukushima earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan. The three explosions and release of nuclear radiation forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people and re-opened old wounds from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War...

Led by Assistant Research Professor Brad Wham, the team will use the award to develop a new testing and modeling framework to allow the gas industry to better evaluate the products it uses to rehabilitate aging cast iron and steel natural gas pipelines.