CBBG leadership team
Edward Kavazanjian Jr., Ph.D., P.E.,CBBG Center Director
Edward Kavazanjian returned to academia with an appointment at ASU in 2004 after 20 years in engineering practice. His industrial experience includes working for a large (over 2,000 employees) international firm specializing in civil infrastructure design; a small, entrepreneurial geotechnical specialty consulting firm; and 10 years with a geoenvironmental consulting firm that grew from 100 to over 400 people during his tenure. At the geoenvironmental consulting firm, he served on the Board of Directors, was discipline leader for geotechnical and landfill engineering, managed multi-disciplinary engineering services contracts of up to $8.4 million in value (for the City of Los Angles Department of Public Works), and managed geotechnical services on Superfund design/construct remediation projects with total value from $13 million to over $150 million. Professor Kavazanjian was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2013 for his work as a consulting engineer. He is widely recognized for his research on waste containment systems, seismic analysis and design of geotechnical features for transportation systems, and in the emerging field of biogeotechnical engineering.
Claudia E. Zapata, Ph.D., CBBG Center Deputy Director Claudia
Zapata is an Associate Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at ASU. Her research interests focus on laboratory and field characterization of problematic soils and bio-mediated geomaterials, the behavior of soils due to repeated loading and environmental effects, and modeling fluid flow and volume change of soils applied to pavement structures and residential foundation systems. She is also heavily invested in engineering education and diversity and outreach activities. Her current research activities include the study of fluid flow in soils due to thermal gradients and how it affects airfield pavement structures and the introduction of unsaturated soil mechanics principles into the undergraduate geotechnical engineering curriculum. She has played a major role in the development of models to incorporate environmental effects into pavement design practice, including the newest AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide, and in development of a database of unsaturated soil properties for the continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Jason DeJong, Ph.D., Thrust leader for Hazard Mitigation (Thrust 1)
Jason DeJong is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UCD. Through his Soil Interactions Laboratory, he directs research into bio-mediated soils processes, advanced site characterization, behavior of intermediate and gravelly soils, sustainable geotechnical practice, and deep foundation performance. Fundamental scientific advances in these research areas have been successfully upscaled to full-scale field deployment in practice, including MICP trials at a mining site, characterization of gravel in the foundation of several large dams in California, and development of standards on offshore site characterization. Professor DeJong has given several keynote lectures at national and international conferences and is the lead author of several pioneering publications on biogeotechnics. His work has been funded through more than $5M in industry, state and federal grants, which led to over 100 peer-reviewed publications and the training of more than 40 graduate students.
Leon van Paassen, Ph.D. Thrust leader for Environmental Protection and Ecological Restoration (Thrust 2)
Leon van Paassen is Associate Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) and Senior Investigator at the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centre for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG). He has more than 15 years research experience and expertise in the biological, chemical, and geotechnical characterization of soils and biochemical reactive transport and multiphase flow in porous media. Past and current research projects include, bio-based ground improvement through microbially induced carbonate precipitation, liquefaction mitigation through desaturation by stimulating nitrate-reducing bacteria to produce nitrogen gas, using bio mineralization for dust suppression, bio-mediated iron precipitation for permeability reduction and mangrove inspired scour protection for submerged foundation systems. His affiliation to CBBG and collaboration with industrial partners allowed him to develop and transfer several of these technologies from a proof-of-concept in the laboratory to field scale demonstration projects for a variety of geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering applications. He teaches courses on Geotechnical Engineering, Engineering Geology, Bio-based Geotechnical Engineering and Advanced Geotechnical Testing. Since May 2020 he acts as Co-Principal Investigator for CBBG at ASU and leads the research thrust on Environmental Protection and Restoration, which includes projects on restoring surface crusts of disturbed soil sites, groundwater remediation of chlorinated solvents or heavy metals, nutrient removal from surface water and the development of microbial enhanced permeable reactive barriers. His mission is to integrate the fields of environmental biotechnology and geotechnical engineering, aiming to develop sustainable solutions, which improve resource efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of civil and mining engineering industry.
Paola Bandini, Ph.D., P.E. Thrust leader for Infrastructure Construction (Thrust 3)
Paola Bandini is the Wells-Hatch Professor of Civil Engineering at NMSU. Her current research interests include the development of bioinspired methods in geotechnical engineering (for ground improvement, deep foundations, soil erosion control), soil characterization (desert soils, diatomaceous soils, cemented sands), sustainable earthen construction, and social cognitive factors that affect academic and career persistence of engineering students. She is a licensed professional engineer and was awarded a U.S. patent (2021) resulting from her research. Her projects have been funded by federal and state grants and contracts for over $13.5 million ($8.3 million as principal investigator). She has graduated 38 students in the MS and PhD programs at NMSU. She served as the Chair of two standing committees of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) (2011‐2018) and has organized technical sessions, workshops, and meetings for the TRB Annual Meetings and other conferences. In the Geo‐Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Professor Bandini serves as the secretary of the Engineering Geology & Site Characterization Committee and member of the Student Participation Committee. In 2021, she was appointed Councilor of Geo-Institute’s Technical Coordination Council (TCC). Professor Bandini is the NMSU lead and one of the co-PIs of the grant that funds CBBG.
J. David Frost, Ph.D., P.E. Thrust Leader for Subsurface Exploration and Excavation (Thrust 4)
David Frost is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Georgia Tech. Prior to entering academia, he worked in industry in Ireland and Canada on infrastructure and natural resource related projects. A core focus throughout his career has been the study of natural and man-made systems and materials. His research is centered on the application and development of digital technologies for studying subsurface problems at multiple scales and he has received two U.S. patents for multi-sensor subsurface systems. He has graduated more than 30 PhD students, 40% of whom have gone on to academic positions. He has served on or led post-disaster study teams following disasters in the US, Turkey, India, China, Chile and Japan and is a founding member and co-chair of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association. He has organized numerous workshops and conferences on the applications of spatial analysis and image processing techniques to study the response of geomaterial systems under various loading conditions. He is a registered professional engineer in the US and Canada.
Delia Saenz, Ph.D. Diversity Director
Delia Saenz is Associate Professor of Psychology and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Arizona State University. Her doctorate, in Social Psychology, was awarded from Princeton University in 1987. She served previously as an assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame before moving to ASU. Dr. Saenz is also a Research Professor in the ASU Hispanic Research Center, and during her tenure at ASU, she has served administratively as Director of the Graduate Program in Social Psychology, interim Associate Dean of the Graduate College, and Director of the Intergroup Relations Center. Dr. Saenz is a Fellow of the Western Psychological Association, and has served as Representative at Large and Program Chair for WPA. She is also a member of the editorial board for Small Group Research.
Jennifer Chandler, Ph.D. Assistant Director for Diversity and Leadership
Jennifer Chandler is a Lecturer in the Leadership and Integrative Studies Unit in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University. Her expertise is in project management and in examining dominant social norms within leadership contexts. Her research interests focus on effective strategies and techniques for recognizing and disrupting dominant norms that perpetuate the systemic and structural marginalization of groups of people. Dr. Chandler has served in the CBBG IDEA Working Group since 2015. She developed the CBBG Mentor Guide and leads the mentoring training. Prior to pursuing her graduate degree, Dr. Chandler served over 20 years as a project and program manager for information technology projects undertaken by large multinational corporations and federal agencies.
Nasser Hamdan, Ph.D. CBBG Industrial Collaboration and Innovation Director
Nasser Hamdan is the CBBG Industrial Collaboration and Innovation Director and an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment Arizona State University (ASU). In 2009, he returned to ASU to pursue his graduate studies after 10 years as an owner and operator of several small businesses. Upon receiving his PhD in biogeotechnics, he worked as a geoenvironmental engineer for a leading global engineering/architecture design firm. Hamdan is also a Senior Investigator in CBBG and has experience coordinating projects that involve integration of multiple disciplines, including geochemistry and microbiology and industry/academia collaboration. He has experience identifying project partnership opportunities and has developed project collaborations with industry and procured funding for those projects. He is a co-inventor on five U.S. patents for soil stabilization technologies that have applications in geotechnical engineering and environmental engineering. Hamdan has expertise in biogeotechnics with a focus on biogeochemistry. He works on projects for remediation of mining-and agriculturally- impacted waters and soils and on ground improvement projects. He is engaged in projects involving induced mineral precipitation, biological transformations, applied biopolymers, and the beneficial reuse of organic and inorganic waste materials such as plant biomass, urine and steel slag. Phone: (480) 965-2277, Email: [email protected]
Jean Larson, Ph.D. Education Director
Jean Larson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor in both the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and the Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Technology, postgraduate training in Computer Systems Engineering, and many years of experience teaching and developing curriculum in various learning environments. She has taught technology integration and teacher training to undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University, students at the K-12 level locally and abroad, and various workshops and modules in business and industry. Dr. Larson is experienced in the application of instructional design, delivery, evaluation, and specializes in eLearning technologies for training and development. Her research focuses on the efficient and effective transfer of knowledge and learning techniques, innovative and interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening the bridge between K-12 learning and higher education in terms of engineering content.
Charlotte Bowens, Administrative Director
Charlotte Bowens, Administrative Director, started at CBBG in July 2020 and brings years of sponsored research administration experience, including grant and financial management, human resources oversight, proposal and budget development, operational support, and strategic planning. Prior to joining CBBG, she was the Research Advancement Manager for the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. During her tenure at the University of Michigan she served as the Administrator for the Automotive Research Center and the Senior Research Process Manager for the College of Pharmacy. Her entrepreneurial endeavors include providing financial, marketing and strategic planning consulting services to tech startups, food entrepreneurs and various emerging small to mid-sized businesses.
Leah Folkestad, Ph.D.Education Coordinator
Dr. Leah Folkestad joined CBBG as the Education Coordinator in January 2021. She’s experienced in working with faculty and industry in engineering. As the Director of Educational Technology for the ASU’s College of Engineering, she partnered with faculty to build online courses, research, write grants, and evaluate programs. Recently, she built online Global Logistics courses and a certification program for Centennial College in Canada. She has even collaborated with CBBG to implement and evaluate Problem-Based Learning pedagogy and published the results. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and a M.Ed. in Educational Media and Computers from ASU. She brings 20 years of experience working with stakeholders in education and industry creating engaging, innovative learning programs.
Srivatsan Hohana Rangan,CBBG Student Leadership Council President
Mary Bankhead, M.A., M.S. Project Coordinator
Mary L. Bankhead joined the CBBG Team in February 2019 as the Project Coordinator/Fiscal Specialist. As the CBBG Project Coordinator, she is responsible for managing day-to-day center operations, assisting with budget oversight and transactions, and supporting all Center team members. With her Master of Arts in Counseling (Northern Arizona University) and Master of Science (Eastern Illinois University), she brings with her over fifteen years of Higher Education Administration experience including Student Affairs, Facilities, Operations, and Finance Management. Prior to joining CBBG, she served in fiscal management and operations roles with Arizona State University and training and facilitation roles with Thunderbird School of Global Management.