A civil engineering expert with a Ph.D. (2003, Arizona State University) and M.S. (1999, University of Maryland) in Civil Engineering, plus a bachelor’s degree from Romania’s Gheorghe Asachi Technical University (1997). They currently serve as a Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) since 2014, and Director of its Pavement Recycling and Reclaiming Center since 2012.
With industry experience as a Senior Engineer/Project Manager at MACTEC (now Wood PLC) and Fugro Consultants, they specialize in pavement materials, design, and sustainability—developing predictive models for unbound material resilience (incorporated into national pavement design software) and the Green Up Pavement Rehabilitation Decision Tool. They teach core/elective courses (e.g., Civil Engineering Materials, Sustainable Buildings) impacting 300+ students yearly, have advised 12+ master’s students, and served as a Visiting Professor at UCLA (2018, 2020, 2021). They also co-founded West Coast Engineering Consultants (2008–present) and hold California/ Texas PE licenses plus LEED Green Associate certification.