Mohammed (Mo) Gabr is Professor of Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University specializing in Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University in December 1987. He was then awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and spent 1988 at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). Upon returning to the US, he worked as a Project Engineer for Woodward-Clyde Consultants until August 1991; at that time he joined West Virginia University (WVU). He has been Assistant and then Associate Professor(1995) at West Virginia University from 8/91 to 1/98 and Associate then Full Professor at North Carolina State University from 1/98 to present. Dr. Gabr spent the summers of 1992 and 1993 as a Research Faculty at the Waterways Experiment Station, Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg. Dr. Gabr was the recipient of the 1996 Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He was selected as the 1993 West Virginia Young Engineer of the Year by ASCE. He received the 1993-94 Outstanding College Researcher award and 1995-96 Outstanding College Teacher award from the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources (CEMR) at WVU. He received the 1994-95 J.C. Burnichal Teaching award and the 1994-95 Outstanding Advisor award from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at WVU. He was selected as a North Carolina State University Outstanding Teacher, received an Alumni Outstanding Teacher award, and was elected to the academy of Outstanding Teachers at the University in 2008. He was named "Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor" in 2009, a title retained while appointed as a member of the NC State faculty. He is the College of Engineering Recipient of the 2011 Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is the former Chair of the Transportation Research Board national committee on Physicochemical Properties of Soils (1997-2003), and the ASCE Geo-Institute national committee on Geosynthetics (2000-2008.) Dr. Gabr served as editorial board member (EBM) of the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (2001-2006) and as Editor of the Environmental Geotechnics Section of Geotechnical News (1998-2004). He currently serves as EBM of ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal and as Editor of the ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. Dr. Gabr was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2000. He is a registered professional engineer in five states.

TEACHING

Dr. Gabr considers teaching to be his passion. He endeavors to create a comfortable learning environment, clearly define learning objectives and expectations, and focus on teaching basics and innovations for lifelong learning. He regularly teaches CE 342, CE 435, CE 443, CE 584, CE 741,and CE 747. He pursues cutting-edge innovative concepts in response to emerging challenges in Civil Engineering education. To this end, he has secured funding with his colleagues, from the National Science Foundation (NSF), for two projects on development of innovative teaching approaches. The first project aimed at adaptation of information technology for incorporation of internet-enabled Civil Engineering laboratory experiments in geotechnical courses. The second aims at incorporating sensors and instrumentation for monitoring engineering infrastructure in the civil engineering undergraduate curriculum. Dr. Gabr has been teaching since 1991 and has served on several committees and professional organizations where achieving excellence in education is a primary focus.

RESEARCH

Dr. Gabr's research programs are the results of work by his graduate students and experience accumulated through interaction and cooperation with colleagues over the years, and in various places including North Carolina State University (NCSU), Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Woodward-Clyde Consultants, West Virginia University (WVU), and the Waterways Experiment Station (WES). Dr. Gabr’s research is multifaceted in nature and encompasses the areas of in-situ soil flushing, waste characterization and properties, scour, limit states of protective earth structure, geosynthetics, and shallow and deep foundations. Primary areas of research are summarized as follows:

Base Support and Reinforcement

We have conducted research in the area of soil reinforcement focused on strain-based analysis in terms of defining the contribution of reinforcement to the soil modulus as well as characterizing the variation in strain within the soil mass due to synthetic reinforcement. Our work branched out to include the effect of including polymeric reinforcement on crater forming under explosions as a part of a project we conducted at US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station. At present, on-going work is extending the soil reinforcement research to discern the behavior of a soil mass with various reinforcement types for the stabilization of soft subgrade soils under cyclic loading. The results of this work will be incorporated in a constitutive model for the design/analysis of reinforced soils under cyclic loading.

In Situ Assessment of Scour

We have developed an in situ scour evaluation device called ISEP to allow for rapid assessment of the scour potential of soil with depth around hydraulic structures throughout their designated lifetime, but especially prior to, and after, storm events. The ISEP has been tested in coastal sands, coastal peat as well as in the Laboratory.

Levees and Seepage Analysis

We have conducted research in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) related to the development of methods for analyzing and assessing the risk of failure of levees. We have introduced the concept of Deformation-Based Limit States for protective earth structures investigated the consequences of repeated storm loading on the functionality for a given limit state.

Piles and Drilled Shafts

Our research in the area of deep foundation has developed methods for analysis of drilled shafts on slopes as well as the use of in situ tests for analysis of laterally loaded shafts. We have extended this work to investigate the buckling behavior of piles taking into account the presence of the soil to provide lateral support with variable lateral subgrade distribution, as well as the impact of various boundary conditions on piles behavior. We have performed research on the use of in situ measurement techniques for obtaining parameters used in pile/shaft design. We have conducted research to investigate the effect of embedment in soft weathered rock profiles on lateral shaft behavior as well as the influence of various degree of fixity on the measured P-y curves. We have introduced a simple model for estimating the point of fixity for use in bridge design.

Well Injection Depth Extraction (WIDE) System for Enhanced Soil Flushing

An achievement in this research area is the pioneering use of prefabricated vertical wells (PVWs) for accelerated soil flushing. The technology termed Well Injection Depth Extraction (WIDE) aims at reducing the clean up time in soils with a large fines fraction. The research was proclaimed as a success story by the Department of Energy. The WIDE technology was subjected to a level II independent peer review process conducted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute for Regulatory Science.

Surfactant Flushing of PAH’s and DNAPLs in Clayey Soils

In conjunction with the development of an enhanced pump and treat system, we have conducted research in the area of surfactant flushing of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s) and Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs). The research was focused on soil clogging as a result of introducing surfactant and investigated the redistribution of the contaminant within the soil/liquid/air phases during flushing, the quantitative measurement of the contaminated soil’s hydraulic conductivity and its variation during the flushing process, and the effect of the clay content on flushing levels.

Recycle of Industrial By-Products and Waste Characterization

We have also established a research program on the use and recycling of by-product industrial material for the development of grout and flowable fill materials as well the utilization of geosynthetics to facilitate such applications. Results of the research on grout development have been successfully implemented by the US Bureau of Mines at a site in Waynsburg, Pennsylvania, for the abatement of acid mine drainage. As fly ash differs from natural soils in aspects related to physical and chemical characteristics, we have developed design criteria for the long term assessment of filtration and clogging of nonwoven geotextiles retaining fly ash fill material as well as methods pertaining to sample preparation techniques and the impact of such techniques on filtration and drainage behavior.

Recent Research Projects for Gabr

• Performance of Cracking Mitigation Strategies on Cracked Flexible Pavements — 08/16/11 - 08/15/14 Details
• Field Verification of Undercut Criteria and Alternatives for Subgrade Stabilization — 08/16/10 - 03/31/12 Details
• DHS Homeland Security HS-STEM Career Development Grants (CDG) — 09/30/09 - 09/29/12 Details
• Design Guidelines For Geosynthetic Moisture Barriers in Pavement Applications — 09/01/08 - 09/30/11 Details
• Integration of Sensor Technologies Into the Civil Engineering Curriculum — 02/01/09 - 07/31/12 Details
• Investigation of Highway Asset Inventory and Data Collection Methods — 04/01/08 - 04/30/09 Details
• Field Verification of Undercut Criteria and Alternatives for Subgrade Stabilization — 04/01/09 - 08/15/10 Details
• Development of Undercut Criteria and Alternatives for Subgrade Stabilization — 08/01/07 - 10/31/09 Details
• Engineering the Civil Infrastructure For Enhanced Resiliance of the Built and Natural Environments — 07/01/08 - 06/30/14 Details
• Ground Surface Vibrations and Noise Generated by Pile Driving: Eisenhower Fellowship — 09/01/06 - 09/01/09 Details

IN CCEE, Dr. Gabr is affiliated with

Water Resources, Coastal & Environmental Engineering

Geotechnical / Geoenvironmental Engineering

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Upcoming Courses
Taught By Gabr

• CE 741 - 001 — Fall '12 Geomechanics of Stress Deformation