Industry
Featured project
Forensic investigation of the Champlain Towers South collapse, Miami, USA
Champlain Towers South was one of three oceanfront condominium towers in Surfside, Miami, Florida. The building had 136 condo residences and was 12 stories high. At approximately 1:30 AM EDT, on June 24th, 2021, Champlain Towers South partially collapsed. The collapse happened suddenly and resulted in 98 deaths. The US president declared a state of emergency in Florida and visited the impacted families. The rest of the building was demolished on July 4th, 2021. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been collaborating with federal, state, and local authorities to identify and preserve materials and information that might help explain why the collapse occurred. I was invited as a foreign associate with NIST to aid in the forensic investigation of the collapse. The information accessible by the public can be found on the NIST website.
Industry story
My career in the industry took flight immediately after graduation when I joined Petrobel as an owner representative. During my initial months at Petrobel, I undertook the design of my very first multistory residential building. Witnessing the transformation of my structural drawings on a laptop into a tangible structure bustling with construction workers, I was captivated by the profound impact of engineering. I contributed to the industry through different avenues, from structural and geotechnical engineering designs, providing software to aid engineers in addressing challenging problems, to providing highly specialized services to high-profile projects.
Timeline
Assistant Professor | University of Rhode Island, USA (August 2024)
Graduate research assistant | Utah State University, USA (August 2020- August 2024)
Graduate research assistant | Alabama A&M University, USA (January 2019 – August 2020)
Structural and Geotechnical Engineer | EMC as technical support for Petrobel, Egypt (January 2013 – January 2019)
Utah State University
Noninvasive subsurface imaging has important applications in the industry. Probably, the most important one of all is its close relationship with site response analysis. Other applications include void, anomaly detection, dams, and levees integrity tests. I have worked with Professor Brady Cox on several high-profile projects related to subsurface imaging.
Roles:
Establish the Earthquake Engineering and Subsurface Imaging Lab at Utah State University with Professor Brady Cox.
Conduct dynamic field investigations for high-profile projects using invasive and noninvasive seismic wave techniques.
Process the field-collected data to characterize the soil constitutive small strain parameters.
Selected projects:
Dynamic site characterization for the Natrium Nuclear Power Plant, Wyoming, USA
Subsurface Imaging for the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, Michigan, USA
Shear wave velocity profiling of the Duynefontein nuclear power plant, South Africa.
Forensic soil investigation of the Champlain Towers South collapse, FL, USA.
Dynamic soil characterization for a large bridge interchange, South Carolina, USA.
Anomaly detection for Texas DOT, TX, USA.
Renovation of the Salt Lake City Temple, UT, USA
3D imaging and seismic site response of Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Alabama A&M University
The methodologies developed by Professor Ashour and I are incorporated into software that is either a priori requested by organizations or is incorporated into general-purpose packages available online for practicing engineers and researchers.
Roles:
Analyze existing soil-pile interaction methodologies and identify their limitations.
Develop novel soil models and soil-pile interaction techniques that address the limitations of the current state of practice.
Implement the proposed and validated solution in a software package.
Write technical reports and user manuals explaining the developed methodologies and software in detail.
Selected projects:
Developed the proprietary software utilized by the Alabama DOT for the design of axially loaded piles and pile groups.
Updated the Strain Wedge Model (SWM) technique, which is used by various companies and DOTs in the US and worldwide.
Developed software for evaluating the downdrag loads on bridge pile foundations in inundated collapsible soils, completed for the National Center for Transportation Infrastructure & Life-Extension (TriDurLE).
Belayim Petroleum Company (PetroBel)
During my six years at Petrobel, I served as owner representative. Over this time, I worked on a variety of civil engineering projects in various capacities. After starting as a site engineer, I later became a structural designer and went on to manage all civil work at the Belayem site for three years. Petrobel operates within its own town, which contains all the facilities it needs to function independently. These facilities include residential buildings, airports, hospitals, electrical power stations, seawater treatment plants, sewer systems, etc. Example reports of projects operated by the civil department in PetroBel can be found here.
Roles:
Led the structural engineering design team at PetroBel's South Sinai division, overseeing the successful completion of a variety of complex projects.
Conducted thorough analysis of project designs, completed detailed technical studies, and developed accurate cost estimates to determine project specifications.
Ensured strict adherence to all health, safety, and legal requirements throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Developed and presented regular status reports to stakeholders, closely monitoring budgets, contractors, and schedules to ensure the timely completion of all projects.
Supervised a team of junior engineers and technicians, providing expert guidance and support for all civil engineering-related projects in the Belayim area.
Selected projects:
PetroBel residential buildings in Belayim and Abu-Rudies.
EPSCO's residential buildings in Belayim Area.
Inspection of conductor pipes applicability for use as pile foundations for offshore platforms (Group action).
The wastewater treatment plant in the Belayim area.
The seawater treatment plant in the Belayim area.
Belayim Sewage network including the collection sump.
VIP villa's repair in Petrobel camp.
Over fifty oil rig foundations and manifolds.
Oil Tanks Bundwalls in Belayim area and Ferran station.
Several Oil lines alignment and foundations.
Fire fighting draining system in Ferran shipping station.
Several oil tanks' foundations in 10-1 station.
The pollution control project in El tor, south Sinai.
Patrico facilities repair (phase two).
