Research Interests
1. Constitutive Modeling and Computation Mechanics
a. Thermal-Damage-Plasticity Coupled Constitutive Modeling Framework
b. Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Simulation
c. Petroleum Geomechanics

2. Innovative Geotechnical Testing
a. Transparent Soil and PIV
b. Prototype Railroad Ballast Testing
c. Non-Destructive Testing on Pavement Subgrades
d. Soil Moisture, Suction, and Thermal Conductivity Measurements

3. Nano-geomechanics, Bio-geomechanics and Geo-Environmental Sustainability

Research Projects
Principal investigator (with Dr. Thomas Petry), Optimizing Equipment and Methods to Evaluate the Quality of Pavement Subgrades, Senator Bond Fund in Transportation Research, Missouri Transportation Institute, active.

Principal Investigator, Using PIV and Silica Gels in Soil Mechanics Research - Focusing on Identifying Proper Pore Fluids in Transparent Soils, University of Missouri System Research Board, completed.

Co-Principal Investigator (with Dr. Thomas Petry and Dr. David Richardson), Resilient Moduli of Typical Missouri Soils and Unbound Granular Base Materials, Missouri Department of Transportation, completed.

Co-Principal Investigator (with Dr. Genda Chen and Dr. Frank Liu), Assessment of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge Based on Seismic Instrumentations Data, Missouri Department of Transportation, completed.