Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering - Geotechnical Engineering

University of Maine

The coastal region of Maine is known for Presumpscot Formation clay, a glacial soil deposit that is susceptible to dramatic landslides and that has caused building settlements and challenges to the construction of all types and sizes of structures. The Presumpscot Formation is the focus of two local symposia in 1987 and 2015, and the proceedings for both can be found at the 2015 Symposium website.Research opportunities are available to study the behavior of soft and stiff clays (such as the Presumpscot Formation) investigation of natural hazards in land, coastal, and near-shore environments soil structure interaction using full scale installations and/or modeling of scaled systems onshore and offshore site characterization employing in situ, geophysical, and laboratory methods thermal behavior of soils related to energy transfer, permafrost vulnerability and cold regions engineering.