GeoComp Device Maintenance and Calibration
August, 2026
We were fortunate to welcome Artur from Geocomp to our campus to service our devices. His visit offered us a great opportunity to learn directly from his expertise, gain practical knowledge, and ask important questions regarding use and maintenance of our lab devices. With Artur’s calibrations and meticulous attention to detail, we have a refreshed confidence that our devices are operating in their best working order and ready for testing to contribute to research and consultant projects.
Welcoming New Undergraduate Researchers!
Summer Term, 2026
We are excited to welcome four new undergraduate students to our geotechnical engineering department. Ba, Abdul, Deshna and Xivi (left to right) are civil engineering students who are preparing to enter the final year of their bachelor’s degree. They all have a strong interest in soil mechanics, which they are exploring further by gaining experience working alongside graduate students in our university lab. The interns are starting their time in the department by familiarizing themselves with soil index tests to provide support for the research and consultant testing which takes place in our lab.
Moving Monotonically: Intact Specimen Testing
Spring Term, 2025
Amir (PhD candidate) has been productive in the PSU geotechnical laboratory, focusing heavily on both academic and professional pursuits. He’s dedicated a significant amount of time to writing a paper which thoroughly analyzes data from various research tests and client projects. A key area of focus has been understanding the monotonic behavior of materials; he’s also started to lay the groundwork for his next paper which will explore the cyclic behavior of many of these same soils.
CPTu Centrifuge Modeling: Learning in the Lab
Fall Term, 2024
Sal (PhD student) attended a workshop at the UC Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM) to learn about the lab’s physical modeling capabilities. Following the workshop, he spent a few weeks assisting UC Davis Ph.D. student, David Silva, with his own modeling project. The lessons learned are helping him prepare for his own centrifuge modeling project, which is expected to take place during the second half of 2025.
OMSI Science Pub: Cascadia Earthquake and Oher Disasters – Are we Ready?
November, 2024
Yumei Wang (Affiliate Faculty and Senior Advisor on Infrastructure Resilience and Risk in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept; Affiliate Faculty and Senior Advisor on Community Resilience and Disaster Preparedness in the Institute of Sustainable Solutions) presented a lecture at OMSI on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the urgent need to improve deficient lifeline systems. Her talk touched on the research that PSU graduate students are performing, and brought down Kayla Sorenson to answer some questions from the audience during the Q&A portion of this event!
Microbially Induced Desaturation: Field Data Collection
Summer, 2024
Fadzai (MS student) and Kayla (PhD candidate) worked at the PSU field site throughout the summer on a variety of projects to better understand the subsurface spatial distribution of gases created by MID.
– In collaboration with the University of Maine, the site was mapped using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). CPT and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy testing was also performed.
– Additional volumetric water content sensors were installed with the help of Arizona State University adjunct associate research professor Leon van Paassen.
Wharf Centrifuge Model Project: Proof of Concept Modeling
Spring Term, 2024
Earl (MS student) and Benyamin (PhD student), under the direction of Dr. Arash Khosravifar, have been building a mockup of a model box that will be used at the 9m centrifuge at UC Davis. This project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, will focus on the seismic behavior of wharf structures in liquefiable soils. The project team plans to conduct a total of three centrifuge tests in 2024 and 2025.
Portland State Magazine: Digging Deep
Spring Term, 2024
The feature story of the April 2024 edition of the Portland State magazine highlights PhD Candidate Kayla Sorenson! The article delves into her academic journey, her research on liquefaction mitigation using microbially induced desaturation, and the importance of disaster preparedness.
Digging Deep: Portland State University Digital Magazine
