Bio

Dr. Shane Underwood is a Professor, University Faculty Scholar, and Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. Prior to this appointment he was an Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. He received his doctorate degree in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University December of 2011. Dr. Underwood teaches courses on pavement engineering and infrastructure materials and has received multiple awards for teaching and service.

Area(s) of Expertise

Dr. Underwood's research and education program focuses on materials and their interaction with society and the natural and built environments. This program pursues research, education, and service activities that evaluate, inform, and shape the science of these interactions, particularly how material decisions influence the use, function, and impact of civil infrastructure. As he and his students pursue these questions both broadly (by expanding the scope or significance of impact assessment) and deeply (by building the methods and models to better explain the physical behaviors that occur) new findings are integrated into his teaching. He and his students pursue this research in two ways. First, they use experimental mechanics and constitutive models to evaluate and understand the behavior of infrastructure materials, principally asphalt concrete. This knowledge is then exploited to better engineer the materials and/or structures to achieve sustainability and resiliency. Second, they use emerging perspectives and analytical tools to assess the role of social constructs in governing the impact of technological advances on infrastructure. Specific attention is given to pavements and with a focus on resilience due to a recognition that pavement engineering and indeed engineering of infrastructure in the built environment is facing great uncertainty.