Adam Hand

Education/Licensure/Certification
• Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1998
• M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1995
• B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1993
• Registered Professional Engineer: Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon
• Six Sigma Black Belt Certified, CS International Inc.
• Certified Professional Winemaker, University of California, Davis
Appointments
• University of Nevada, Reno, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Professor (07/22–present).
• University of Nevada, Reno, Civil & Env. Engineering, Associate Professor (07/16–06/22).
• Granite Construction Inc. (GCI), Vice President, Quality Management (2010–2016).
• Granite Construction Inc., Director of Quality Management, (2009–2010).
• Granite Construction Inc., Engineering Services Manager (2006–2009).
• Granite Construction Inc., Alternative Procurement Pavement Designer (2003–2006).
• Granite Construction Inc., Quality Systems Engineer (2000–2003).
• Purdue University, Civil Engineering, Assistant Professor (1998–2000).
• Western Regional Superpave Center (WRSC), University of Nevada, Reno, Research Faculty (1994–1998).
Qualifications
Dr. Hand has over 30 years of construction industry and academic experience in pavement materials, design, construction and sustainability, including horizontal and vertical construction, construction materials, construction management, quality management and forensics on alternative procurement transportation facilities (roads and highways, airfields, rail, tunnel, and mining) across the U.S. Teaching, research and consulting experience includes sustainable pavements and materials, development innovative asphalt pavement technologies, forensic analyses and expert witness. In the VP Quality Management role at GCI he had corporate responsibility for QM 13 AASHTO ReSource accredited labs in the U.S. with annual budgets up to $15M and multiple heavy civil APM projects. He also led the development and ISO certification of the first integrated ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 management system of a construction company in the U.S. Dr. Hand was intricately involved in the materials, mix design, construction, QM, and analysis of the FHWA-sponsored WesTrack full-scale accelerated pavement project and is current a member of the AAPTP Feasibility of Cold Central Plant Recycling (CCPR) Asphalt Mixtures for Airports research team with planned test sections at the William J. Hughes Technical Center.

Dr. Hand has served as a PI or Co-PI on multiple NCHRP, FHWA, FAA, State DOTs, and other projects. He is an active technical community member having delivering over 200 invited presentations and over 150 publications. He is an editorial board member of the ASTM Advances in Civil Engineering Materials Journal. He is also the Past President of AAPT, a member of ASCE, ASTM, ASQ, AAPT, DPS ETG, FHWA TFG, NAPA, NSPE, and TRB. He chairs the Nevada State Public Works Board (Gubernatorial appointment), TRB Asphalt Pavement Construction and Rehabilitation Committee, and NAPA Net Zero Taskforce, and serves on 2 TRB and 2 NAPA committees. Dr. Hand was one of the four founding board of directors of the Greenroads Foundation.

Elnaz Seylabi

I am an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Nevada Reno. Before joining UNR in 2019, I was a postdoctoral scholar at the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department at the California Institute of Technology (2017-2019). I received a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (with a major in Structural Mechanics and a minor in Applied Mathematics) from the University of California Los Angeles, an M.Sc. in Earthquake Engineering, and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology. My research focuses on risk-informed engineering of geostructural systems, near-surface characterization, and computational methods for efficient performance-based engineering and uncertainty quantification.

Rubab Saher

My research mainly focuses on urban irrigation water management using remote sensing datasets. I am primarily interested in improving the existing physical process for urban landscapes in the hope of saving water in arid cities.

Erica Marti

Dr. Erica Marti’s main research interests are in water and wastewater treatment, especially in the area of transforming wastewater for a beneficial reuse (drinking water, irrigation water, etc.). Past work has included understanding the formation of unregulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and investigating different methods to prevent their formation. DBPs are created when water is disinfected with chemical oxidants like different forms of chlorine and ozone. We use the chemicals to inactivate pathogens (bacteria, viruses, etc.) but the chemicals can react with other dissolved organics and inorganics to create unwanted byproducts, some of which are toxic. Therefore, water treatment professionals must work carefully to provide the right amount of oxidant for disinfection while minimizing DBPs.
Future research topics include remediation of polluted groundwater, adsorption of heavy metals from wastewater using biochar made from agricultural waste products, uptake of DBPs in plants grown using treated wastewater, and optimizing toxicity assays for DBPs.
Dr. Marti also conducts research in the area of STEM education and has led several Teacher Professional Development programs for integrated STEM lessons and engineering design.

Hai Pham

I am currently a postdoctoral fellow working in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences (DHS), at the Desert Research Institute (DRI). I obtained my Ph.D. in Hydrology from LSU. Before I joined DRI in 2016, I worked as a postdoc fellow at LSU.

My research aims to reduce uncertainty in groundwater modeling with focus on developing computer programs for prediction of flow and contaminant movement in porous and fractured media, uncertainty assessment of hydrologic parameters, conceptual models, and scenarios, optimization, and experimental designs using high-performance computing systems. At DRI, I am developing computer models to predict flow and radionuclide transport through fractured rock aquifers at the Pahute Mesa of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

I enjoy conducting research and publishing, developing grant proposals as well as teaching university courses and mentoring students.

Yu (Frank) Yang

Dr. Yang’s current research interests and strengths are focused on the organic matter-mineral-bacteria interfacial redox reactions, critical for global cycles of carbon/nitrogen and emergent contaminants.

Daniel Gerrity

Water and wastewater treatment: biological, physical, and chemical treatment processes

Indirect potable reuse (IPR) and direct potable reuse (DPR): Water quality, public health, and public perception

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs): Ozone, ozone/H2O2, UV/H2O2, TiO2 photocatalysis

Trace organic contaminants (TOrCs), including pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds

Environmental microbiology (disinfection and methods): Bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites

Jacimaria Batista

Dr. Jacimária Batista is a professor of environmental engineering at UNLV. Her research involves technology development for water and wastewater treatment. She has built an international and national reputation for her pioneering work on treatment technologies to remove the contaminant perchlorate from waters. Dr. Batista is the inventor of a hybrid technology for perchlorate removal (U.S. patent #7407581). In addition to her work on perchlorate, Dr. Batista investigated the removal of several contaminants by ion-exchange, the treatment of ion-exchange brines, and biological phosphorus removal. Dr. Batista’s research is collaborative and multidisciplinary and has attracted funding from industry, federal, state, and local agencies, including U.S. EPA, AWWARF, NSF, NDEP, Clark County Reclamation District, Clark County Health Department, Clark County Flood Control District, Las Vegas Valley Water District, and water utilities in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Her research has been disseminated broadly. Dr. Batista is an accomplished and student-focused instructor; She is the recipient of various teaching awards. Her teaching evaluations are consistent with the highest standards of her department and college. Students praise her enthusiastic teaching style, high academic expectations, quality of the courses, and approachability. She teaches senior level and graduate level courses on water and wastewater treatment and solids and hazardous waste engineering. Dr. Batista works closely with her Ph.D., Masters, and undergraduate students motivating them to excel at all levels. Dr. Batista has served her profession, university, college and department extensively. She is a resourceful problem-solver and an active member of the department in matters of curriculum and academic priorities. She is a sought-after environmental engineering consultant to the water industry of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Eric Marchand

Dr. Marchand’s research interests: Optimizing biological processes for the treatment of water and wastewater; development and testing of membrane bioreactor technology; novel water reuse strategies; bioremediation of acid mine drainage; microbial ecology in natural and engineered systems; and biogeochemical reactions in the environment.