
Dr. Nitin Tiwari
Assistant Professor
Dr. Nitin Tiwari is an Assistant Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructural Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His research focuses on advancing interdisciplinary approaches essential for the future of sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Dr. Tiwari develops innovative strategies to enhance soil and ground conditions by leveraging natural substances and engineered composites, optimizing their strengths to boost infrastructure performance while minimizing environmental impacts.
Dr. Tiwari is also working on an AI-driven, twin IoT-enabled framework for continuously monitoring geotechnical infrastructure. This cutting-edge system is designed to revolutionize predictive performance and risk assessment, providing real-time insights and enabling data-driven decisions that ensure the integrity and longevity of critical infrastructure. Additionally, his research pioneers techniques for monitoring and mitigating the effects of natural hazards on geostructures, contributing to a deeper understanding of their impact on geotechnical infrastructure.
Education
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Ph.D., Geotechnical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, 2021
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M.Engg., Structural Engineering, University Institute of Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal, India (2017)
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B.Engg., Civil Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Technical University Bhopal, India(2014)
Professional Experience
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Assistant Professor, School of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructural Engineering, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL, USA (08/2024–Present)
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Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA (02/2022–08/2024)
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Institute Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India (10/2021–01/2022)
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Postdoctoral Research Associate-I, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India (05/2021–10/2021)
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Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, TRUBA Institute of Engineering and Information Technology Bhopal, India (01/2018–12/2018)
Dr. Tiwari’s extensive academic and professional background equips him with a unique perspective and skill set to address the challenges posed by climate change on infrastructure, positioning him as a leader in sustainable geotechnical engineering.
MS Students

Suvechha Dhakal
M.S. student
Suvechha is an M.S. student conducting her thesis research in the Geo-CARE Lab. Her work focuses on exploring the potential of biopolymers to enhance soil properties, aiming to develop soil as a printable material for use in 3D printing applications.

Subin Rimal
M.S. student
Subin is an M.S. student in the Geo-CARE Lab, where his research focuses on utilizing biopolymers to control the behavior of expansive soils under climate change conditions, such as freezing, thawing, and flooding. His goal is to enhance soil durability and resilience against climate-induced challenges.
Internship Students

Nihal Jayadeep
Intern
Nihal is an intern in the Geo-CARE Lab; he is developing a physics-informed neural network to enhance the back-calculation process in Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) analysis. His project focuses on incorporating material viscoelastic behavior to improve the accuracy of pavement strength predictions, contributing to more reliable assessments of pavement performance and durability.

Ragha Ramoju
Intern
Ragha Ragha is an intern in the Geo-CARE Lab, focusing on applying the Light Weight Deflectometer (LWD) for pavement analysis. His research involves using physics-informed neural networks to improve the backcalculation process for LWD data, with a focus on integrating material viscoelastic behavior. This approach aims to enhance the accuracy of strength assessments and advance predictive modeling for pavement performance.