Geomechanics for Geo-Engineering & Sustainability (GGES) Lab
Team
DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Oladoyin Kolawole
Dr. Kolawole is an Assistant Professor of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and also the Faculty Coordinator for the Geosystems Minor program at NJIT. He pioneered the concept of “biogeomechanics,” which studies the mechanical behavior of rocks in response to biologically induced reactions. He received his BS from Rivers State University in Nigeria (2012) and his MS from the University of Miskolc in Hungary (2018). He then earned his Ph.D. (2021) degree from Texas Tech University with a concentration in geomechanics. Dr. Kolawole worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Texas Tech University (2021), and later as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Hope College, Michigan (2022), before joining NJIT in Summer 2022. He currently serves on the Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering (COGGE) of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). His contributions have been recognized with the 2022 Future Leader Award and the 2021 Distinguished Service Award from the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA), as well as participation in the 2025 Frontiers of Engineering program of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), among other awards. He is an editorial board member of Nature Scientific Reports and Discover Civil Engineering journals.
Graduate Students
Mary Ngoma
Ph.D. Candidate, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2022 - Present
Previous Degree:
B.S., Civil Engineering, Hope College, Michigan, 2022
Research Focus: Biogeotechnics /Biogeomechanics; Underground engineering; Machine learning (ML) models.
LinkedIn: Link
Prabhakar Khadka
Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2024 - Present
Previous Degree:
B.S. Civil Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Pulchowk Campus - Institute of Engineering, Nepal, 2022
Research Focus: Slope stability; Soil thermal conductivity; Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) structures.
LinkedIn: Link
Chinemerem Okezie
Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2024 - Present
Previous Degrees:
M.S. Energy and Earth Resources, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, 2024
B.S. Petroleum Engineering, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria, 2019
Research Focus: Geomechanics; Low-carbon subsurface energy technologies; Geologic hydrogen.
LinkedIn: Link
Carol Mgiba
Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2024 - Present
Previous Degrees:
M.S. Sustainable Mining, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, 2023
B.S. Mining Engineering, University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, 2014
Research Focus: Geomechanics; Sustainable mining process; Underground engineering; Tunneling.
LinkedIn: Link
Matthew Sonibare
Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2024 - Present
Previous Degrees:
M.S. Civil Engineering, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom, 2023
B.S. Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, 2018
Research Focus: Rock grouting; Geomechanics; Infrastructure resilience.
LinkedIn: Link
Ayodeji Aderibigbe
Ph.D. Student, Civil Engineering (Geotechnical Engineering), New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2024 - Present
Previous Degree:
B.S. Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, 2019
Research Focus: Coastal geotechnics; Offshore infrastructure; GIS-based geotechnical mapping.
LinkedIn: Link
Undergraduate Researchers
Ayomide Akingunola
BS Civil Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Class of 2028
Alumni
MS Students:
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Saksha Poojari: M.S. Electrical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2024- Spring 2025. Research Topic: Development of GIS-based tool for geotechnical mapping.
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Felix Oppong: M.S. Civil Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2023- Spring 2024. Research Topic: Application of grouts in underground engineering.
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Ayushka More: M.S. Civil Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2022- Spring 2023. Research Topic: sealing potential of bentonite clay in geo-engineering.
Undergraduate Student Researchers:
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Saad Rehmatullah: B.S. Civil Engineering [Class of 2026], New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2022- Fall 2024; Research Topic: Soil thermal conductivity measurement for buried infrastructure.
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Jason Lin: B.S. Civil Engineering [Class of 2025], New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2022- Spring 2023; Research Topic: Improvement of geomaterials with geopolymers and underground waste disposal.
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Larissa Cavalcante: B.S. Civil Engineering [Class of 2026], New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fall 2022- Spring 2023; Research Topic: Enhanced geothermal energy.
High School Interns:
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Trevor Phillips: Ridgewood High School, New Jersey; Summer 2024
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Anna Kramarchuk: Governor Livingston High School, New Jersey; Summer 2024
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Tianyi (Ryan) Li: Bridgewater - Raritan High School, New Jersey; Summer 2024
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Neha Sudarshan: West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, New Jersey; Summer 2023