Amy Cerato

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Amy Cerato

Professor

Email: acerato@ou.edu
Office: Carson Engineering Center, Room 450C
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
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Education

Ph.D. Geotechnical Engineering
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (2005)

M.S. Geosciences
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (2004)

M.S.C.E. Civil Engineering
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (2001)

B.S.C.E. Civil Engineering
Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania (1999)

About

Cerato is the Rapp Foundation Presidential Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. She researches and consults in geotechnical engineering, specifically focusing on soil stabilization, expansive soil mitigation and foundation design in problematic soils. She is a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma. She is the author of more than 100 technical papers and the recipient of the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and 2008 National Science Foundation CAREER award. She is a member of the DFI Helical Pile and Tiebacks Committee and the ASCE Geo-Institute Committee of Engineering Geology and Site Characterization, as well as a founding board member and president of a local non-profit, Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation.

Research Focus

Expertise in the Geotechnical Engineering field, with research interests in unsaturated/expansive soil, soil stabilization and foundation design.

Current Research Projects

NSF ADVANCE IT: OU-ELEVATE: Assessing and Re-Envisioning Faculty Evaluations and Workload Distributions. Co-PI: 10% credit, $3,000,000 total; with L. Snyder (PI) and others. 8/14/22-8/14/2027. (active)
NSF EAGER GOLD-EN Rewards: Removing barriers and supporting geoscience diversity leaders through hiring, evaluation, and award criteria and processes. Co-PI. 14% credit, $299,877 total; with M. Elwood Madden, M. Fahs, G. Soreghan, J. Irungu, E. Martin, L. Snyder. 9/15/2020-9/14/2023. (active)

Experience and Awards

2023 OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships (VPRP) Annual Award for Excellence in Research Grants ‚Äì in recognition of acquiring $1 million or more in 2022
2023 Cleveland County City Lifestyle Outstanding Female Community Influencer https://citylifestyle.com/clevelandcounty/issues/2023-05
2020 Editor‚Äôs Choice Canadian Geotechnical Journal: Shabazi et al. 2020a
(https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2018-0769)
2019 Gallogly College of Engineering Felgar Society Pursuit of Excellence Award
2015 Shamsher Prakash Prize for Excellence in Teaching of Geotechnical Engineering
2011 UMASS ‚Äì Amherst Outstanding Young Alumni Award
2010 ASCE Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award
2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
2009 Rapp Foundation Presidential Professorship
2009 Alumni Teaching Award (top 10% Fall ‚Äò08 & Spring ‚Äò09 course evaluations in OU CoE)
2008 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award
2008 George W. Tauxe Outstanding Professor Award (awarded by the OU-CEES students)
2008 Graduate College Special Recognition for Outstanding Efforts in Graduate Recruiting
2005 Junior Faculty Research Program Award

Professional Activities and Organizations

President: Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation (February 2023 ‚ present)
Board Member: Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation (March 2022-January 2023).
Member: ASCE GeoInstitute Committee on Engineering Geology and Site Characterization (1/05 ‚Äì present)
Member: USUCGER (1/05 ‚ present)
Member GeoChallenge Competition Committee (2008- present)
Member: Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Helical Piles and Tiebacks Committee (HPTC) (2015-present)
Workshop Organizing Committee: 2nd USUCGER Career Workshop for Junior Faculty, Case Western Reserve University, May 20-22, 2018
Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (5/14-4/15)
Younger Member Chair on GeoCongress 2014 Conference Committee
Workshop Organizing Committee: 1st USUCGER Workshop for Early Career Faculty, Boston, MA. July 2012.
Board Member: United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER) (1/09- 5/14)
Lead Judge for the GeoChallenge at GeoFlorida 2009
Diversity Panel Moderator at GeoFlorida 2009

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

Soil Mechanics ‚ CEES 3363

Graduate Courses

Laboratory and In Situ Testing‚ CEES 5433
Engineering Geology‚ CEES 5313
Advanced Soil Mechanics‚ CEES 5343

Selected Publications

*Denotes graduate or undergraduate research assistant co-authors.
*Esmaeilpour, P., Jafarian, Y. and Cerato, A.B. 2022. Mitigating Liquefaction-Induced Displacements of Shallow Foundation Using Helical Piles. International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics. https://doi.org/10.1680/jphmg.21.00039
Miller, G.A., *Hassanikhah, A. and Cerato, A.B. 2022. A Method to Predict Desiccation Crack Depth in a Compacted Clayey Soil. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2020-0575
*Fayez, A., El Naggar, MH, Cerato, AB, and Elgamal, A. 2022. Seismic Response of Helical Pile Groups from Shake Table Experiments. Journal of Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering. Vol. 152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.107008
*Fayez, A., El Naggar, MH, Cerato, AB, and Elgamal, A. Assessment of SSI Effects on Stiffness of Single and Grouped Helical Piles in Dry Sand from Large Shake Table tests. 2021. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering Special Issue on Modelling and Assessment of Soil-Structure Interaction Effects on the Dynamics of Structures. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-021-01241-7
*Salimi, K., Cerato, A., Vahedifard, F., and Miller, G.A. 2021a. Tensile Strength of Compacted Clays during Desiccation under Elevated Temperatures. Geotechnical Testing Journal. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20200114
*Salimi, K., Cerato, A.B., Vahedifard, F. and Miller, G.A. 2021b. A General Model for the Uniaxial Tensile Strength Characteristic Curve of Unsaturated Soils. ASCE JGGE. 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002567
*Salimi, K., Cerato, A.B., Vahedifard, F. and Miller, G.A. 2021c. A Temperature Dependent Model for Tensile Strength Characteristic Curve of Unsaturated Soils. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2021.100244
Miller, G.A., Cerato, A.B., Snethen, D.R., *Holderby, E., and *Boodagh, P. 2021. A methodology for predicting time-dependent strength and resilient modulus in chemically treated soil. Transportation Geotechnics. Vol. 29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2021.100551
*Shahbazi, M., Cerato, A.B., *Hassan, E. and Mahmoud, H. 2021. Seismic Risk Assessment of a Steel Building Supported on Helical Pile Groups. Acta Geotechnica. DOI: 10.1007/s11440-021-01207-8
*Shahbazi, M., Cerato, A.B., El Naggar, H. and Elgamal, A. (2020). Evaluation of Seismic Soil-Structure Interaction of Full-Scale Grouped Helical Piles in Dense Sand. International Journal of Geomechanics. Vol. 20, No. 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001876