For his undergraduate studies, Dr. Vantassel attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, focusing on the areas of geotechnical engineering, geology, and structural engineering. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2016. During his undergraduate studies, he held a number of professional appointments including: construction inspector at the Massachusetts's Department of Transportation, undergraduate researcher at the University of Minnesota's Large-Scale Structure's Lab, project engineer at Schnabel Foundation Company, and undergraduate researcher at Rensselaer's Geotechnical Centrifuge. For his graduate studies, he attended The University of Texas at Austin, earning his M.S. in May of 2018 and Ph.D. in December of 2021. His graduate studies focused on the intersection of geotechnical engineering, geophysics, and software engineering. In September 2021, he joined the Texas Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), the largest academic computing facility in the world, to work on problems related to machine-learning and big-data. He joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor in January 2023.

Sanish Bhochhibhoya

Master of Science | December 2023
Doctor of Philosophy | May 2027

Project: Real-time, look-ahead while drilling using seismic waves and deep learning.

Mahbubah Ahmed

Doctor of Philosophy | May 2028

Project: Real-time, look-ahead while drilling using electromagnetic waves and deep learning.

Mohammadhossein Ahmadi

Doctor of Philosophy | May 2028

Project: Measuring while drilling for geotechnical site characterization.

Nima Bamjan

Master of Science | December 2025

Project: Permafrost characterization using shear wave velocity and electrical resistivity.

Kushal Sharma Wagle

Master of Science | August 2025
Co-Advisor: Adrian Rodriguez-Marek

Project: Development of a data-driven model to predict Vs30 from mHVSR.

Balakumar Anbazhagan

Doctor of Philosophy | December 2025
Co-Advisor: Adrian Rodriguez-Marek

Project: Data-driven methods for robust predictions of site response.

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Ujjwal Gupta

Project: Guidelines for using machine learning in geotechnical practice.

Master of Science | December 2023

Currently: Staff Engineer at Tensar

Abhijeet Acharjee Jeet

Project: Non-invasive measurements of permafrost using surface wave methods.

Master of Science | May 2024

Currently: Assistant Project Engineer Ardaman & Associates