Dr. Sadik Khan is a professor at the Jackson State University. Dr. Khan has worked more than 14 years in different projects on the investigation, monitoring, and evaluation of foundations, slopes, and earth retaining systems. He coauthored 2 technical books and more than 75 peer-reviewed journal and conference proceedings on different aspects of geotechnical engineering. 

Dr. Khan is a technical member of ASCE GI Unsaturated Soil, ASCE GI Shallow Foundation, AKG-20 TRB Standing Committee on Soil and Rock Properties and Site Characterization, and AKG-40 TRB Standing Committee on Mechanics and Drainage of Saturated and Unsaturated Geomaterials. 

Dr. Khan received the 2018 Engineer of the Year award from MS ASCE Section, and 2019 Engineer of the Year award from ASCE Region 5. He was awarded the Career Award from National Science Foundation in 2021 on “Climate Resilient Landslide Repair on Expansive Soil Using Vetiver Grass”. Dr. Khan is a licensed engineer in the State of Texas and the State of Mississippi. 

Link: Dr. Khan's Resume

Research Areas

 • Phytoremediation Using Vetiver Grass to Address Heavy Metals and PFAS in Contaminated Soil and Wastewater

• Mitigating the toxicity of landfill and recovery of rare earth material from E-waste.

• Working with hyperspectral images using a drone, data analysis using different sensors, and simulation using the finite element method

Abdulraheem Alzghoul is a Civil Engineer who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Jackson State University (JSU). He received an associate degree in Well Drilling Technology from Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU) – Jordan in 2018, followed by a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (Water and Environmental) in 2022 from the same university.

Abdulraheem is involved as a research assistant in multiple capacities: including Geophysical Testing, Slope Stability Analysis, Slope Monitoring, and Recycled Plastic Pins (RPPs).

Anika Mahzabin has completed her Bachelors in Water Resources Engineering from BUET (Year 2021). Then she started working in the field of water resources, groundwater modeling & hydrological modeling since April, 2021 at a renowned research organization in Bangladesh named CEGIS (Centre of Environmental and Geographic Information Services). She has received training on Groundwater resources management,monitoring & modeling, Introduction & Application of Remote sensing  during her professional life in CEGIS. Later in 2023 she joined in a UK based software company named Indetechs Software Ltd. She worked for 8 months in the company on domain of different environmental solutions softwares. From 2024  Spring semester she joined Civil Engineering Department of Jackson State University in the United States of America. She is a Masters student at JSU and also a Graduate Research Assisstant at CREATE Lab.

A Q M Zohuruzzaman is currently pursuing MS in Civil Engineering at Jackson State University (JSU). He completed his Bachelor's in Civil Engineering 2017 from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After Completing his BSc, he first joined the Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (BRTC) of BUET as a research associate, where he provided technical assistance in the design and drafting of the construction of Dolphin Jetty (a Jetty used for loading and unloading crude oil from vessels to the mainland) for Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) Project. Later, he joined as a civil engineer in Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), an autonomous organization responsible for administering surface water flow, including rivers, waterways and groundwater, through water resources development and management. He has been working in BWDB for more than five years, where his primary tasks included collaborating with different field-level stakeholders, also managing and supervising field-level activities of water resources development projects, such as irrigation, riverbank protective work, and embankment construction. He also actively supervised the construction of various water-related structures, such as weirs, inlets, and outlets for irrigation projects.

He is working with Dr. Sadik Khan as a graduate research assistant for the project "Improved Penetration Methodology Testing". His research areas of interest include Numerical Modelling, Remote Sensing, Soil Mechanics, Machine Learning, etc.

Audrika Nahian is a current PhD student of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Jackson State University. She has completed her B.Sc. in Water Resources Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology. She has work experience as a Research Associate and Research Consultant at Institute of Water and Flood Management and Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services respectively.

Her research experience involves water quality monitoring, feasibility study of various dredging, embankment design project, sanitation and hygiene development in rural areas. Now her interest integrates hydrodynamic modeling, climate change, geo-hydrology and resilience of sustainable infrastructure. Her current project involves impact analysis of climate change on hydraulic structure depending on stage hydrograph. She has expertise in GIS, HEC-RAS, SMS, Plaxis.

Fariha Rahman is a PhD student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Jackson State University. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in 2017 from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). As a professional, she has been involved in national-level capacity-building and policy activities on the water, sanitation, and hygiene program in Bangladesh. Fariha has received several professional training on leadership, waste management, fecal sludge management, and the production and contextualization of digital materials. She has experience in facilitating training sessions targeting the government officials of Bangladesh on WASH and SDG.

Fariha is currently working as a graduate research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Sadik Khan, Her current research focuses on the application of vetiver grass on infrastructure, and landfill, emphasizing climate-friendly solutions and carbon dioxide sequestration. She is actively involved in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) as a student member.

At Jackson State University, MD Fahimuzzaman Khan is pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering. He began this journey in the fall of 2022.

In 2017, Fahim graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He then spent the next five years managing construction projects in Bangladesh's civil engineering sector. He worked on various projects in trenchless technologies, soil stabilization, river restoration, shore protection, underground pipeline, and deep foundation throughout his professional career.

He is currently working under Dr. Sadik Khan as a graduate research assistant. His area of focus is explicit simulation using multi-physics solvers and geophysical testing techniques.

Omer Alzeghoul is a Geotechnical Engineer in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District. where he has been employed since 2022. Omer received his bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in October 2019, from Mutah University in Jordan. He received his Master’s in Civil Engineering (Geotechnical) from Jackson State University (JSU) in Jackson, Mississippi, in the summer of 2022. And he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Jackson State University.

Omer Worked as a research assistant at JSU on different projects funded by Federal and State Agencies such as the National Science Foundation, USDOT UTC grant, USACE ERDC, and MDOT on Geo-Infrastructure. His research work focused on the investigation, monitoring, and evaluation of foundations, slopes, and earth-retaining systems. Omer’s Master’s study focused on the stabilization of airfield subgrade pavement using recycled plastic pins (RPPs).

MD Asef Israk has been doing his Master’s at Jackson State University since the fall 2024. Before that, he completed his Bachelor in Civil Engineering from the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) in 2022. Israk was working as a structural engineer in Bangladesh after his graduation. As a professional designer, he has worked in designing several RC structures (especially residential buildings). His primary focus was on designing sub-structures such as foundations, shore piles, earth retaining walls etc. Israk also has a particular interest in robotics. He has participated in several robotics competitions during his undergraduate life.

Currently, Israk is working as a graduate research assistant under Dr Sadik Khan and his research focuses on smart infrastructure. He has also been instructed to build a robot which will help in ground inspection.

Rahul Biswas is a master's student at Jackson State University studying civil engineering. He began this journey in the spring of 2024. Mr. Biswas received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) in March 2016.

Following his graduation, he worked with Petrobangla and the Power Distribution Agency (NESCO), two government agencies in Bangladesh. From 2018, He had spent five years working for the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), first as an assistant engineer and then as a sub-divisional engineer. Since joining BWDB, he had been actively involved in the management of various types of mega-projects, including planning, design, and construction. He had been involved in the design of water controlling mega structures, polder system rehabilitation in coastal areas, riverbank and shoreline protection work specially in coastal areas in Bangladesh. The majority of the projects are funded by the Government of Bangladesh, JICA, and the World Bank. He is currently working under Dr. Sadik Khan as a graduate research assistant. His area of focus is nature based solution for climate change adaptation for infrastructure.

Richa Pokhrel is a master’s student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Jackson State University. She holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree fromnTribhuvan University, Nepal. After her graduation, Richa worked as a research assistant at the Geoinfra Research Institute, where she contributed to projects such as the assessment of roadside slope hazards and the evaluation of landslide vulnerability with an aim to understand geotechnical challenges in regions prone to natural disasters. Her research contributions extend to publications in prestigious journals such as Natural Hazards. Beyond her research pursuits, Richa is actively involved in professional organizations such as the Nepal Geotechnical Society and has volunteered in various conferences and initiatives aimed at addressing global geotechnical challenges. Her research interests include landslide mitigation, slope stability prediction, and the application of machine learning in geotechnical engineering. Currently, she works as a graduate research assistant with Dr. Sadik Khan, focusing her research on soil bioengineering.

My research interests focus on applying computational methods and data-driven techniques to geotechnical engineering, particularly for assessing the performance and failure risk of levees and embankments under extreme flooding and climate-related hazards. I am interested in integrating numerical modeling, geotechnical engineering principles, and machine learning to develop data-driven fragility and risk-assessment frameworks for resilient infrastructure.

Fariha Rabbani is a master’s student in the Civil Engineering Department at Jackson State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET) in 2025. During her undergraduate studies, Fariha conducted research on traffic signal optimization and its potential to reduce CO₂ emissions and improve intersection efficiency. Her research has been accepted for presentation at the International Conference on Civil Engineering Research & Innovations (ICCEI). Her field experiences include a workshop on Faecal Sludge Management (FSM), a site visit to a FSTP, and a workshop on the Cox’s Bazar Runway Extension Project and Shah Makhdum Airport Runway Project in Rajshahi. Her research interests include sustainable engineering and environmental sustainability. She has experience with VISSIM, SUMO, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, ETABS, STAAD.Pro, and other engineering and visualization tools. Currently, she works as a Graduate Research Assistant at Jackson State University.

MD Saniul Islam is pursuing an MS in Computational and Data-Enabled Science & Engineering (CDS&E) at Jackson State University, starting in Fall 2025. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2017.

He is currently a graduate research assistant under Dr. Sadik Khan, focusing on computational modeling and numerical simulation. His research interests also include smart infrastructure.

Sarower Alam is a Graduate Research Assistant in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Jackson State University. He previously worked for the Bangladesh Water Development Board for seven years in surface-water measurement, rainfall and water-level data quality control, hydraulic-structure design, and riverbank

protection. His current research focuses on changing rainfall patterns, dam and embankment exposure, unsaturated soil behavior, and geotechnical response of earthen structures under extreme precipitation.

Shams E Shifat graduated with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Jackson State University and began pursuing his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in Fall 2026, where he is currently working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the CREATE Lab. 

Prior to joining the research team, he worked as a drafting engineer supporting landscape design projects and later contributed to the development of digital climate-resilience tools, where he applied large language models for automated extraction, structuring, and synthesis of unstructured textual information for decision-support applications. 

His research focuses on the intelligent monitoring and condition assessment of transportation infrastructure through multimodal data analysis and artificial intelligence. His current work involves integrating heterogeneous inputs from multiple sensing modalities and developing deep learning models for automated detection, characterization, and performance assessment of transportation assets. His broader research interests include smart infrastructure, data-driven geotechnical and transportation engineering, multimodal sensor fusion, and AI-enabled infrastructure monitoring.

Bio-pending.

Suprobha Biswas Darothy completed her B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) in 2022. Her undergrad thesis was in Water Resources Engineering about the reliability of the Rainwater Harvesting System in coastal districts of Bangladesh. She has published two international conference papers based on her research work respectively in 7th International Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation and Education (ICERIE) and 11th International Perspective on Water Resources and the Environment (IPWE). Here she is pursuing her Master's degree at Jackson State University and work as a graduate research assistant. Her primary focus is on implementing AI and machine learning in asset management.

Dr.Rakesh Salunke is a postdoctoral research scientist at Jackson State University. He is actively assisting and writing research grant proposals as a co-investigator. Dr. Salunke has co-authored several peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and technical abstracts and delivered panel presentations at ASCE GeoCongress, Transportation Research Board and other conferences. He worked extensively on the Mississippi DOT state study 316 titled "Development of Advanced Landslide Investigation Protocol Using Geophysical Methods for Mississippi" and co-authored the final report.

Dr. Salunke's research focus areas include Geotechnical Asset Management, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning applications in Geotechnical Engineering and Earth Science, Infrastructure Risk Assessment from Natural Hazards, Reconnaissance and Non-Destructive Performance Monitoring using Geophysics, Remote sensing, and GIS methods. He is actively involved in the ASCE Geo-Institute as a technical member of the Earth Dam & Slopes(EDS) technical committee.He also has over 13 years of background in Construction Engineering & Facilities Management, working on government contracts.

Dr. Sorgog Kitano (publishing as Kiyan Sorgog, ResearchGate | ResearchMap) is a visiting researcher at Jackson State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Yokohama National University in Japan and subsequently carried out extensive research on chemical risk assessment and agricultural biodiversity conservation at prestigious institutions such as the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO). Her current research focuses on exploring the mechanisms of phytoremediation using Vetiver roots to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Amber Spears is a recent graduate of the Civil Engineering doctoral program at JSU, where she studied Geotechnical Engineering as a Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant. She worked 7 years in industry following obtaining her bachelor’s and master’s in Civil Engineering with a focus in Geotech from the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively.  Since leaving industry to return to graduate school full time, she has returned to industry to work at Onyx Enterprise, a Civil Engineering consulting firm headquartered in Michigan, for 1.5 years.

In her doctoral program, she performed a series of civil engineering services including site characterization, slope stability, hydrogeology, geomorphology, and quality assurance/control. She performed these services for several federal, state, and district facilities, particularly those which owned levees, embankments, or dunes.  

Her research focuses on sustainable infrastructure for the purposes of emergency preparedness and response. She also has a background in social justice regarding infrastructure and pursuing STEM fields. 

Avipriyo Chakraborty is doing a Master’s Leading to Ph.D. at Jackson State University from fall 2021. Before that, he has done Bachelor in Civil Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2013. Avipriyo Chakraborty has served as a professional engineer in Bangladesh for seven years. As a professional engineer, he has worked in designing concrete structures, steel structures, foundation designs, retrofitting designs, detailed engineering assessments of the existing building, sewage line design, construction, and supervision of construction works. Right now, he is working as a graduate research assistant under Dr. Sadik Khan where his topic of research focuses on the effect of vetiver grass on slope instability solutions. 

Henry Chia is a PhD student at the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Henry comes from Cameroon in West Africa. He started his engineering studies at the Community Technical and Commercial College Bafut where he graduated with a High school diploma in Building Construction in 2010.  Two years after, he obtained his Associate degree in civil and structural engineering from National Polytechnic University Institute Bamenda-Cameroon and moved onto University of Dschang where he obtained a Bachelor degree in civil engineering in 2014. Henry Chia started his engineering career with CAMJOS construction as a site engineer in 2014 and later moved to the United States in 2016. 

Henry chia did his master degree program at Jackson State University from August 2018 to December 2020. During this period, he was working as a research assistant, assisting in the investigation of the causes of highway slopes failures in Mississippi. 

Henry Chia is currently conducting his PhD research on the behavior of helical piles in expansive soils. 

Masoud Nobahar is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at LSU-LTRC. Dr. Nobahar has worked more than 8 years in different Geotechnical and Structural projects. He authored and coauthored more than 40 peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports on different aspects of geotechnical engineering. Dr. Nobahar is a technical member of ASCE GI Earth, Dams, and Slopes, AKG-70 TRB Standing Committee on Foundations of Bridges and Other Structures. Dr. Nobahar received the “2021 AASHTO Sweet Sixteen Award” for Region 2 High-Value Research Projects as RAC 2021 Sweet Sixteen and Supplemental Categories. The award was presented for Mississippi State Study 286 research study on Performance Evaluation of Highway Slopes on Yazoo Clay.

Biography Pending

Iftakhar Al Mahmud has completed MS in Computer Science from Jackson State University. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). 

After graduation from BUET, he joined as a Lecturer in Computer Science and Engineering department of State University of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Then he moved to Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) of BUET as a programmer. Later he worked for 16 years in ICT Division of Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited. During his career, he was involved in development of utility billing system, payment integration with banks and financial bodies, designing, creation and maintenance of database, maintenance of Smart prepayment metering system etc. He also supervised projects like Inventory management system, online customer management system etc.

Mahdi Zulfikar is currently pursuing his MS in Computer Science from Jackson State University. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2016. After graduation, he joined Haripur 412 MW CCPP, a government-owned power plant, where he served for six years in the instrumentation and control (I&C) division. Mahdi has extensive experience in power plant control systems such as Emerson, Mitsubishi Distributed Control System (DCS), Allen Bradley, Siemens PLC control system, Cisco firewall and networking system, and various other field instruments. Besides his experience in control systems, he also managed the procurement works of his department. His area of focus is any area where there might be any sensors or control system. He enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, riding bike, and specially making new friends.

Saimum Hossain has completed his Master's degree in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to this, he successfully completed his BSc in Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. With a remarkable dedication to his profession, Saimum has accumulated 11 years of experience in the construction industry.

Throughout his career, Saimum has held the esteemed position of a project manager, overseeing various construction projects in Bangladesh. His expertise lies in areas such as soil stabilization, shore protection, and different types of foundation construction.

Apart from his academic and professional achievements, Saimum is a proud member of the Chartered Institute Of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) in the UK, which further enhances his knowledge and skills in procurement and supply chain management.

Sayedul Kibria has completed M.S in Geotechnical Engineering at Jackson State University (JSU). He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). His research areas of interest include Geotechnical Asset Management, Artificial Intelligence applications in Geotechnical Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Hydrology, UAV, LiDAR Scanning, Remote Sensing, and GIS, Mathematical Modeling.

He worked as a Research Consultant in Center for Environment and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). There he performed various numerical analysis based on Finite Difference Method. After that he worked as a Junior Engineer in ProSoil Foundation Consultant. There he was responsible for overseeing the laboratory investigation of soil collected from various sites. Just before joining the program he was a Project Engineer in M.N. Huda Construction Limited in Bangladesh.

Sayed enjoys reading fictions, volunteering, running, soccer, movies and traveling in his spare time.