Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Penn State University, 2018
  • M.S., Geotechnical Engineering, Temple University, 2013
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Azad University (Sci and Res Branch), Tehran, 2008
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Civil, Texas, #153267
Academic Appointments
  • Instructor, Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 2013-2018
Professional Honors
  • 2017 Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) Fellowship
  • 2017 International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC-IAFD) Scholarship and Travel Grant
  • 2017 Harold F. Martin Outstanding Teaching Award - Penn State University
  • 2017 Glenn E. Singley Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Engineering - Penn State University
  • 2017 First-place poster award at Penn State Graduate Exhibition, The Pennsylvania State University
  • 2017 Best presentation and poster award at Penn State College of Engineering Research Symposium (CERS), The Pennsylvania State University
  • 2017 Iranian American Academics and Professionals (IAAP) Scholarship
  • 2016 Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) Fellowship
  • 2015 Leo P. Russell Graduate Fellowship in Civil Engineering - Penn State University
  • 2014 Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) Best Paper and Presentation Award
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
  • Deep Foundations Institute (DFI)
Languages
  • Persian (Farsi)

Dr. Kermani specializes in project management, infrastructure asset management, forensic evaluations, quality assurance and quality control, and pavement and geotechnical engineering and design.  Dr. Kermani has twelve years of experience working on various transportation and infrastructure projects, from consulting to design and research projects for federal, state, and local agencies as well as for the private sector.  As a result, he has developed collaborative working relationships within the infrastructure sector. With his project management experience, Dr. Kermani helps his clients resolve complex construction challenges of projects from proposal phase to their completion.

Dr. Kermani is currently involved in construction and utility work, overseeing all stages of projects' lifecycles, including management of electric utility development/upgrade projects throughout all project phases. This involves financial forecasting, budget management, project scheduling, project coordination, decision-making, and project planning.

Before joining Exponent, Dr. Kermani has served at The Transtec Group, Inc. as Project Manager (PM) on various infrastructure projects, which involved pavement and geotechnical evaluations, analysis, and design; material assessments, behavior, and characteristics; construction planning; developing successful Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs); performing non-destructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) analyses; and business development efforts for Design-Build (DB), Public-Private Partnership (P3), and Design-Bid-Build (DBB) projects across United States and Canada.  Dr. Kermani also has extensive experience with advanced laboratory testing and physical modeling of pavement and geotechnical materials under static and dynamic conditions.

Between 2013 to 2018, as a researcher at Penn State University, Dr. Kermani led multiple transportation projects sponsored by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Geosynthetic Institute (GSI).  He also instructed the Civil Engineering Material Laboratory, Soil Mechanics, and Pavement Engineering courses during his tenure at Penn State.

Dr. Kermani is a Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) Fellow.  He has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings and has presented his work in several academic and industry events.  Dr. Kermani is currently serving as an Editorial Board Member (EBM) of ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation.