Undergraduate Research Keynote: Discovering Engineering

Dr. Chris Carroll is an assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His area of expertise has been primarily focused on prestressed and reinforced concrete and he has recently incorporated infrastructure maintenance and sustainability into his research interests. As an assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. Carroll has been involved in a variety of projects including ancient engineering, transportation materials, and the use of recycled materials in concrete. He first worked on a project evaluating the techniques believed to be used by the ancient Egyptians and Romans for two television series, Engineering the Impossible and Unearthing Ancient Secrets. His most recent project, Preliminary Analysis of Polymer Concrete Used for Bridge Deck Joint Repairs, was funded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and was focused on a bridge maintenance issue continually plaguing state DOT’s across the country. Lastly, Dr. Carroll’s current project involves using recycled materials for potential applications to structural engineering. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the behavior of fiber reinforced rubber concrete for potential use as an energy absorbent material for seismic applications.