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Daba S. Gedafa, Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, F. ASCE

Daba Gedafa Headshot
Dean of the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering, Professor of Civil Engineering
E. S. Witchger School of Engineering
Witchger Engineering Building 242
Phone: (317) 955-6769

  

LinkedIn 

Education 

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Kansas State University 
M.Tech. in Transportation Systems Engineering, IIT Bombay, India 
B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia 
Registered Professional Engineer in North Dakota and Connecticut 
Envision Sustainability Professional 
Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers 

Bio 

Daba S. Gedafa, Ph.D., is the dean of the E. S. Witchger School of Engineering and professor of civil engineering at Marian University. He was the chair and Michael & Sitney Lodoen Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mines at the University of North Dakota. He also served as the interim director and associate director of the Transportation Technology Research Institute and the associate director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Research Initiative. He is the associate editor of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and Handling Editor of the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. He is a registered professional engineer in North Dakota and Connecticut. He is also a fellow of ASCE. 

Courses Taught 

Marian University 

  • EGR 460: Engineering Internship (1-3 cr.hr.) 

University of North Dakota 

  • CE 101: Introduction to Civil Engineering and Sustainable Design (1 cr.hr.) 
  • CE 301: Civil Engineering Laboratory I (2 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 411: Civil Engineering Materials Laboratory (1 cr.hr.) 
  • CE 412L: Soil Mechanics Laboratory (1 cr.hr.) 
  • CE 397: Cooperative Education (1-2 cr.hr.) 
  • CE 416: Transportation Engineering (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 482: Civil Engineering Design I (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 483: Civil Engineering Design II (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 417/517: Transportation Asset Management (3 cr.hrs., Graduate Course) 
  • CE 562: Graduate Seminar (1 cr.hr.) 
  • ENGR 100: Introduction to Engineering (1 cr.hr., Civil Engineering Week) 
  • ENGR 203: Mechanics of Materials (3 cr.hrs.) 

University of Connecticut 

  • CE 2110: Applied Mechanics I-Statics (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 3110: Mechanics of Materials (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 3520: Civil Engineering Materials Laboratory (2 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 3640: Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • CE 5380: Bridge Structures Design (3 cr.hrs., Graduate Course) 

Kansas State University 

  • CE 212: Elementary Surveying Engineering Lab (1 cr.hr.) 
  • CE 534: Mechanics of Materials Laboratory (1 cr.hr.) 

Arbaminch University, Ethiopia 

  • Highway Engineering I (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • Highway Engineering II (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • Road Engineering (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • Reinforced Concrete I (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • Surveying (3 cr.hrs.) 
  • Surveying Field Practice (1 cr.hr.) 

Areas of Interest 

Dr. Gedafa’s main areas of interest include resilient and sustainable transportation infrastructure, sustainable materials characterization, mechanistic-empirical design methods, performance-related specifications, pavement maintenance management systems, traffic engineering, etc. 
 
Recent Publications 

  1. Samrawit Menda, Sandip Poudel, Joe Useldinger-Hoefs, Bruce Dockter, and Daba S. Gedafa. (2025). “Determining Optimum Coal Bottom Ash/Slag Content for Sustainable Concrete Infrastructure,” Sustainability 2025, 17, 1429. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041429
    2. Robem S. Melaku, Jun Liu, and Daba S. Gedafa. (2024). “Effect of Bio-Oils and Wastewater Sludge on the Performance of Binders and Hot Mix Asphalt with High Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Content,” Materials 2024, 17, 4276. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17174276
    3. Nabil J. Suleiman, Anjo M. Mate, Daba S. Gedafa, and Bruce Dockter. (2024). “Developing Balanced Mix Design Gyrations (Design) for North Dakota’s HMA Pavements,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241260705 
    4. Ainalem Nega, Daba Gedafa, and Hamid Nikraz. (2024). “New Numerical Simulation for Stress and Strain Characteristics in Flexible Pavement Using Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis,” International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-024-00422-2. 
    5. Sandip Poudel, Samrawit Menda, Joe Useldinger-Hoefs, Lidya E. Guteta, Bruce Dockter, and Daba S. Gedafa. (2024). “The Use of Ground Coal Bottom Ash/Slag as a Cement Replacement for Sustainable Concrete Infrastructure,” Materials, 17(10), 2316; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17102316. 
    6. Duncan Oteki, Andebut Yeneneh, Daba S. Gedafa, and Nabil Suleiman. (2024). “Evaluating the Fatigue Cracking Resistance of North Dakota’s Asphalt Mixtures,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241236796 
     
    Awards/Honors 
  2. Departmental Research Excellence, University of North Dakota, February 20, 2025
    2. Appointed as associate editor of ASCE’s Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering in January 2024
    3. Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering 
    4. UND’s Outstanding Advisor for Leadership of ASCE Chapter, 2019 
    5. Recognized for Excellence in Civil Engineering Education by Marquis Who’s Who in America in 2016 
    6. College of Engineering and Mines Dean’s Outstanding Faculty Award in May 2014 

Committees and Boards  
• Member, International Conferences on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways, and Airfields 
• Scientific committee member, 13th International Conference on Concrete Pavements, Minneapolis, MN, August 25-29, 2024. 
• Scientific committee member, International Airfield & Highway Pavements Conference 2023, June 14–17, 2023, Austin, Texas. 
• Scientific committee member, International Airfield & Highway Pavements Conference, Virtual, June 8-10, 2021 
• Scientific committee member, International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference 2019, Chicago, Illinois, July 21–24, 2019 
• Scientific committee member, International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference 2017, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | August 27–30, 2017 
 
Memberships in Professional Organizations 
1. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 
2. Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE) 
 
Editorial or Conference Roles 
• Associate Editor, ASCE’s Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 
• Handling Editor, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) 
• Member, International Conferences on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways, and Airfields 

Service and Outreach Activities 

Served as 2016-2022 ND Asphalt Conference Steering Committee member 
• Helped new Americans get their driver’s license and buy cars (helped buy 20 cars so far) 
• Served twice as a Judge at the ND State Science and Engineering Fair 
• Served as a Judge at the Northeast (NE) Region Science and Engineering Fair 
• Served twice as a Judge at the FIRST LEGO League Competition 
• Hosted fourth graders from Fort Totten for Hands-on Activities 
 
Speaking Engagements or Media Appearances 
1. Interviewed for Mirror Indy Publication 
2. Interviewed for the Indianapolis Business Journal 
3. Published an Op-ed in the Bismarck Tribune to urge support for the IIJA bill in August 2021 
4. Featured in ASCE national news on four different occasions. 
5. Featured in BASIN BITS twice, The Official Publication of the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties 
6. Featured in the Bakken Magazine 
7. Featured in the Grand Forks Herald and the University Letter for advocating for more funding for infrastructure. 

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