Thomas F. Wolff, Ph.D., P.E.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
College of Engineering, Michigan State University

Responsible for undergraduate engineering recruiting and scholarships, undergraduate advising program, enrollment managment, undergraduate academic records and actions, freshman residential living-learning program, Office of Experiential Education and Employer Relations, Engineering Diversity Programs Office, Engineering Study Abroad, K-12 outreach, liaison to engineering student organizations and student shops.

Funded Grants in Engineering Education

Michigan Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP). Joint project with University of Michigan (lead), Western Michigan, and Wayne State University. Lead co-PI for Michigan State University. $2,580,680 over five years; MSU allocation $544, 511 October 2005-2010.

Teaching

Undergraduate courses taught at Michigan State University:

• CE 271 Introduction to Civil Engineering (surveying component)
• CE 312 - Soil Mechanics
• CE 390 - Civil Engineering Analysis (Numerical Methods)
• CE 418 - Geotechnical Engineering Design
• CE 419 - Stability of Earth Masses (now combined with CE 418)
• CE 490 - Supervised Independent Study
• EGR 291 - ROSES seminar for freshmen in the Residential Option for Science and Engineering Students

Graduate courses taught at Michigan State University:

• CE 810 - Reliability-Based Design in Civil Engineering
• CE 812 - Mechanical Properties of Soils
• CE 815 - Special Topics in Geotechnical Engineering (Earth Structures)
• CE 818 - Advanced Geotechnical Design
• CE 890 - Supervised Independent study

Courses taught at Washington University (St. Louis), 1984-85:

• Foundations (undergraduate)
• Advanced Topics in Geotechnical Engineering (graduate)

Three-time recipient of the Withrow Teaching Excellence Award in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1992, 1993, and 1998.

Recipient of the 1993 Chi Epsilon, Great Lakes Region, James H. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Ph.D. Students Graduated and Dissertation Topics:

• Magdal N. Haji, 1990, A Mathematical Algorithm for Selection of SPT Resistance Value in Foundation Design.
• Nasrullah Abeer, 1991, An Expert System for the Preliminary Design of Cantilever Retaining Walls
• Rosely AbMalik, 1992, Pile Foundation Design: Interrelation of Safety Measures from Deterministic and Reliability-Based Methods.
• Weijun Wang, 1992, Probabilistic Reliability Evaluation of Navigation Structures
• Mostafa K. Ashoor, 1994, Applications of Geostatistics to Settlement Problems
• Ahmed M. Hassan, 1998, A Practical Approach to Combined Probabilistic Analysis of Slope Stability and Seepage Problems
• Chieh-Min Chang, 2000, Detecting Segregation in Bituminous Pavements and Relating its Effect to Performance, (co-advisor with G.Y. Baladi)

• Faculty Advisor and co-advisor, Michigan State University Student Engineering Council, 1998-present.
• Faculty Co-advisor, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, 2000-present.
• Faculty Advisor, Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society, 1987 - 1998.

• Member, MSU Department of Civil Engineering Advisory Committee, 1990 - 1994.
• Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, MSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1986-92, 1995-98.
• Member, Curriculum Committee, College of Engineering, 1987-92, 1996-98; Chairperson, 1989-92, and 1996-98; Secretary, 1998-present. Included development of revised curricula for transition from quarter system to semester system.
  
• University Academic Council, alternate for Dean, 1998-present
• University ad-hoc committee on MSU Response to Hurricane Katrina, and Hurrican Katrina Seminar Series, 2005
• University Commencement Committee, 2000-present
• University Curriculum Committee, 2002-03.
• University Teacher Education Commitee, 1998-present
  
• Member, Advisory Committee on Academic Credentials to Michigan Professional Engineering Board, 1987-1998.
• Curriculum consulting and outreach support for Woodcreek Science and Engineering Magnet Elementary School, Lansing Public Schools, 2003-present.

• Organizer, ASEE Associate Dean's Forum at ASEE National Convention-- 2003-06