Research Expertise

Dr. Lingwall's current research interests include: surface fault rupture, numerical modeling of large strain phenomena, burned soils and hydrophobicity, soil microbial communities and erosion mitigation, resilient infrastructure systems, landslides in shale, liquefaction of non-classical sands, and lateral spreading during subduction zone earthquakes. He is leading efforts to understand the anchorage systems of mega-flora and design and construction of Magnetic Particle Tracking instruments for research of porous and granular media. His current funding sources include private industry, SDDOT, FHWA, National Academies Science and Engineering, and NSF. He is currently partnering with Princeton University, Smith College and Colorado State University in development of the BIO-ARC, the BIO-inspired Adaptive Resiliency engineering research Center in cooperation with several state and federal infrastructure agencies.

Brief Bio

Bret Lingwall, PhD, PE is an Assistant Professor specializing in the areas of geotechnical, bio-geotechnical and earthquake engineering. He joined SDSMT in 2015. He has a PhD from the University of Utah and is a Professional Engineer (UT). His current work focuses on bio-geotechnics which includes microbial bio-cements and the foundations of mega-flora. His active research portfolio includes numerical modeling of geologic materials, soil-structure interaction, dams and levees, liquefied soils, seismic hazards analysis, surface fault rupture mitigation, very soft soils, retaining walls, geosynthetics, paving materials, and laterally loaded foundations. Dr. Lingwall has 12 years of global design experience on high dollar infrastructure, building, and energy projects. He has served as a technical advisor for a variety of projects in Canada, South Korea, and Guam. He continues to serve the profession as a consultant and peer reviewer of earthquake engineering and numerical modeling in civil engineering. He is the current VP of SD-ASCE.

Teaching

Professor Lingwall teaches geotechnical, foundation, earthquake, pavement and transportation engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at SDSMT. He also teaches advanced soil mechanics and advanced foundation engineering. His teaching emphasizes active learning, case histories, and project-based learning experiences. Student participation in laboratory experiments and field trips are frequently utilized. To enable in-class discussions and activities he utilizes flipped classroom formats. Major emphases for Professor Lingwall's classes are: 1) help students develop critical engineering practice skills; 2) help students be able to reason through complicated design problems; and 3) help students think creatively about problems and potential solutions. 

Course Listing