ABOUT US

Based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida, we are a group of engineers interested in novel, sustainable structural engineering solutions.

Research Team

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Zachary B. Haber, Ph.D., P.E. (FL) [Team Leader]

A Florida native, Dr. Haber completed his BS and MS in Civil Engineering at the University of Central Florida, and his PhD at the Univeristy of Nevada, Reno. Before joining the University of South Florida in 2023, Dr. Haber spent eight years as a researcher at the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. During his tenure at FHWA, Dr. Haber led structural engineering research on ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), modular bridge systems, seismic design, and bridge preservation. Dr. Haber has also served as a lead or supporting investigator for projects sponsored by Caltrans, Florida Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation, and private industry. Additionally, he is a registered professional engineer in the state of Florida.

Dennis Sofr, MSCE [Project Engineer]

Dennis is a full-time Project Engineer with the HABERLAB Team. He holds an MS and BS in Civil Engineering from USF. Dennis's research focuses on post-installed anchors in concrete. He has extensive experience with standardized material testing, data acquisition, instrumentation, specimen creation, test fixture fabrication, development of fabrication drawings, data analysis, and report writing. Additionally, he trains new graduate students in the group on tasks related to material and structural testing.

Omid Souri, MS [Ph.D. Student]

Omid is a PhD student within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. He holds a MS in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering Concentration) from Sharif University Of Technology. He has experience with numerical modeling and analysis of structures, experimental studies on the behavior of structures and structural components, and reliability, risk, and safety assessment of structural systems. Omid's research at USF focuses on the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) in architectural and structural anchorage systems

Ericka Weniger, MS [Ph.D. Student]

Ericka is a PhD student within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. She holds a BSCE from USF. Ericka's research focuses on the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for prestressed, precast concrete piles and other bridge substructure applications.

Faria Rahman, MS [Ph.D. Student]

Faria is a PhD student within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. She holds a MS in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University. She research focuses on the mechanical behavior of natural and metallic fiber-reinforced concretes.

Bharath Korukanti [M.S. Student]

Bharath is a MS student within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Osmania University (India). His research focuses on the development of innovative rebar splicing technology.

Clara Batista Biasutti [M.S. Student]

Clara is an MS student within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USF. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Federal University of Espírito Santo (Brazil). Her research focuses on the steel beam end repairs using UHPC.

Group Alumni

Liahneli Knowles, MSCE - Walter P Moore

Liah's research focused on the use of waste medical hemp fibers in concrete.

Juan Pablo "JP" Roncal, P.M.P., P.E (Peru), E.I. (FL), MSCE - Jacobs

JP's research at USF focused on the influence of rheology on the bond behavior of UHPC bridge deck overlays.

Leonardo Burity, E.I. (FL), MSCE - Jacobs

Leo's research is focused on developing novel UHPC-based repair solutions for corroded steel beam ends.