Amber Spears

Research Assistant Professor
Civil and Architectural Engineering

Dr. Spears is a Research Assistant Professor at Tennessee State University. Before earning her PhD in Civil Engineering at Jackson State University, Dr. Spears earned her BSE and MSE in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin, respectively. Following obtaining her master’s, she worked in the civil engineering consulting industry. She also received her PE license in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering from the state of Michigan. Dr. Spears’ research focuses on Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering to understand the impacts of climate change on earthen infrastructure and determine sustainable solutions. She has conducted state-wide and international research.

Spears

Office: 108G Torrence Hall
Phone: 615-963-5432 
 Email: aspears7@tnstate.edu  

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Jackson State University, 2024
  • M.S.E., Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2014
  • B.S.E., Civil Engineering, University of Michigan, 2008

PROFESSIONAL LICENSE

  • Professional Engineer: State of Michigan

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

  • Onyx Enterprise, Inc.
  • CTI and Associates, Inc.
  • NTH Consultants, Ltd.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Hydrologic modeling
  • Remote sensing
  • Geospatial information systems
  • Use of rhizomatic grasses in sustainable infrastructure
  • Life cycle analyses of sustainable solutions
  • Emergency preparedness and response in natural disasters involving earthen infrastructure
  • Engineering Education: program development and evaluation
  • Engineering Professionals: career development and workforce inclusion and diversity

TEACHING COURSES

  • CVEN 3350 Hydrology (Water Resources Engineering)

PROGRAM COORDINATION

  • USDA NRCS Scholars and Fellows Program
  • Mining Engineering Program
  • Climate Adaptive Infrastructure Summer Workshop (May 2022)

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

  • Spears, A., Ebersole, B.A., Whalin, R. W. (2024). “Geomorphological Changes of Natural and Engineered Vegetated Dunes in Katwijk Since Completion of Kustwerk Katwijk.” Under Review. Scientific Reports. Springer Nature.
  • Spears, A., Khan, S., Alzeghoul, O., Whalin, R. (2024). “Climate Resilient Slope Stability Improvement Using Vetiver on a Test Levee.” Natural Hazards Review. American Society of Civil Engineers. Reston, VA. https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1924

PEER-REVIEWED CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

  • Nobahar, M., Worsley, G., Spears, A., Khan, S., Chakraborty, A. (2024). “Climate Adaptive Predictive Approaches for Geotechnical Infrastructure Components in Mississippi.” Proceedings of Geo-Congress, 2024 (pp. 482-492).
  • Spears, A., Khan, S., Whalin, R., Alzeghoul, O., Chakraborty, A. (2023). “Bio-Inspired Stabilization of a Test Levee Slope using Vetiver Grass on Highly Plastic Clay,” Proceedings of Geo-Congress, 2023 (pp. 96-105).
  • Spears, A., Chakraborty, A. Alzeghoul, O. “Performance of a Test Levee Slope using Bio-Engineered Stabilization on High Plasticity Clay,” Association of State Dam Safety Officers Dam Safety Conference, Concurrent Session, Baltimore, MD, 2022.

GRANTS

  • The Tandon Faculty First-Look Fellowship. Funded by The NYU Tandon School of Engineering, 04/11/2024 to 04/12/2024.
  • Graduate Student Scholar. Funded by the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) RAPID Facility (NSF Grant No. 2130997), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 03/2022 to Present. Amount: $10,000.

TRAVEL AWARDS

  • Network for Transformative Research Workshops Cohort II. NSF Network for Transformative Research, Jackson State University, in collaboration with the Mississippi Research Consortium, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 12/12/2024 and 01/08/2025 to 1/10/2025.
  • ABET BELONG Summit. NSF ABET BELONG Summit (NSF ADVANCE 2344929), Oakland University, ABET, and Edmonds College, 11/12/2024 and 01/17/2025.
  • North American Alliance of Hazards and Disaster Research Institutes (NAAHDRI) Rising Star Award. NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) ) Education and Community Outreach (ECO), Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder, 07/14/2024 to 07/18/2024.
  • Graduate Student Scholar. Funded by the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) RAPID Facility (NSF Grant No. 2130997), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 03/2022 to Present. Amount: $3,250.
  • RAPID Equipment Training Workshop and NSF Travel Award, NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) RAPID Facility, University of Washington, 07/26/2022 to 07/29/2022.

 

 





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