Dean John M. Ting

John Ting became the Dean of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in July 2003. Prior to that, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass Lowell from 1999 to 2003. Before that, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Toronto (1983-90) and post-doctoral Research Fellow and Lecturer at the California Institute of Technology (1981-83).

John Ting has been involved in teaching, research and software development in Civil & Environmental Engineering for over two decades. He has published over 40 refereed papers and reports and presented over 25 seminars and conference papers. He has helped obtain and directly participated in externally funded research in Geotechnical Engineering exceeding $1.5 million on topics ranging from lateral pile behavior, centrifuge modeling, Discrete Element numerical modeling and analysis of Integral Abutment Bridges, and exceeding $1 million on incorporating Service Learning in Engineering Education. He has taught over 20 different undergraduate and graduate courses in Civil Engineering and computer programming - at Caltech, University of Toronto and UMass Lowell.

 Dr. Ting graduated from McGill University (1975) with a B.Eng. in Civil Engineering as the E. Brown Gold Medal holder for Highest Ability in the Faculty of Engineering. He holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering (1976) from the California Institute of Technology where he worked with Prof. R.F. Scott on geotechnical centrifuge modeling of laterally loaded piles. He holds a Doctor of Science in Civil Engineering (1981) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked on the mechanical behavior of frozen sands under the supervision of Drs. C.C. Ladd and R.T. Martin.

Dr. Ting has worked as a post-doctoral Research Fellow and Lecturer at Caltech (1981-83) on full scale and centrifuge modeling of dynamically loaded piles, and on the centrifuge modeling of frost action in soils. He was a professor at the University of Toronto from 1983 to 1990, during which time he worked on analytical and numerical models for lateral pile behavior, and developing and applying various Discrete Element numerical models for soil. He left Toronto as a tenured Associate Professor in 1990 to take his current faculty appointment at UMass Lowell.

Since coming to UMass Lowell, he has worked on Discrete Element computer modeling of granular materials, and more recently, on developing streamlined analysis methods for Integral Abutment bridges for the Massachusetts Highway Dept. Since the late 1990's, Dr. Ting became deeply involved with Math/Science education at the K-12 level and the state of engineering education, and was an active participant in the Raytheon/University of Massachusetts K-16 Engineering Collaboration.

Since becoming Dean of Engineering, Dr. Ting has continued working on issues in recruiting and retention of students into Engineering, Science and technical fields. He has actively promoted K-12 outreach activities and service-based multidisciplinary projects and activities for the College, as a means to help with both recruiting and retention.

Dr. Ting has worked for a geotechnical consulting company in Montreal, Canada, and is a registered Professional Engineer in California.

In addition, he has coached MathCounts middle school teams for several school systems (Groton-Dunstable Middle School and Parker Charter Essential School, Devens). During the mid-1990's, he helped direct and operate the Groton Chess Club, a chess club devoted to children, which became one of the pre-eminent children’s chess clubs in Massachusetts.

Some significant University and professional service activities include:

• Commissioner, the Lowell Arena and Stadium Commission (1995-present)
• Judge, American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Excellence Awards Program (01-02),
• Journal reviewer for ASCE J. Geotechnical & Geoenvironmental Engineering, Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, ASCE J. Engineering Mechanics, Int’l J. Numerical & Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, Int’l J Solids & Structures, Canadian Geotechnical J., Computers & Geotechnics, Computers & Geosciences
• Research proposal reviewer for National Science Foundation (several programs), US Army Research Office, and US Dept. of Energy

Presentations:

• Ting, J.M., 2004. “Perspectives on Integrating Service-Learning in a College of Engineering,” invited keynote address, Workshop on Integrating Appropriate Sustainable Technology and Service Learning in Engineering Education, Sustainable Resources 2004, University of Colorado, Boulder Sept. 27-29, 2004.

Sample list of Funded Research Projects (either as sole Principal or Co Principal Investigator):

• Service-Learning Integrated throughout a College of Engineering (SLICE): Implementation (w/ J. Duffy, D. Clark, C. Barry, X. Zhang), 2005-08, National Science Foundation.
• Service-Learning Integrated throughout a College of Engineering (SLICE) (w/ J. Duffy, D. Clark, C. Barry, X. Zhang) , 2004-05, National Science Foundation
• Streamlined Analysis and Design of Integral Abutment Bridges (w/ S. Faraji), 1999-2002, Mass. Highways Dept.
• Force-Displacement Testing for Integral Abutment Bridges (w/ S. Faraji), 1996-97, Mass. Highways Dept.
• Behavior of Multiphase Granular Media: Modeling the static-to-viscous flow regime, 1994-96, Dept of Defense AASERT.
• Effect of Particle Shape on the Mechanical Behavior of Granular Materials, 1991-95, Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
• Multiphase Discrete Granular Model for Soil Mechanics, 1990-93, NSERC Canada (at U. Toronto).
• Multiphase Discrete Granular Modeling of Soil, 1987-90, NSERC Canada (at U. Toronto).
• Analysis of Lateral Pile Behavior, 1984-87, NSERC Canada (at U. Toronto).
• Centrifuge Modeling of Frost Heave Phenomena: A Feasibility Study (w/ R.F. Scott), 1983, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (at Caltech).

Sample publications:

• Ting, J.M., 2004. “Perspectives on Integrating Service-Learning in a College of Engineering,” invited keynote address, Workshop on Integrating Appropriate Sustainable Technology and Service Learning in Engineering Education, Sustainable Resources 2004, University of Colorado, Boulder Sept. 27-29, 2004.
• Faraji, S., Ting, JM, Crovo, D.S. and H. Ernst (2001). “Nonlinear Analysis of Integral Bridges: Finite Element Model,” ASCE J.Geotechnical and GeoEnvironmental Engineering, 127(5):454-461.
• Ting, J.M. and S. Faraji. 1998. "Streamlined Analysis and Design of Integral Abutment Bridges," Civil Engineering Research Report to Massachusetts Highways Dept., Univ. Massachusetts, Lowell, Mass.
• Ting, J.M., Khwaja, M., Meachum, L.R. and Rowell, J.D. 1993. "An Ellipse-based Discrete Element Model for Granular Materials," Int'l Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 17(9):603-623.
• Ting, J.M. and B.T. Corkum. 1992. "A Computational Laboratory for Discrete Element Geomechanics," ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 6(2):129-146.
• Ting, J.M., B.T. Corkum, C.R. Kauffman and C. Greco. 1989. "A Discrete Numerical Model for Soil Mechanics," ASCE Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 115(3):379-398.
• Ting, J.M., C.R. Kauffman and M. Lovicsek 1987. "Centrifuge Static and Dynamic Lateral Pile Behavior," Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 24(2):198-207.

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