Articles

February 2025 Technical Session Speakers

Jacob Elias, P.E.
Project Manager
Huitt Zollars

Topic: Alternative Delivery (DB & CMGC) Lessons Learned

Mr. Elias is an Associate and Project Manager with a focus on construction management at Huitt-Zollars. His extensive experience encompasses overseeing construction, navigating field changes in design, managing schedules and budgets, and fostering strong relationships with subcontractors and suppliers. Before joining Huitt-Zollars, Jacob was a Project/Construction Manager for Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport including IP Right Design-Build, Terminal F Baggage Tunnel, and Rehab of Bridge 6-3E. He also previously served as Construction Manager and Field Engineer for Southern Gateway Design-Build and Horseshoe Design-Build projects in Texas.

Jacob earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a licensed engineer in the state of Texas. Additionally, he is a Certified Construction Manager through the Construction Management Association of America, and he has approved TxDOT pre-certifications in feasibility studies as well as roadway construction management and inspection.

Nolan Del Hierro, P.E.
Project Manager
TxDOT Dallas District

Topic: I-35 Phase 2 Update

Toby Flinn, P.E., PMP
Vice President
Pape-Dawson Engineers

Topic: City of Sherman Infrastructure Improvements Program – Construction Update

Mr. Flinn’s impressive 27 years of experience includes work as a construction engineer, as a civilian, and as a military officer, where he worked with multinational and inter-agencies on vertical construction, infrastructure development, construction feasibility, civil design, and logistics. His vast skill set includes organizational leadership, contract management, pre-construction efforts, scheduling, permitting and inspections, and onsite engineering.

Dr. Habib Ahmari, Ph.D, P.E., P.Eng
Associate Professor
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Topic: Designing Stormwater Treatment BMPs: Bridging Physical Experiments and Numerical Modeling

Dr. Habib Ahmari is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and a licensed professional engineer in both Texas and Ontario, Canada. With over twenty years of experience across industry, research, and academia, his expertise lies in water resources engineering. Before joining UTA, he spent a decade in Canada leading environmental impact assessment studies for hydroelectric dam construction projects. His research focuses on environmental hydraulics, sediment transport, stormwater quality, and stream restoration.

Dr. Nick Z. Fang, Ph.D, P.E.
Robert S. Gooch Endowed Professor and Director  - Water Engineering Research Center (WERC)
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Topic: A Proactive Approach to North Central Texas Growth and Development: An Update on the Integrated Transportation and Stormwater Infrastructure (TSI) Initiative

Dr. Nick Z. Fang is the Robert S. Gooch Endowed Professor in Civil Engineering and leads the Water Engineering Research Center (WERC) and Fang Research Group at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University in 2008. Before joining UTA, Dr. Fang is a founding researcher and worked as project manager and assistant to the director to secure more than $6 million of research fund for the Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) center at Rice University. He works closely with federal agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and municipal water utilities (i.e., Tarrant Regional Water District, Trinity River Authority (TRA), the Cities of Kennedale, Arlington, and Grand Prairie) to address water related issues for the DFW area. He currently leads the academic council for the Interagency Flood Risk Management (InFRM) team consisting of USACE, USGS, NWS, and FEMA. He is a Texas licensed Professional Engineer (PE) actively practicing on many engineering projects in water resources, water quality, watershed management, and environmental hydraulics.

Dr. Adnan Rajib
Assistant Professor and Director - Hydrology & Hydroinformatics Innovation (H2I) Lab
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Topic: Rethinking Flood Risk in Texas in an Era of Satellite Data and AI

Dr. Adnan Rajib is a tenure-track Assistant Professor and the Director of the Hydrology & Hydroinformatics Innovation (H2I) Lab in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Rajib received Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University in Spring 2017, with the prestigious Purdue Civil Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student and the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship awards. In his 4-year service as a tenure-track faculty, Dr. Rajib has secured several competitive federal grants as the Principal Investigator, which includes grants from NASA, NSF, Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, and Department of the Interior. His work has been published in reputed journals including the Nature and Nature Scientific Data.