Akram N. Alshawabkeh
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, Office of the Dean
George A. Snell Professor of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director, PROTECT Superfund Research Center
Director, Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico (CRECE)
Office
- 617.373.3994
Research Focus
Geoenvironmental engineering, soil and groundwater remediation; electrokinetic and electrochemical processes; contaminant fate and transport environmental restoration
Education
- PhD, Louisiana State University, 1994
- MS, Jordan University of Science & Technology, 1990
- BE, Yarmouk University, 1988
Licensure
- Professional Engineer: Louisiana
Honors & Awards
- 2014 ASCE Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award
- 2009 Transportation Research Board, Certificate of Appreciation
- 2005-2006 Fulbright Scholar – Jordan
- 2004 College of Engineering Outstanding Researcher Award, NU
- 2004 Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award
- 2001 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
Professional Affiliations
- American Chemical Society
- American Geophysical Union
- American Society of Civil Engineers, Fellow
- International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
- Jordan Engineer Society
- The US Universities Council on Geotechnical Engineering Research
Research Overview
Geoenvironmental engineering, soil and groundwater remediation; electrokinetic and electrochemical processes; contaminant fate and transport environmental restoration
Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) Program
Supported with funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Superfund Research Program, the PROTECT Center studies exposure to environmental contamination in Puerto Rico and its contribution to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth (less than 37 completed weeks of gestation). Rates of preterm birth and infant mortality in Puerto Rico are among the highest of all US states and territories.
Selected Research Projects
- Electrochemically-Induced in Situ Degradation of Legacy Munitions and Insensitive High Explosives in Manufacturing Wastewater
- Co-Principal Investigator, Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
- Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes in Puerto Rico (ECHO-PRO)
- Principal Investigator and Director, National Institutes of Health
- Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT)
- Principal Investigator, National Institutes of Health
Research Centers and Institutes
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- L. Cathey, D.J. Watkins, Z.Y. Rosario, C. Velez, Alshawabkeh, J.F. Cordero, J.D. Meeker, Associations of Phthalates and Phthalate Replacements with CRH and Other Hormones Among Pregnant Women in Puerto Rico, Journal of the Endocrine Society, 3(6), 2019, Pages 1127–1149
- Aker, K.K. Ferguson, Z.Y. Rosario, A.M. Calafat, X. Ye, Alshawabkeh, J.F. Cordero, J.D. Meeker, A Repeated Measures Study of Phenol, Paraben, and Triclocarban Urinary Biomarkers and Circulating Maternal Hormones During Gestation in the Puerto Rico PROTECT Cohort, Environmental Health, 18(1), 2019, 28
- Zhou, X. Meng, J. Gao, A.N. Alshawabkeh, Hydrogen Peroxide Generation from O2 Electroreduction for Environmental Remediation: A State-of-the-Art Review, Chemosphere, 225, 2019, 588-607
Apr 06, 2020
Alshawabkeh Appointed University Distinguished Professor
Akram Alshawabkeh, Director of PROTECT & CRECE Centers, Snell Professor of Engineering, and Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, has been appointed to the rank of University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the university can bestow upon a faculty member, for his accomplishments and achievements in the field of geoengineering and environmental health.
Mar 23, 2020
PROTECT Research Center: Continuing a Bold Mission for Environmental Health
This week, the PROTECT multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research center, led by Akram Alshawabkeh, Director of PROTECT, and Snell Professor of Engineering and Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, was awarded a five-year $10.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue and expand its work. This next phase of PROTECT research will include the study of an additional 1,000 pregnant women and look at a mixture of chemicals beyond the initial two suspect chemical classes.
Jul 30, 2019
Larese-Casanova, Alshawabkeh, Fernandez Awarded DoD SERDP Grant
CEE Associate Professor Philip Larese-Casanova (PI), Assistant Professor Loretta Fernandez, and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education Akram Alsahwabkeh were awarded a $760K grant from the DoD’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) for “Electrochemically-Induced in situ Degradation of Legacy Munitions and Insensitive High Explosives in Manufacturing Wastewater.”
Oct 16, 2018
New Pedestrian Bridge Connects ISEC to Main Campus
Early in the morning of October 14th, Northeastern hosted a Midnight Masters Class prior to the installation of a 132-foot long section of the Pedestrian Crossing bridge that will link to two sides of the Northeastern campus over the MBTA tracks.
Sep 12, 2018
$13.2M NIH Award for Environmental Influences of Child Health Outcomes in Puerto Rico
CEE Professor Akram Alshawabkeh has been awarded $13.2M over five years from the National Institutes of Health to lead a renewal of the multi-institutional and interdisciplinary research project, entitled, “Environmental Influences of Child Health Outcomes in Puerto Rico (ECHO-PRO).
Dec 13, 2017
Determining the Environmental Health of Puerto Rico
Alejandro Rovira, S’19, spent his co-op working with the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) and the Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development (CRECE), led by CEE Professor and COE Associate Dean of Research Akram Alshawabkeh, to determine the environmental health of those in Puerto Rico.
Dec 01, 2017
Assessing Water Quality After a Storm
CEE Professors April Gu (PI), Akram Alshawabkeh (co-PI), and Assistant Professor Ameet Pinto (co-PI) were awarded a $100K NSF grant to determine a “Timely Assessment of Water Quality to Reveal the Potential Ecological and Health Impact of Hurricanes at Puerto Rico”.
Jul 19, 2016
Working with the Community to Determine Environmental Health
NIEHS director Linda Birnbaum spoke at the Alumni Center on the importance of PROTECT's first multi-country study Zika in Infants and Pregnancy (ZIP). Source: News @ Northeastern “You can’t change your genes, but you can change your environment.” So said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, […]
Jul 07, 2016
Field Application of IPS for Liquefaction Mitigation
CEE Professors Mishac Yegian and Akram Alshawabkeh were awarded a $342K NSF grant for "Field Application of Induced Partial Saturation (IPS) for Liquefaction Mitigation".
Sep 21, 2015
COE Receives 12th Federally Funded Center
CEE Professor Akram Alshawabkeh and his team were awarded a $2.9M federally funded grant for a “Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico (CRECE).”