Geotechnical Engineer
332 Bonet • Mayaguez PR 00680, USA • 787-464-3078
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OBJECTIVE

Challenging position in a geotechnical consulting firm, as a staff engineer or field and laboratory geotechnical engineer

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

• Nine years of geotechnical field and laboratory testing experience, included over seven years of experience drilling geotechnical boreholes (up to 150’depth) and some non-conventional geotechnical tests
• Two years of geotechnical consulting experience (assistant staff engineer)
• Management experience in a soils and pavements laboratory
• Over two years of experimental research experience and laboratory instructor experience

EDUCATION

M.S. Civil/Geotechnical Engineering, April 2008 — GPA: 4.0/4.0 (8 courses)
Thesis: “Liquefaction Resistance of Cabo Rojo Calcareous Sands”
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, USA

B.S. Civil Engineering, September 2004 — GPA: 4.24/5.0 (five year program)
Thesis: “Fine Sands Stabilization with Acrylic Polymers”
University of Cauca, Popayán, Colombia

Geotechnical Technology, Diploma, August 1998 — GPA: 4.2/5.0 (three year program)
University of Cauca, Popayán, Colombia

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Research Assistant, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, January 2006 – Present
Graduate Laboratory of Civil Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

• Cyclic triaxial tests on sands, using an automated Load Trac II Geocomp System
• Consolidated undrained triaxial tests on clays, using LoadTrac II Geocomp System
• Conventional laboratory tests (Atterberg limits, sieve analysis, specific gravity, unit weight, etc.)

Teaching Assistant, Laboratory Instructor, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, January 2006 - Present
Civil Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

• Responsible for the preparation and instruction of undergraduate geotechnical laboratory sections (one or two sections per semester)

Assistant Geotechnical Staff Engineer, Popayán, Colombia, January 2004 – January 2006 Consulting firm: Estudio de suelos Ltda.

• Design of excavations and foundations for a wastewater treatment plant in Panamá City, Panamá
• Non-conventional tests (direct shear on waste) to assess stability and remediation option for a municipal solid waste facilities in Cali, Colombia
• Design of several shallow and heavy foundations systems in various cities of Colombia
• Design of concrete pavements and asphalt pavements
• Drilling supervision, including boreholes up to 150 ft deep, rock coring, piezometer installation, lateral drains installation, and in-situ sampling and testing
• In-situ testing: plate load tests, deep foundation load testing, etc.

Lab Technician (part-time), Popayán, Colombia, July 2000 – January 2004
Consulting firm: Estudio de suelos Ltda.

• Drilling supervision, including boreholes up to 150 ft deep, rock coring, piezometer installation, lateral drain installation, and in-situ sampling and testing
• Installation and control of a well point system in Cali, Colombia
• Field geotechnical testing and QC/QA: field densities, CBR, inspection, etc.
• Routine geotechnical lab testing: Atterberg limits, grain size analyses, specific gravity, etc.

Chief Lab Technician, Cali, Colombia, November 1998 – April 2000
Consulting firm: DICONSULTORIA S.A.

• Management of soils and pavements laboratory. Equipment control and equipment distribution for six different projects simultaneously in various cities of Colombia.
• Coordination of geotechnical boreholes (up to 200 ft deep) program for the enlargement of over forty bridges in two states of Colombia
• In charge of soil laboratory to get ISSO 9001 quality certification
• Inspection of construction and paving for two large highway projects in two cities of Colombia
• Field geotechnical testing and QC/QA: field densities, CBR, inspection, concrete, asphalt, aggregates, concrete coring, etc
• Drilling supervision, including boreholes up to 90 ft deep

MEMBERSHIPS

• Colombian Association of Professional Engineers, License No. 19202-111834
• Student member, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)

AWARDS AND ACTIVITIES

• President, UPRM Student Chapter. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (March 2007 – Present)
• Best GPA Award for the Civil Engineering Class of 2004, University of Cauca, Popayaán, Colombia
• Second best GPA, Geotechnical Technology Class of 1998, University of Cauca, Popayaán, Colombia

PUBLICATIONS

• Sandoval, E., and Rivera, L. (2005). “Fine Sands Stabilization with Acrylic Polimers.” Enginering Magazine Today, University of Cauca, Popaya´n, Colombia
• Sandoval, E., and Pando, M. (2008). “Liquefaction Resistance of Cabo Rojo Calcareous Sand.” Poster, EERI Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Sandoval, E. (2008). “Liquefaction Resistance of Cabo Rojo Calcareous Sand.” M.S. Thesis, Civil Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico, Advisor: M. Pando, April 2008, 124 p.
• Sandoval, E, Lavielle, T., Pando, M. and Olgun, G. (2008). “Liquefaction Potential of Calcareous Sands from Puerto Rico”. In preparation, 14th World Conference of Earthquake Engineering, 15p.

RELEVANT SKILLS

Geotechnical software: SLOPE/W, SIGMA/W, SEEP/W, SLIDE, GRLWEAP, L-PILE, BORING-LOG, SHAKE 2000

Drafting and plotting software: AUTOCAD 2006, SIGMAPLOT, , Adobe PageMaker, and Acrobat

General Office Software: Microsoft office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Language skills

• Spanish: Native language
• English: Reading: Good; Writing: Regular to Good; Speaking: Fair to Regular