Amanda Bao Headshot

Amanda Bao

Interim Department Chair

Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety
College of Engineering Technology

585-475-4956
Office Hours
3:30-4:30pm on Monday; 10:00-11:00am on Tuesday; 1:00-2:00pm on Thursday in ENT-3102
Office Location
Office Mailing Address
78 Lomb Memorial Drive, ENT-3102, Rochester, NY 14623

Amanda Bao

Interim Department Chair

Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety
College of Engineering Technology

Education

BS, MS, Tianjin University (China); Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder

Bio

Amanda Bao is a Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety at Rochester Institute of Technology. She got her Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, in 2006. Dr. Bao started teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and she regularly teaches structural engineering courses. Prior to RIT, she worked as a bridge structural engineer at Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. and Michael Baker International, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, and she is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado and New York, USA. Dr. Amanda Bao won the 2021 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching at RIT.  Dr. Bao has been actively involved in engineering education research since 2011, including digital learning, active learning and intensive collaboration with industry. Dr. Bao develops a teaching website: http://baoteachingcet.com/ and opens a YouTube Structural Design Teaching channel to post screencasts to supplement traditional lecture-type classes, and she also created hands-on active learning modules to improve teaching and learning effectiveness. In addition to education research, Dr. Bao conducts research in the areas of bridge resiliency and sustainability, innovative construction materials and evaluation of aging infrastructure. She has extensive research experience in finite element modeling and lab testing of structures and published more than 30 research papers.

585-475-4956

Areas of Expertise

Select Scholarship

  1. Bao, A.*, Guillaume, C., Satter, C., Moraes, A., Williams, P., Kelly, T. and Guo, Y., “Testing and Evaluation of Web Bearing Capacity of Corroded Steel Bridge Girders”, Engineering Structures, Vol 238, July 2021, 112276, ISSN 0141-0296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.112276
  2. Bao, A.*, “Enhancing Learning Effectiveness by Implementing Screencasts into Civil Engineering Classroom with Deaf Students”, Advances in Engineering Education, Fall 2019, Vol. 7, Issue 3, December 2019. https://advances.asee.org/enhancing-learning-effectiveness-by-implementing-screencasts-into-civil-engineering-classroom-with-deaf-students/
  3.  Bao, A.*, “Online Learning with a Bonus”, PRISM, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Issue: May 2020, p.p. 41.  http://www.asee-prism.org/advances-from-aee-sum-4/
  4. Li, H., Song, Z., Zhang, X., Huang, Y., Li, S., Mao, Y., Ploehn, H., Bao, Y. and Yu, M., “Ultrathin, Molecular-Sieving Graphene Oxide Membranes for Selective Hydrogen Separation”, Science, Vol. 342, No. 6154, p.p. 95-98, 2013. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1236686 
  5. Bao, Y.* and Sture, S., “Numerical Modeling of Cyclic Mobility Based on Fuzzy-Set Concepts in Plasticity Theory”, Computers and Geotechnics, Vol. 38, Issue 3, p.p. 375-382, 2011.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0266352X11000048
  6.  Bao, Y.* and Sture, S., “Application of a Kinematic-Cyclic Plasticity Model in Simulating Sand Liquefaction”, International Journal of Advances in Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Vol. 2, Issue 3, p.p. 119-124, 2010. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12572-011-0024-0 
  7. Ge, L., Bao, Y., Ni, C. K. and Ko, H. Y., “Seismic Centrifuge Modelling of Earth Dams”, Geomechanics and Geoengineering, Vol.5, Issue 4, p.p. 247-257, 2010. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17486025.2010.492243 

Currently Teaching

CVET-332
4 Credits
Introduction of classical and modern computational techniques to analyze statically determinate and indeterminate structures. Topics include beams, 2D trusses, 2D frames, cables and arches, moving loads and influence lines, approximate methods and moment distribution. Computer-aided structural analysis using commercial structural analysis software STAAD is involved.
CVET-434
3 Credits
Design concrete and steel bridges. Topics include types of bridges, design loads on bridges, live load distribution, design of prestressed concrete girders, design of I-plate steel girders, design of reinforced concrete deck, design of bridge foundations, and introduction to multi-span bridges. Emphasis is on the use of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and bridge design software, and a comprehensive group design project is assigned. Some computer work is involved.
CVET-500
3 Credits
A capstone course in civil engineering technology. This course builds on and integrates the engineering concepts developed in prior course work into the complete design of a major civil engineering project. The course will require a written and an oral presentation of the completed design to include, where appropriate, plans and specifications.