• Ph.D., 2004, Kyoto University , Japan
• M.Sc., 1997, University of Civil Engineering , Bucharest , Romania
• B.Sc., 1996, University of Civil Engineering , Bucharest , Romania

• Mechanism of large lateral deformations on gentle slopes in liquefiable soils
• Cyclic and post-cyclic mechanical response of liquefiable soils
• Seismic behavior of earth retaining structures (e.g., gravity retaining walls, anchors)
• Nonlinear strength envelopes in slope stability analysis
• Rainwater infiltration in unsaturated soil slopes

COURSES TAUGHT

• Introduction to Geological Engineering (GEO 3075/5075) – Fall semester
• Geological Engineering Design (GEO 5150) – Spring semester
• Landslides and Slope Stability Engineering (GEO 6480/7480) - Fall semester (taught every other year starting Fall 2007)

STUDENTS

• Zahra Amini

• Bradley M. Johnson, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Fall Undergraduate Research Award, 2007

Level: Undergraduate
Research topic: Geotechnical analysis of the mechanism of an active landslide along the State Route 226, Weber County, Utah

• Daniel D.B. Seely, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Spring & Summer Undergraduate Research Award, 2007

• Trandafir, A.C., Sidle, R.C., Gomi, T. and Kamai, T. (2007): Monitored and simulated variations in matric suction during rainfall in a residual soil slope. Environmental Geology (in press).
• Trandafir, A.C., Kamai, T., Sidle, R.C. and Popescu, M. (2007): Seismic retrofit of gravity retaining walls for residential fills using ground anchors. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering (in press).
• Trandafir, A.C. (2007): Mechanisms of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslides on gentle slopes in liquefiable soils. Utah Geological Association Newsletter, Vol.39, No. 5, pp. 1-2.
• Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2006): Performance-based assessment of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslide hazard in liquefiable soils. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, Vol. 24, pp. 1627-1639.
• Trandafir, A.C., Sidle, R.C., and Kamai, T. (2006): Mitigation of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslide hazard on gentle slopes by surface loading. INTERPRAEVENT International Symposium on “Disaster Mitigation of Debris Flows, Slope Failures and Landslides”, 25-29 September 2006, Niigata, Japan, Universal Academy Press, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, pp. 515-521.
• Trandafir, A.C.and Sassa, K. (2005): Seismic triggering of catastrophic failures on shear surfaces in saturated cohesionless soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 229-251.
• Sidle, R.C., Kamai, T. and Trandafir, A.C. (2005): Evaluating landslide damage during the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake, Niigata, Japan . Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Vol. 86, No. 13, pp. 133, 136.
• Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2005): Evaluation of catastrophic landslide hazard on gentle slopes in liquefiable soils during earthquakes. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Landslide Risk Management, Vancouver, Canada, 31 May - 3 June 2005, A.A. Balkema, pp. 629-635.
• Kamai, T., Trandafir, A.C. and Murao, H. (2005): Urban landslides induced by the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Evaluation of Seismic Performance and Safety of Residential Ground, Japan Geotechnical Society, pp. 17-24, July, 2005.
• Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2005): Earthquake-induced catastrophic landslide risk evaluation in liquefiable soils. Annuals of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, No. 48C, pp. 143-151.
• Sidle, R.C., Trandafir, A.C. and Kamai, T. (2005): Landslide distribution, damage and land use interactions during the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake. Eos Trans. AGU, 86(18), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract S54A-01, 2005.
• Kamai, T., Trandafir, A.C. and Sidle, R.C. (2005): Urban landslides induced by the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake. Eos Trans. AGU, 86(18), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract S54A-03, 2005.
• Badger, T.C., Trandafir, A.C. and Watters, R.J. (2005): Seismogenic flow slides within Summer Lake basin, southcentral Oregon . Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 37, No. 7, Abstract 110-7, 2005.
• Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2004): Undrained cyclic shear response evaluation of sand based on undrained monotonic ring shear tests. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 24, pp. 781-787.
• Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2004): Newmark deformation analysis of earthquake-induced catastrophic landslides in liquefiable soils. In Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Landslides, Rio de Janeiro, June 28-July 2, 2004, A.A. Balkema, Vol. 1, pp. 723-728.
• Trandafir, A.C., Sassa, K. and Fukuoka , H. (2003): Assessment of undrained seismic displacements on shear surfaces in saturated cohesionless soils. Annuals of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University , No. 46B, pp. 171-180.
• Ujiie, K., Kato, A., Kaneda, Y., Trandafir, A.C. and Sassa, K. (2003): Fluidization of fault during slip: A possible mechanism of low dynamic friction during the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake and implication for seismic slip along the splay fault in the Nankai accretionary prism. Eos. Trans. AGU, 84(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T41E-07, 2003.
•  Trandafir, A.C., Sassa, K. and Fukuoka , H. (2003): Prediction of undrained cyclic shear response of saturated sand in the ring shear apparatus. In Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of Japan Landslide Society, Toyama, Japan , pp. 251-252, August, 2003.
• Trandafir, A.C., Sassa, K. and Fukuoka , H. (2002): A computational method for residual excess pore pressure response in sand under cyclic loading. Annuals of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University , No. 45B, pp. 61-69.
• Trandafir, A.C., Sassa, K. and Fukuoka , H. (2002): Evaluation of earthquake-induced flow sliding potential in sandy soils by ring shear tests. In Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of Japan Landslide Society, Tokushima , Japan , pp. 67-70, August, 2002.
• Trandafir, A.C., Fukuoka , H. and Sassa, K. (2002): An effective stress model for residual excess pore pressure response in sand under cyclic loading. In Proceedings of the 1st Symposium on the APERIF Project, Tokyo , Japan, pp. 231-243, August, 2002.
• Trandafir, A., Popescu, M. and Ugai, K. (2001): Two dimensional slope stability analysis by LEM and FEM considering a non-linear failure envelope. In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of Japan Landslide Society, Maebashi , Japan , pp. 219-222, August, 2001.
• Popescu, M., Ugai, K. and Trandafir, A. (2000): Linear versus non-linear failure envelopes in LEM and FEM slope stability analysis. In Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Landslides, Cardiff , Vol. 3, pp. 1227-1234, June, 2000.
• Popescu, M. and Trandafir, A. (1999): Illustrated glossary for landslides based on the recent progress achieved within the framework of the International Decade for Natural Disasters Effects Reduction (1990-2000). Constructii Journal; No. 1, pp.16-28 (in Romanian with English abstract).
• Popescu, M. and Trandafir, A. (1999): Study on the effectiveness of various measures for landslide prevention and remediation. Report for grant-in-aid supported by the Ministry of Education of Romania , October, 1999. (in Romanian)
• Popescu, M., Federico, A., Simeone, V. and Trandafir, A. (1998): Probabilistic risk assessment of landslide related geohazards. In Proceedings of the 11th Danube-European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Hazards, Porec, Croatia, pp. 863-870, May, 1998.
• Popescu, M., Burilescu, T., Chiroiu, M. and Trandafir, A. (1998): Slope instability and stabilization measures along the Black Sea shore in Romania . In Proceedings of the 8th Congress of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment, Vancouver, Canada, Vol. 3, pp. 1537-1544, September, 1998.
• Popescu, M., Marchidan, E., Burilescu, T., and Trandafir, A. (1998): Design guide for slope stability analysis and landslide prevention. Report for grant-in-aid for the research project supported by the Ministry of Public Works and Management of the Territory of Romania , April, 1998. (in Romanian)
• Popescu, M. and Trandafir, A. (1997): Fundamental study on the development of strategies for landslide prognosis, analysis and remediation towards a sustainable development in areas prone to landslides. Report for grant-in-aid supported by the Ministry of Research and Technology of Romania, November, 1997. (in Romanian)
• Popescu, M. and Trandafir, A. (1997): Landslide risk evaluation based on probabilistic approaches. Report for grant-in- aid supported by the Ministry of Education of Romania, October, 1997. (in Romanian)