“Dr. Roberts-Wollmann is a fantastic teacher, presenter, and engineer. Her continued pursuit of excellence in her research, in addition to her important past experience as a structural design engineer, allows her to remain a strong communicator of design practices and intentions behind design codes,” said Isaac Groshek, a first year graduate student in structural engineering. “She finds ways to present material in a clear and meaningful way to students that are craving to learn more.”
The classes that Roberts-Wollmann teaches include Reinforced Concrete Structures I, Reinforced Concrete Structures II, Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design, Advanced Prestressed Concrete, and Structural Design for Seismic Load Effects.
She earned her B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and continued on to receive an M.S. and Ph.D in civil engineering from University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to becoming a Professor at Virginia Tech, she worked as a Bridge Design Engineer at Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade, and Douglas. She also worked as a construction engineer for the Austin Bridge Company in Dallas and San Antonio. She is a licensed professional engineer in North Carolina.
That professional experience and hands-on mentality has made her a favorite among structural engineering students.
“I have yet to find an instructor who exceeds the professional and academic excellence of Dr. Roberts-Wollman,” added Groshek.
In addition to teaching, she serves as the Program Coordinator for Structural Engineering and Materials. She also frequently participates in outreach programs such as CTech squared and Concrete for Kids, which are education programs to introduce K-12 students to engineering.
Her areas of research interest include reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, bridge design, and bridge construction.
This is not her first recognition for teaching. She has been awarded the College of Engineering Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the College of Engineering Faculty Fellow Award and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Young Educator Achievement Award. She has also been honored as a Fellow in both the American Concrete Institute and the PCI for her outstanding contributions to the production and use of concrete materials, products, and structures in education.
The G.V. Loganathan Faculty Achievement Award was formerly known as the CEE Faculty Achievement Award. It is determined by a poll of current CEE students. It was renamed in memory of Dr. G.V. Loganathan who received the award five times during his tenure at Virginia Tech.