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John Daniels

Professor and Chair
UNC Charlotte

Twitter:
@JLDaniels1234

Areas of Expertise:

Coal, Environment, Environmental Policy, R&D

Additional Areas of Expertise:

coal ash, groundwater

Dr. Daniels was first hired by UNC Charlotte in January 2001, and has subsequently passed through the ranks of visiting, assistant, and associate to his current rank of full professor. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA; a Masters and a Doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Dr. Daniels was director for two programs (Geomechanics & Geomaterials as well as Geotechnical Engineering) in the Directorate for Engineering, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation as well as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Division of Engineering Education and Centers at the U.S. National Science Foundation. Earlier in his career he was a project engineer for TRC Environmental Corporation. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the State of North Carolina.

While at UNC Charlotte, Dr. Daniels has led numerical, laboratory, and field-based projects for utilities and consultants, as well as state, national, and foreign agencies, including Duke Energy, Southern Company, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County, Environmental Research and Education Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, HDR, Inc., URS Corp., S&ME, Inc., and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Much of this work has focused on physical and chemical controls on soils and industrial byproducts, with a focus on coal fly ash.

His laboratory participated in the bias testing as part of the approval process for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1314, one of the latest methodologies for evaluating the leaching potential of coal fly ash. His work with organo-silanes to render soil and ash hydrophobic has been recognized as a potential method for reducing infiltration and leachability, as cited in the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule on Coal Combustion Residuals. He is active in ASTM International, serving on D18 and E50 committees, the latter of which is responsible for the E2277 Standard Guide for Design and Construction of Coal Ash Structural Fills. His textbook, co-authored with H-Y. Fang, entitled “Introductory Geotechnical Engineering: An Environmental Perspective” was released in 2006 and he has over 80 publications in various journals, conference proceedings and technical reports.