Rate My Professor Aaron Gallant

Aaron Gallant is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine, Orono, within the Engineering faculty. His main academic specialty is geotechnical engineering. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University in 2009, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University in 2011, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University in 2014. A licensed Professional Engineer, Gallant joined the University of Maine as an Assistant Professor in 2017 and advanced to Associate Professor. He teaches CIE 460: Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering, CIE 598: Geostructures I – Foundations, and CIE 598: Geostructures II – Earth Retention Systems at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Gallant's research integrates theory and practical observation to evaluate the behavior and performance of natural landforms, geo-materials, and subsurface infrastructure. His skills include monitoring geo-structure performance, laboratory assessment of constitutive behavior in saturated and unsaturated sediments, and analytical and numerical modeling of coupled mechanical processes. Ongoing research interests cover ground improvement and stabilization techniques such as blast densification and column-supported embankments, the response of gassy and unsaturated sediments to instabilities during extreme events and dynamic loading, and soil-structure interaction. He leads projects funded by the National Science Foundation, including a $365,594 award to the University of Maine for developing microbially induced desaturation to mitigate soil liquefaction in earthquakes by generating persistent nitrogen gas bubbles in silt soils. Gallant participated in geotechnical reconnaissance following the 2018 Palu-Donggala earthquake in Indonesia. His 37 publications have garnered over 339 citations. Key works include "Assessing Persistence of Entrapped Gas for Induced Partial Saturation" (Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2021), "Influence of Air Entrainment and Gas Kinetics on Liquefaction Triggering during Tsunami Loading" (2022), "Soil Arching Mechanisms Resulting from Excess Pore Pressure Dissipation Following Blast-Induced Liquefaction" (2024), and "Evaluating Ground Improvement after Blast Densification: Performance at the Oakridge Landfill" (2015). Gallant received the Maine Impact Week 2021 Faculty Mentor Impact Award, nominated by students for his mentorship influence. He contributes to K-12 outreach through engineering demonstrations.