Dr. Marolo Alfaro, P.Eng.

Area

Dr. Alfaro’s areas of research include geosynthetics for civil engineering applications, ground improvement techniques, hydroelectric earth fill dams, mechanically-stabilized earth walls, pile foundations, stabilization of natural and engineered slopes, climate-resilient infrastructure, and cold regions engineering.

Expertise

Geotechnical engineering, geosynthetic engineering, ground improvement, foundations, earth and water retaining structures, northern infrastructure engineering, cold regions engineering.

Research description

My recent research involves evaluating the performance of a variety of infrastructure projects that include highway embankments, riverbanks, hydroelectric facilities, and underground nuclear waste disposal repositories. It has developed from projects funded by various public agencies and private sectors. Recent research projects include: adaptive design for climate-resilient northern infrastructure, riverbank stabilization using rockfill columns, performance of clay seals in underground nuclear fuel waste repositories, mobilization of frost heave forces on pile foundations, and stabilization of soft clays using cement, slag and nano-silica. These projects involved a combination of two and sometimes three of the following research components: 1) conventional and large-scale laboratory tests, 2) full-scale field tests, and 3) numerical modeling. The research has advanced current design and construction practices by providing modeling and analysis recommendations that help engineers predict and mitigate excessive deformations and instabilities of earth structures and foundations.

Dr. Marolo Alfaro is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He received a BSc in civil engineering (magna cum laude) from the University of Mindanao, Philippines, an MEng in geotechnical engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and a PhD in civil engineering from Saga University, Japan. He received postdoctoral fellowships from the Royal Military College of Canada and the University of Calgary in Canada.
Marolo has published widely in technical journals and in conference proceedings, receiving awards for his research work. He received the 2019 Geosynthetics Award given by the in recognition of outstanding contribution to the applications of geosynthetics in civil, geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering in Canada and internationally. Marolo is the leader of a University of Manitoba research team that received the 2022 Roger J.E. Brown Award given by the Canadian Geotechnical Society in recognition of outstanding contribution to permafrost engineering. He has co-authored a book and a book chapter.
Marolo is a registered Professional Engineer with Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba specializing in geotechnical engineering. He worked as an engineering consultant on a broad variety of infrastructure projects. He has just been appointed as Chair of the Canadian Geotechnical Research Board (GRB) for 2022-2025. The mandate of the GRB is to monitor, stimulate, and promote research in the geotechnical engineering and geoscience fields for the benefit of the profession and Canada. He served as Vice-President of the International Geosynthetics Society - North American Chapter, Member of the Executive Board of the Canadian Geotechnical Society, and Canadian representative to the Committee on Ground Improvement of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. He is a member of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Dr. Alfaro is an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Built Environment Journal.

Book Chapter:

Bathurst, R.J., Hatami, K. and Alfaro, M. (2021). Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls and Slopes: Seismic Aspects. Chapter 19 in Handbook of Geosynthetic Engineering, 3rd Edition (S.K. Shukla - Editor), Institution of Civil Engineers Publishing, UK. pp. 371-415.

Book:

Bergado, D.T., Chai, J.C., Alfaro, M. and Balasubramaniam, A.S. (1994). Improvement Techniques of Soft Ground in Subsiding and Lowland Environment. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 222p.

Technical Journals:

Ubay-Anongpouth, I.O. and Alfaro, M. (2022). Delayed Instabilities of Water-Retaining Earth Structures. Journal of Frontiers in Built Environment 8:927137.

Eissa, A., Bassuoni, M., Ghazy, A. and Alfaro, M. (2022). Improving the Properties of Soft Clay using Cement, Slag, and Nano-Silica Experimental and Statistical Modeling. ASCE Journal of Civil Engineering Materials.

Eissa, A., Yasien, A.M., Bassuoni, M. and Alfaro, M. (2022). Performance of Treated Soft Clay with Nano‑Modified Cementitious Binders at Reference and Cold Temperatures. International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering.

De Guzman, E.M., Alfaro, M., Arenson, L, and Dore, G. (2021). Thermal Regime of Highway Embankments in the Arctic: Field Observations and Numerical Simulations. ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Engineering, 147(6).

Adajar, J.B,, Alfaro, M., Chen, Y., and Zeng, Z. (2021). Calibration of Discrete Element Parameters of Crop Residues and their Interfaces with Soil. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 188.

De Guzman, E.M., Alfaro, M., Doré, G., Arenson, L., and Piamsalee, A. (2021). Performance of Highway Embankments in the Arctic Corridor Constructed Under Winter Conditions. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 58(5): 722-736.

Anongphouth, A., Maghoul, P., and Alfaro, M. (2020). Geothermal Energy Pile-Soil Interaction Under Mechanical Loading and Thermal Cycles. International Journal of Geotechnique, Construction Materials and Environment. 18(70): 1-8.

Adajar, J.B., Ubay, I.O., Alfaro, M., and Chen, Y. (2020). Discrete Element Model Parameters to Simulate Slope Movements. International Journal of Geotechnique, Construction Materials and Environment. 18(65): 192-199.

Ubay, I.O., Alfaro III, M., Alfaro, M., Blatz, J. (2020). Stability Assessment of an Aging Earth Fill Dam Considering Anisotropic Behaviour of Clay. International Journal of Geotechnique, Construction Materials and Environment. 18(66): 84-91.

Kim, C.S., Alfaro, M., Blatz, J., and Graham, J. (2020). Coupled Hydro-Mechanical (H-M) Performance of In-Situ Shaft Sealing Components for Nuclear Waste Disposal. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2018-0063

Kim, C.S., Alfaro, M., Blatz, J., and Graham, J. (2019). Coupled Hydro-Mechanical (H-M) Performance of In-Situ Shaft Sealing Components for Nuclear Waste Disposal. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2018-0063

De Guzman, E.M.B., Stafford, D., Alfaro, M., Doré, G. and Arenson, L. (2018). Large-Scale Direct Shear Testing of Compacted Frozen Soil under Freezing and Thawing Conditions. Cold Regions Science and Technology 151: 138-147.

Kurz, D., Flynn, D., Alfaro, M. and Graham, J. (2018). Seasonal Deformations under a Road Embankment on Degrading Permafrost. Environmental Geotechnics.
DOI: 10.1680/jenge.17.00036

De Guzman, E.M.B. and Alfaro, M. (2018). Geotechnical Properties of Fibrous and Amorphous Peats for the Construction of Road Embankments. ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. (in press)

De Guzman, E.M.B. and Alfaro, M. (2018). Laboratory-Scale Model Studies on Corduroy-Reinforced Road Embankments on Peat Foundations using Transparent Soil. Transportation Geotechnics. (revision requested and submitted)
Kurz, D., Alfaro, M. and Graham, J. (2017). Thermal Conductivities of Frozen and Unfrozen Soil in the Active Layer. Cold Regions Science and Technology 140: 30-38.