Aaron Rubin

Aaron Rubin joined the faculty at Smith College as a lecturer in 2018. As a professionally licensed civil (geotechnical) engineer with over a dozen years of civil engineering design and research experience, Rubin is a strong proponent of interdisciplinary teaching and research. Working with other departments, particularly outside engineering, broadens perspectives and provides him with new ideas for research and teaching. During his graduate work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he collaborated with electrical engineering, geosciences, and classics. Rubin's research interests are primarily in resilient infrastructure, energy and novel GPR applications with specific experience in the thermal conduction of soils, quantitative GPR data collection, in situ railroad testing and dam safety. He has six years of consulting experience, primarily in geotechnical site evaluations, foundation and earthworks design, HVAC geothermal applications, preparation of geotechnical contract documents and construction ovservation.

Rubin enjoys traveling internationally both for professional conferences and personal exploration. He tries to incorporate his broader work, research and life experiences into his classroom to ground teaching in relatable examples.

Courses Taught

• Strength of Materials
• Finite Element Modeling
• Geothermal Systems