Fred K. Boadu

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Fred Boadu received his B.S. (Hons) in geological engineering from the University of Science and Technology, Ghana, a Post-Graduate Diploma in applied geophysics from McGill University, an M.S. in geophysics from the University of Calgary, and his Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1994. He was an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Science and Technology, School of Mines (Tarkwa, Ghana) from 1982 to 1984. Since 1986, he has worked for several oil companies (Chevron, Amoco, and Mobil) during the summer months on a variety of research projects. He is also a consultant for Texaco, Inc. and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.

Dr. Boadu’s research focuses on the areas of exploration, engineering and environmental geophysics. Current research involves characterizing the transport and storage properties of porous media such as fractured rocks, soils and human tissue. The work involves modeling, laboratory and field experiments. Fractal concepts and neural networks are used to interpret results. Recently, Dr. Boadu has been involved in research regarding nitrate contamination in groundwater, and as well, in education and awareness campaign of the implications in potential health hazards in Ghana

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Associate Research Professor of Global Health

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1994

Research Interests

How the engineering, environmental and petrophysical properties of porous media (soils, fractured rock, biological tissues) affect measurable geophysical responses, and subsequently develop methodologies by which these properties can be obtained from non-invasive geophysical measurements.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

  • Junior Faculty Enhancement Award-Applied Science Category. Oak Ridge Associated Universities. 1997

Courses Taught

  • CEE 643: Environmental and Engineering Geophysics
  • CEE 525: Wave Propagation in Elastic and Poroelastic Media
  • CEE 302L: Introduction to Soil Mechanics

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Boateng, K. A., Y. A. Tuffour, S. Agyeman, and F. Boadu. “Potential improvements in montmorillonite-nanoclay-modified Cold-Mix Asphalt.” Case Studies in Construction Materials 17 (December 1, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e01331.
  • Ampadu, S. I. K., T. D. Arthur, P. Ackah, and F. Boadu. “Construction and Monitoring of the Short-Term Strength Development of a Cement-Stabilized Lateritic Pavement Layer Under Tropical Climatic Conditions.” In Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, 164:727–41, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77230-7_55.
  • Pratson, L. F., A. Stroujkova, D. Herrick, F. Boadu, and P. Malin. “Predicting seismic velocity and other rock properties from clay content only.” GEOPHYSICS 68, no. 6 (January 1, 2021): 1847–56. https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1635037.
  • Boadu, F. K. “A support vector regression approach to predict geotechnical properties of soils from electrical spectra based on Jonscher parameterization.” Geophysics 85, no. 3 (May 1, 2020): EN39–48. https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2019-0256.1.
  • Owusu-Nimo, F., and F. K. Boadu. “Evaluating effective stress conditions in soils using non-invasive electrical measurements – Laboratory studies.” Journal of Applied Geophysics 174 (March 1, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2020.103961.