Education
Brief Bio
Dr. Calvin Tohm is an assistant professor in the CEE Department specializing in Geotechnical Engineering. He currently serves as a faculty advisor for the SDSMT ASCE student chapter and the Geo-Prediction/Wall student competition teams. He serves on the ASCE GI Embankments, Dams, and Slopes and the Younger Member Committee as well as the Flexible Geomembrane Institute. His hobbies include restoring muscle cars, traveling, and enjoying time outside through hunting and fishing.
Research Expertise
Calvin's research specialties include seasonal weathering effects to near surface earth structures, remote sensing, slope stability, and erodibility of earthen dams and levees systems. His ongoing research projects include developing in-ground soil microbial health sensors to improve agricultural efficiencies, developing a novel erosion flume, fusing satellite and ground based measurements to forecast erosion and slope stability concerns, and using fiber optics to quantify bed shear stress and wetting front of eroding soil.
Teaching
Calvin teaches a variety of classes from geomatics 2, foundation design, geotech 2, slope stability, and advanced soil mechanics. His teaching style focuses on active learning techniques that engage students both inside and outside the classroom. He focuses on project-based learning by incorporating real industry projects into his classroom. Students are challenged to think like real engineers with semester long projects that are derived from previous projects.