Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr Ieronymaki is an Assistant Professor of Geotechnical Engineering and a Research Affiliate at MIT, in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and Master and PhD degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her research deals primarily with data analysis, and mathematical and numerical modeling for predicting the soil and structure response to tunneling and deep excavations. During her PhD, she collaborated closely with the Crossrail construction consortium (BAM-Ferrovial-Kier) and she performed part of her research on the construction site in England. She has also worked as a summer intern, at Attiko Metro S.A., during the construction of the Athens red-line subway extension from Agios Dimitrios to Elliniko. Dr. Ieronymaki is a licensed professional engineer and member of the Technical Chamber of Greece, since 2007 an Associate Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), since 2009 and Future Leader of the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA). 

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • PhD in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • SM in Civil and Environmental Engineering
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
  • MSc in Analysis and Design of Earthquake Resistant Structures
  • BSc. and M.Eng. in Civil Engineering
 

Courses Taught

CIVG 797: Advanced Soil Mechanics

CIVL 410: Applications of Geotechnical Engineering

CIVL 310: Introduction to Geomechanics

CIVL 311: Soil Mechanics Laboratory

ENGS 230: Introduction to Solid Mechanics

  • Research
    • Tunneling
      Prediction of ground surface movements due to mechanized tunneling, using mathematical modeling.
      Building a database with information on various tunneling projects around the word. Prediction of TBM advancement rates and development of an algorithm to predict the ground surface movements using information about the soil and the TBM operational parameters. 
    • Soil behavior
      Numerical modeling of soil behavior and response to tunneling.
      Calibration of advanced soil models, such as MIT-S1, for describing the soil behavior of the different units of London Clay and its response to tunneling. Applications on Crossrail, Jubillee-Line Extension and Heathrow Express tunnel cases. 
    • Deep Excavations
      Numerical modeling and prediction of ground lateral movements in braced excavations.
      Development of a method for accurate prediction of the lateral movements of a corner-braced secant pile wall with simple commercial 2D FE models and soil properties from basic in-situ tests. 
    • Soil-Structure Interaction
      Analytical and numerical modeling of structural response to tunnel-induced ground movements. 
      New method for analytically predicting the response of continuous pipelines to tunnel-induced ground movements.
      New method for simulating numerically flexible buildings and predicting their response to tunnel-induced ground movements. 
    • Subway Dwell Time
      Mathematical modeling for predicting the subway station dwell time including the effects of user-induced delays. 
      Investigating the effects of human mobility and behavior on subway train delays, by collecting data from the New York City subway trains. 
    • Engineering Education
      Introduction of new teaching modules to classic Civil Engineering undergraduate courses.
      Development of innovative and alternative deductive methods for teaching Soil Mechanics and Foundations to undergraduate students.
    • Concrete Foundations
      Investigation of concrete foundation deterioration with increasing salinity in ground-water after hurricane events because of climate change.
      Measuring the rate and the extension of concrete deterioration, under certain extreme environmental conditions, using ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) technique.
  • Publications and Scholarly Activities
    • Ieronymaki E. S. and Whittle A. J. (2020). 'Application of a Generalized Plasticity Model for Representing the Behavior of a Highly Overconsolidated Clay'. submitted to Geotechnique
    • Volovski M., Ieronymaki E. S., Cao C., and O'Loughlin J.P. (2020). 'Subway Station Dwell Time Prediction and User-Induced Delay'. submitted to Transportmentrica A. 
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Omidvar M., Rabadi D. (2020). 'Introduction of Cooperative and Competition-Driven Learning in Geotechnical Engineering Education'. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference of Geotechnical Engineering Education, Athens, Greece
    • Ieronymaki E. S. (2019). 'Making Foundation Design Courses More Engaging and Effective for Students'. Proceedings of DFI 44th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations, Chicago, IL
    • Maniscalco J. D. and Ieronymaki E. S. (2019). 'Performance and Analysis of a Braced Secant Pile Wall'. Deep Foundations, July/August 2019, 75-59
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Boukin K. and Whittle A.J. (2019). ‘Discussion on Predicting tunneling-induced ground movements and interpreting field measurements using numerical analysis: Crossrail case study at Hyde Park’. Geotechnique, 69 (10), 936-939
    • Marinucci A., Carswell W., Nichols S. C., Ieronymaki E. S., and Reid D. (2019). ‘Design and Construction Considerations for Anchored Earth Retention Systems in Urban Environments’. 4th International Conference on Deep Foundations of Bolivia, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Whittle A.J. and Einstein H.H (2018). 'Comparative Study of the Effects of Three Tunneling Methods on Ground Movements in Stiff Clay'. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology, 74, 167-17
    • Maniscalco J. D. and Ieronymaki E. S. (2018). 'Performance and Analysis of a Braced Secant Pile Wall for a Multistory Building in Manhattan, NY'. Proceedings of DFI-EFFC International Conference on Deep Foundations and Ground Improvement, Rome, Italy
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Martello M. V. and Whittle A. J. (2018). 'An empirical design tool to predict ground surface response to tunneling with TBM'. Proceedings of World Tunnel Congress, Dubai, UA
    • Ieronymaki E. S. and Whittle A. J. (2017). 'Pipeline Response to Ground Deformations Induced by Tunneling'. ASCE Geotechnical Frontiers, Orlando FL, 566-575
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Whittle A. J., & Sureda D. S. (2016). 'Interpretation of free-field ground movements caused by mechanized tunnel construction'. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 143(4), 04016114.
    • Ieronymaki E. S., Whittle A. J. and Simic D. (2015). 'Comparison of free-field ground movements caused by mechanized and open-face tunneling'.  Proceedings of XVI-ECSMGE conference, Edinburgh, 3669-3674.
    • Ieronymaki E. S. (2015). 'Prediction and interpretation of ground movements due to tunneling in stiff clay and impacts on adjacent structures'.  PhD Thesis, MIT.
    • Ieronymaki E. S. (2011). 'Response of continuous pipelines to tunnel induced ground deformations'. Master of Science Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT.
    • Ieronymaki E. S. (2009). 'Numerical simulations of the performance of drains under earthquake-induced liquefaction'. Master of Science Thesis,  Analysis and Design of  Earthquake Resistant Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, NTUA.
    • Ieronymaki E. S. (2007). 'Bearing capacity and settlements of strip foundation on liquefiable soil'. Bachelor of Science Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, NTUA.
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  • Professional Experience and Memberships

    Memberships

    • Chair of the 53rd US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium by the American Rock Mechanics Association, New York, 2019
    • Associate Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 
    • Member of the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA)
    • Committee Member of the ASCE G-I Technical Committee of Underground Engineering and Construction
    • Committee Member of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Project Information Management Systems
    • Committee Member of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Tunneling and Underground Systems
    • Committee Member of the ASCE Met Section Diversity and Inclusion Committee
    • Member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society
    • Member of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers (BSCE) 
    • Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE)
  • Honors, Awards, and Grants
    Honors and Awards
    • Future Leader of the American Rock Mechanics Association, June 2019
    • Nominee for the 2019 G-I Outstanding Young Geotechs. Nominated by the G-I Committee of Underground Engineering and Construction. 
    • Nominee for the 2018 ASCE Norman Medal. Nominated by the G-I Committee of Underground Engineering and Construction 

    • Deep Foundations Institute, Women in Deep Foundations Award, 2017

    • Gerondelis Foundation Fellowship, 2013 
    • Edward Linde Presidential Fellowship MIT, 2008 -2009
    • Kontodimos  prize  for  excellence  in  the 4th  academic  year  of  NTUA, 2006
    • Hatzopoulos  prize for best student of the year in Advanced Geometry, NTUA, 2004
    • IKY Fellowship for excellence in the 2nd academic year of NTUA, 2003