Tewodros Yosef

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Tewodros Yosef

Research Assistant Professor Midwest Roadside Safety Facility University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contact

Address
WHIT 130
Lincoln, NE 68583-0853
Phone
402-472-2371 (Messaging-Only) On-campus 2-2371 (Messaging-Only)
Email
tyosef2@unl.edu

Research Assistant Professor
 

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D., Geotechnical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • M.S., Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, University of Mississippi
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, Addis Ababa University

Areas of Research and Professional Interest

  • Computational geomechanics and nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis
  • Constitutive modeling of geomaterials subjected to high strain-rate impact and blast loading
  • Dynamic behavior of compacted granular soils for roadside safety and protective infrastructure
  • Impact performance and stress-wave propagation in timber-based roadside safety structures
  • Blast and impact geotechnics for resilient and sustainable infrastructure
  • Full-scale crash testing and crashworthiness evaluation of roadside safety structures
  • Protective infrastructure, force protection, physical security, and threat mitigation

Honors and Awards

  • Best Researcher Award, Computational Geotechnics, 16th Edition of COS 2025 Computer Scientists Awards, 2025
  • Recipient of the Outstanding Postdoc Award, Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2023
  • Finalist for the Outstanding Postdoc Award, Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2023
  • Professional Development Fellowship, Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2022
  • TRB AKD20 Best Paper Award (with M.A. Pajouh, K. Lechtenberg, and R.K. Faller), 2021
  • Milton Mohr Graduate Fellowship, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska– Lincoln, 2018-2019
  • Peck/Benak Engineering Achievement Fellowship, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2017-2018
  • Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI-2016) Conference Travel Grant, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2016
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, School of Engineering, University of Mississippi, 2015

Selected Research Projects

  • Median Barriers with Top-Mounted Fixed Objects – Phase I, Awarded by the Departments of Transportation of Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, California, Utah, Hawaii, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2029, Total Award: $255,062, PI).
  • Strong-Post MGS Attached to Culvert Adjacent to 2H:1V Slope, Awarded by the Departments of Transportation of Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, California, Utah, Hawaii, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, (Oct. 2025 – Sept. 2029, Award: $291,672, PI).
  • Development, Evaluation, and Crash Testing of Optimized Grade-Separated Concrete Median Barrier – Phase I, Awarded by States of Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Wyoming, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, California, Utah, Hawaii, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia (Feb. 2024 – Jun. 2027, Award: $229,628, PI).
  • Development and Evaluation of Low-Maintenance, Restorable, Energy-Absorbing, Crash Cushion, TrafFix Devices, Inc., (July 2025 – December 2026, Total Award: $1,679,437, Co-PI).
  • Crash-Tested Bridge Railings and Transitions for Wood Bridges Complementary to FS025, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, (April 2025 – June 2026, Total Award: $112,500, Co-PI)
  • Guidance for MGS Installed Adjacent to Steep Slopes at Variable Offsets – Phase I, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, (October 2023 – December 2026, Total Award: $239,647, PI).
  • Development and Evaluation of Crashworthy Approach Guardrail Transition with Increased Span Length Between Concrete Bridge Rail and First Transition Post – Phase I, Nebraska Department of Transportation, (July 2023 – January 2026, Total Award: $175,145, PI).
  • Crash Tested Bridge Railings and Transitions for Wood Bridges – Phase IIB (Continued Development, Crash Testing, and Evaluation of MASH Test Level 4 Timber Railing with Curb System Bridge Rail and MASH TL-3 Approach Guardrail Transitions), United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, (May 2022 – June 2026, Total Award: $600,000, Co-PI).

Selected Publications

  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, J.S. Steelman, R.K. Faller, S. Kim (2026) “Corrigendum to" Dynamic impact response and crashworthiness of luminaire pole-foundation systems in weak cohesionless soil" [Eng. Struct., vol. 343, Part B, 15 November 2025] Engineering Structures, Volume 346, id.121153; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2025.121153.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, S. Kim, Faller, R.K., Alomari, Q.A., M.A. Bahar, and Kumar, G.S. (2026) "Large deformation pile-soil interaction under lateral vehicle impact using hybrid SPH+FEM and EFG+FEM models," International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.70244.
  • M.A Pajouh, T.Y. Yosef, R.W. Bielenberg, R.K., Faller (2026) “Vehicle impact loading on soil-embedded piles installed near slopes,” Geo-Congress, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering.
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, L. Zhang, S. Kim (2025) “Experimental and numerical modeling of a crash-resistant noise barrier with glulam rubrails,” Journal of Construction and Building Materials, Volume 498, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.143872.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, Q.A. Alomari, J.D. Rasmussen, M.A. Bahar (2025) ”Performance evaluation of a sustainable glulam timber rubrail and noise wall system under MASH TL-3 crash conditions,” Infrastructures, 10, 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures10090226.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, S. Kim, R.K. Faller, Q.A. Alomari, M.A. Bahar, G.S. Kumar (2025) “A review of soil constitutive models for simulating dynamic soil–structure interaction processes under impact loading,” Geotechnics, 5(2), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics5020040. 
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, J.S. Steelman, R.K. Faller, S. Kim (2025) “Dynamic impact response and crashworthiness of luminaire pole-foundation systems in weak cohesionless soil,” Engineering Structures, Volume 343, Part B; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2025.121102.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, B. Shafi, R.W. Bielenberg, S.K. Rosenbaugh, J.S. Steelman, S. Sritharan, B. Phares, J.D. Rasmussen, A. Vakili, D. Saini, A.E. Loken (2025) “Investigation and evaluation of a MASH TL-4 precast concrete bridge railing,” Transportation Research Record, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981251315688.
  • Q.A. Alomari, T.Y. Yosef, R.W. Bielenberg, R.K. Faller, M. Negahban, Z. Zhang, W. Li, B.M. Humphrey (2025) “Material Characterization and Stress-State-Dependent Failure Criteria of AASHTO M180 Guardrail Steel: Experimental and Numerical Investigation.” Materials 2025, 18, 2523. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18112523.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim, R.W. Bielenberg, C.S., Stolle (2025) “Simulation of laterally impacted piles in dry gravel by adaptive FEM-SPH method,” ASCE Geotechnical Frontiers, Computational Geotechnics; https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784485989.020.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, J.S. Steelman, R.K., Faller, M.A Pajouh, (2025) “Optimizing luminaire pole foundation designs with hybrid FEM+ALE impact simulations,” ASCE Geotechnical Frontiers, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering; https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784485996.033.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, S. Kim, R.K. Faller (2024) “Dynamic response of piles embedded in granular soil to lateral impacts,” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 180, 108593, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2024.108593.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim, C.S. Stolle (2024) “Simulating dynamic thin-walled structures-soil interaction under vehicular impacts using coupled FEM-ALE approach,” Journal of Engineering Structures, 136, 118588, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.118588.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim, R.W. Bielenberg, C.S. Stolle, M.A. Pajouh (2024). “Adaptive coupling of FEM and SPH method for simulating dynamic post-soil interaction under impact loading,” Advances in Engineering Software, 195,103707, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advengsoft.2024.103707.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim (2024) “Experimental and numerical investigations on the dynamic response of steel piles embedded in crushed limestone material under impact loading” Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-024-02881-7.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, C. Fang, S. Kim (2024). “A state-of-the-art review on modeling of dynamic pile-soil interaction in crash test simulations,” Geotechnics 2024, 4, 127-157. https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics4010007.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, R.M. Masterson, J.S. Steelman, R.W. Bielenberg, S.K. Rosenbaugh (2024) “Two MASH TL-1 bridge railings for alternative decks on low-volume roads,” IRF R2T Special Edition, Springer Nature, Accepted for publication.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, C. Fang, S. Kim (2023). “Modeling dynamics of laterally impacted piles in gravel using erosion method,” Geotechnics 2023, 3(4), 1251-1278; https://doi.org/10.3390/geotechnics3040068.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim (2023) “A multi-material ALE model for investigating impact dynamics of pile-soil systems,” Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 164(2023): 107648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2022.107648.
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, D.G. Linzell, (2023). “Multi-hazard resistant behavior of CFRP and polyurea retrofitted reinforced concrete dual-column piers under combined collision-blast loading,” Materials 2023, 16, 3784. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16103784.
  • C. Fang, D.G. Linzell, T.Y. Yosef (2023) “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of High-Rise, Reinforced Concrete Building Resistance to Progressive Collapse,” 7th International Conference on Protective Structures (ICPS7), May 14–17, Auburn University, AL, USA.
  • M.A Pajouh, T.Y. Yosef, R.W. Bielenberg, R.K., Faller (2023) “Soil-Embedded Guardrail Post Modeling Under Vehicle Impacts,” Geo-Congress, https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784484692.016.
  • C. Fang, D.G. Linzell, T.Y. Yosef, J.D. Rasmussen (2022) “Performance evaluation of highway bridge piers under medium truck collision combined with air blast,” ASCE, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 36(1): 04021107. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0001683.
  • C. Fang, D.G. Linzell, T.Y. Yosef, J.D. Rasmussen (2022) “Numerical modeling and performance assessment of bridge column strengthened by FRP and polyurea under combined collision and blast loading,” ASCE, Journal of Composites for structures, 26(2):04022002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CC.1943-5614.0001188.
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, D.G. Linzell, J.D. Rasmussen (2021) “Residual axial capacity estimates for bridge columns subjected to vehicle collision and air blast,” ASCE, Journal of Bridge Engineering, 26(7): 04021035. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001735.
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, D.G. Linzell, J.D. Rasmussen (2021) “Computational modeling and simulation of isolated highway bridge columns subjected to vehicle collision and air blast,” Journal of Engineering Failure Analysis, 125 (2021) 105389. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2021.105389.
  • M.A. Pajouh, K. Lechtenberg, R.K. Faller, T.Y. Yosef (2021), “Development, crash testing, and evaluation of steel-post, trailing-end, guardrail anchorage system,” Journal of the Transportation Research Board: Transportation Research Record, 2675(12), 952-966. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981211031901.

Recent Presentations

  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, R.K. Faller, S. Kim, R.W. Bielenberg, C.S., Stolle (2025) “Simulation of Laterally Impacted Piles in Dry Gravel by Adaptive FEM-SPH Method,” Proceeding from ASCE Geotechnical Frontiers 2025.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, J.S. Steelman, R.K., Faller, M.A Pajouh, (2025) “Optimizing Luminaire Pole Foundation Designs with Hybrid FEM+ALE Impact Simulations,” Proceedings from ASCE Geotechnical Frontiers 2025.
  • C. Fang, T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, L. Zhang (2024) “Numerical simulation of high-speed vehicular impacts into glulam timber noise wall and barrier system,” 1st International Conference on Engineering Structures (ICES), November 8–11, Guangzhou, China, USA.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.W. Bielenberg, M.A Pajouh, R.K. Faller, (2024) “Impact performance evaluation of W-beam guardrail systems for low-fill culverts application,” IRF R2T Conference and Exhibition, December 10–13, Orlando, FL, USA.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, R.W. Bielenberg, S.K. Rosenbaugh, J.S. Steelman, A.E. Loken, S. Sritharan, B. Shafi, B. Phares, A. Vakili, D. Saini (2024) “Investigation, crash testing, and evaluation of a MASH TL-4 precast concrete bridge rail,” 2nd International Conference and Peer Exchange on Roadside Safety, June 23-26, Orlando, FL, USA.
  • T.Y. Yosef (2024) “Impact Geotechnics: Modeling Dynamic Impact Soil-Structure Interaction for Advances in Roadside Safety, Physical Security, and Threat Mitigation” Transportation Research Board, 2nd International Conference and Peer Exchange on Roadside Safety, Only the Yong – Insights from Young Professionals, Orlando, FL, June 26.
  • W. Kelley, C.S. Stolle, R.K. Faller, J.S. Steelman, T.Y. Yosef, (2024) “Entry Control Threat Delay and Containment – New Non-Proprietary M50 P2/P3 Barrier Development” Poster No. P24-21282, Annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Board, 7-11 January, Washington D.C., USA.
  • T.Y. Yosef, R.K. Faller, R.M. Masterson, J.S. Steelman, R.W. Bielenberg, S.K. Rosenbaugh (2023) “Two MASH TL-1 bridge railings for alternative decks on low-volume roads,” IRF R2T Conference and Exhibition, November 14–17, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
  • T.Y. Yosef (2023) “Soil Modeling Using Adaptive Coupling of Finite Element Method and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics” Modeling and Simulation for Design and Evaluation of Roadside Safety Hardware, Workshop 5007: AKD20 Roadside Safety Design Simulation Workshop, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C., January 12.
  • T.Y. Yosef, C. Fang, S. Kim, R.K. Faller, R.W. Bielenberg, C.S. Stolle, M. A. Pajouh (2023) “Adaptive Coupling of Finite Element Method and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics for Simulating Impact Dynamics of Post-Soil Systems,” Annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, AKD20 Committee on Roadside Safety Design, Transportation Research Board, 8-12 January, Washington D.C., USA.
  • M.A Pajouh, T.Y. Yosef, R.W. Bielenberg, R.K., Faller (2023) “Soil-Embedded Guardrail Post Modeling Under Vehicle Impacts,” Geo-Congress, 26–29 March 2023, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • C. Fang, D.G. Linzell, J.D. Rasmussen, T.Y. Yosef (2021) “Resiliency of Reinforced Concrete Bridge Frame Piers Subjected to Vehicle Collision and Air Blast,” 6th International Conference on Protective Structures (ICPS6), May 10-13, Auburn University, AL, USA.