Each week, the College of Engineering features an outstanding member of the engineering community to be part of our spotlight campaign. This week, we are highlighting Dr. Ann Goodell, Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor.
What brought you to Cal Poly College of Engineering?
Cal Poly actually took me by surprise. During my final year of my Ph.D. program, I was applying for faculty positions knowing I wanted to become an educator and remain involved in research. As I learned more about Cal Poly’s philosophy, research breadth and course offerings, I became very impressed. Cal Poly’s reputation preceded it; when I told my mentors and colleagues that I had an initial interview, I got nothing but gushing praise about what excellent engineers the university nurtured and how unique a program it was. When I came to campus for my in-person interview, I was deeply impressed with everything from the intellectual research interest to the campus itself, and the students particularly showcased thoughtfulness, curiosity, engagement and respect. It caught me off guard what a perfect fit it felt like.
Tell me about your research interests and why you are passionate about this topic.
Fundamentally, I have an interest in reinforced concrete, with a special focus on seismic considerations, prestressed concrete, sustainability and retrofitting, bridges, composite structures and finite element modeling. These topics are important as they connect to essential aspects of community resilience and practicality. The concrete industry tends to be ever-growing (over 4 billion tons of cement were produced in 2024) so we need to be constantly innovating in this space and ensuring safe designs.
What are some of the upcoming projects or publications you’re working on?
I’m working on two papers right now that marry two of my interests very well — experimental tests and numerical modeling. I was part of an incredible project at Virginia Tech where we considered older-style structural walls, retrofitted them and then tested them under earthquake loading. Concurrently, we modeled these walls in a digital program and had great success from the modeling aspect, where we were able to capture the behavior of the retrofit schemes and the impact they had on these older walls during loading.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love to read, mainly fantasy novels. Recently, I’ve been trying sourdough bread again. It’s going well if you consider how hard I laugh when I pull a loaf out of the oven and it’s as flat as a frisbee.
What is the most helpful advice you’ve received?
“Stress isn’t worth it.” I can’t say I follow this advice very well, but I do like to reiterate it. There are inevitably stressful times in life, but I think we often put too much pressure on ourselves and others when there isn’t a justified need to do so.
How do you support the college’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion?
This is such an important topic to me. First, I make it a priority to be familiar with the college’s available resources, and, within my classroom, I offer the course content in several formats — from written notes, videos, textbooks and lectures. Establishing mutual respect is critical in a successful learning environment. I begin by ensuring my students know that I respect them and the unique journeys that brought them to where they are with me. It’s important to recognize that even though I’m teaching engineering-focused courses, there are many external cultural or societal factors which may impact a student’s ability to succeed; my goal is to provide flexible support to ensure student success.
By Taylor Villanueva
