Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2021
  • M.Sc., Civil Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 2017
  • B.E., Civil Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 2016
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer, Colorado, #PE.0063236
Academic Appointments
  • Teaching Assistant, Purdue University, 2021
  • Research Assistant, Purdue University, 2017-2021
Professional Honors
  • Gerald and Beryl Leonards Fellowship Award at Purdue University, 2017-2019
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Civil Engineeirng (ASCE)
  • American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA)
Languages
  • Arabic
  • French

Dr. El Fil specializes in geotechnical engineering, soil mechanics, and rock mechanics. She has experience in evaluating shallow and deep foundation systems, retaining structures, soil-structure interaction, geotechnical instrumentation, and in conducting settlement and ground movement analyses. 

Dr. El Fil has investigated and analyzed ground movement due to settling and expanding soils and evaluating resulting damages to structures from earth movement. She has been involved in projects throughout the United States and internationally.

At Purdue University, Dr. El Fil's doctoral research combined the interdisciplinary fields of rock mechanics and geophysics. She employed active seismic monitoring — shear and compressional ultrasonic waves — to study rock discontinuity failure for well-matched and mismatched rock discontinuities at the laboratory scale. Her work resulted in an understanding of when seismic precursors to shear failure in rock discontinuities can be detected. Her technical expertise from her doctoral studies includes advanced geophysical and rock mechanics testing and data analysis. She has experience with artificial neural networks (ANN), conducting and analyzing 3D microCT Xray imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, and Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy.