Prof. Sheahan is a professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Northeastern, where he has been on the faculty since 1991. He is also the Senior Vice Provost for Curriculum and Programs for Northeastern University, overseeing academic program development, governance and inter-college coordination, program assessment integration, and university-wide curricular initiatives, in addition to academic units including ROTC and Explorers.  His technical expertise is in geotechnical engineering, specifically experimental methods for studying the mechanical behavior of soft ground and its relationship to environmental contaminant problems. Most recently, he has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) program, first on a basic (R01) grant, then as Training Core Leader for a project known as PROTECT, a multi-institution effort examining the link between groundwater contamination and high preterm birth rates in Puerto Rico. He has also received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), including a current project related to coastal sustainability adaptation strategies in the U.S. and Caribbean. Prof. Sheahan is the author of over 90 publications, including a seminal textbook on geotechnical engineering. He has been recognized with outstanding teaching awards at Northeastern, and received the national Tau Beta Pi McDonald Mentoring award for his work as a faculty advisor, mentor to junior faculty, and his advising of student groups. His service activities have included national leadership positions in his discipline and as an ABET accreditation evaluator and commission member.