Theresa Ahlborn

Theresa Ahlborn graduated from Michigan Tech with her Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering in 1986 and her Master's Degree in Civil Engineering in 1987. She also holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Ahlborn is a professor in the Deparment of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering at Michigan Tech. She is also director of the Center for Structural Durability.

Dr. Ahlborn has an active research program in the area of structural concrete related to concrete buildings and bridges, including the use of ultra-high performance concrete for bridges and remote sensing technologies for bridge condition assessment. She is a respected international scholar with over 110 publications, and has been PI or co-PI on over $10M in research. As the Director of the Center for Structural Durability, an MDOT Center of Excellence, she provides a solid link between industry, government and academia. In 2013, she was named WTS Woman of the Year in Michigan honoring her dedication to the professional advancement of women in transportation, and demonstrated leadership and outstanding contributions in the transportation field.

Her teaching interests include: Prestressed Concrete Design, Reinforced Concrete Design, Bridge Engineering, Structural Analysis and Structural Mechanics. Dr. Ahlborn has taught over 1800 students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels during her career at Michigan Tech, and has guided more than 40 PhD and MS graduate students to completion. In 2010, she was awarded the prestigious PCI Distinguished Educator Award, recognizing educators who have made significant contributions to the precast/prestressed concrete industry and in 2014, she was honored with Michigan Technological University’s 2014 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award recognizing excellence and passion for teaching.

Dr. Ahlborn is a licensed professional engineer (State of Minnesota), a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, and a Fellow of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. As an active member in ACI, PCI, TRB and fib, she is the chair of ACI 239 – UHPC and a voting member of ACI 318-B.

Updated August 2023.