Alireza Ayoubian, P.E., BC.GE, F.ASCE, a distinguished geotechnical engineer with extensive experience in design, construction, and management of transportation and underground infrastructure projects, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Ayoubian has contributed to some of the most complex and high-profile projects in the United States and abroad, including the Hunts Point Access Improvement Project (Contract 3), Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project and East Side Access Tunnel Project in New York City, and Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project in Kentucky and Ohio. His career is marked by his ability to balance technical excellence with project delivery, ensuring innovative solutions to complex engineering challenges.
His expertise includes advanced finite element modeling of underground structures, foundation design, tunneling, excavation support systems, subsurface investigations, slope stability analysis, and seismic evaluations. He has been instrumental in designing and managing geotechnical solutions for bridges, tunnels, retaining structures, embankments, and other critical infrastructure, often under challenging geotechnical and urban conditions.
Currently he is serving as a geotechnical subject matter expert on Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project, the largest transportation project in the country, focusing on Contract P3 and providing technical review of the geotechnical design for this complex contract. He is also serving as geotechnical SME on the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project in Kentucky and Ohio, the largest progressive design build bridge project in the country.
His leadership on the Hunts Point Interstate Access Improvement Project (Contract 3) earned him the Parsons Standing Ovation Award in 2023, and the project itself received the ASCE Metropolitan Section Innovative Project Delivery Award for 2024-2025 and New Jersey Alliance for Action’s 12th Annual Distinguished Engineering Award in July 2025. As a Parsons Fellow since 2023, Ayoubian continues to contribute to the advancement of geotechnical engineering through technical reviews, mentorship, and thought leadership.
Ayoubian’s academic achievements are equally impressive. He holds a doctoral degree in geotechnical engineering from Northwestern University, where his dissertation focused on the effects of excavation on Chicago’s historic freight tunnels. He also earned dual master of science degrees in civil engineering with a geotechnical focus from Virginia Tech and the University of Alberta, where he conducted research on liquefaction behavior of soils. His bachelor’s degree, with a concentration in structural engineering, was completed at Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) in Iran, where he graduated with honors.
He has authored numerous technical papers and presented at prestigious conferences, including Rapid Excavation and Tunneling Conference (RETC), North American Tunneling (NAT) Conference, Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) Conference, and the World Tunnel Congress.
Ayoubian is actively involved in professional organizations, including Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the Underground Construction Association (UCA). He serves on committees dedicated to advancing geotechnical and tunneling practices and is a member of the Academy of Geo-Professionals Exam Committee.
