Kevin McLain
Teaching Assistant Professor
Contact information
2139 Fiedler Hall
mclain88@k-state.edu
Education
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering/Construction Engineering/Project Management, Iowa State University
- M.S., Civil Engineering/Construction Engineering/Project Management, Iowa State University
- M.S., Civil Engineering/Geotechnical Engineering, Kansas State University
- B.S., Civil Engineering, Kansas State University
Professional experience
Kevin McLain received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University in 1988. McLain worked as a structural engineer from 1989 to 1991in the Bridge Division of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) in Jefferson City. He then transferred to the geotechnical section where he worked in the field and wrote recommendations for foundations of bridges and retaining walls. McLain also directed drilling and repair operations for landslide resolutions. He became a licensed professional engineer in 1995 in Missouri. McLain is also licensed as a registered geologist in Missouri (1996).
McLain went back to Kansas State University via distance learning, where he earned his master’s degree in 2003 and second master's in 2010. McLain became the state geotechnical director for MoDOT in 2013. He then pursued his doctorate at Iowa State and gained his doctorate in 2015. McLain started teaching at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) in Rolla as an adjunct professor. McLain retired from MoDOT in 2020 so he could teach full time at MS&T. McLain returned to K-State in the spring semester of 2024 as an assistant teaching professor.
Teaching
McLain’s teaching centers on geotechnical engineering and construction engineering and project management. He has taught classes in soil mechanics, advanced soil mechanics, in-situ testing, geosynthetic engineering, construction methods, scheduling strategies and construction fundamentals.
Research
McLain is mainly involved in teaching but his research interest includes soil compaction testing methods, intelligent compaction, cone penetration testing and alternative contracting methods.
National/International engineering activities
Member of FHWA, AASHTO and TRB scanning team, June 2002, which investigated Innovative Technologies for Accelerated Construction of Bridge and Embankment Foundations in Europe.
Panel member of NCHRP Project 20-5, Synthesis of Highway Practice 37-14, Cone Penetration Test Design and Methodologies.
Member of FHWA Peer Review Panel for Review of Foundation Testing Branch of the California Department of Transportation, September – November 2012.
Member of National Transportation Evaluation Program (NTPEP) - Technical Committee on Geotextiles and Geosynthetics.
Recipient of the Kanas State Engineering Professional Progress in Engineering Award in Civil Engineering, Oct. 21, 2006.