Paul S. Nowak, Ph.D., P.E.

Professor, Civil Engineering

Dr. Paul S. Nowak, P.E. is a Professor of Civil Engineering, and has also served as the Associate Dean of Engineering and Applied Science. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from the California Institute of Technology in 1989. In 1980 he received...

Read Full Biography
Paul Nowak

Contact Information

AD Box 26

  • HK 249

  • If door is open or by appointment
    (Spring 2025)

  • (509) 313-3551

Education & Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D., Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology

M.S., Civil Engineering, Â鶹¹ÙÍø of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

B.S., Civil Engineering, State Â鶹¹ÙÍø of New York at Buffalo

Courses Taught

CENG 415 Masonry and Timber Design

ENSC 205 Statics

Past Semesters

CENG 411 Steel Design

CENG 415 Masonry - Timber Design

ENSC 301 Mechanics of Materials I

Dr. Paul S. Nowak, P.E. is a Professor of Civil Engineering, and has also served as the Associate Dean of Engineering and Applied Science.  He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from the California Institute of Technology in 1989.  In 1980 he received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the State Â鶹¹ÙÍø of New York at Buffalo.  His M.S. degree in Civil Engineering was awarded in 1981 from the Â鶹¹ÙÍø of Illinois at Urbana.  After receiving his Masters degree, Dr. Nowak worked as a structural engineer for four years at Cannon Design in Grand Island, New York.  He was an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Colorado State Â鶹¹ÙÍø from 1988 to 1993, after which he went to Gonzaga Â鶹¹ÙÍø.  For the 1999-2000 academic year Dr. Nowak was on a leave of absence from Gonzaga Â鶹¹ÙÍø, where he served as the Acting Dean of Mathematics, Science and Engineering at the Â鶹¹ÙÍø of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.  Dr. Nowak is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Washington. He has worked as a structural engineering consultant on over 400 projects over the last 35 years. Dr. Nowak has taught undergraduate engineering classes in Engineering Graphics, Mechanics of Materials, Statics, Fluid Mechanics, Construction Materials Lab, Steel Design, Design in Masonry and Timber, Foundation Design, Dynamics, Structural Analysis I, Structural Analysis II, Finite Element Methods, Structural Analysis, and Reinforced Concrete Design.  He has also taught graduate classes in Fundamentals of Vibrations, Intermediate Structural Analysis, Advanced Structural Analysis, Advanced Steel Design, and Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering.  For 23 years Dr. Nowak served as the faculty advisor for the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1993 he was awarded the Chi Epsilon Outstanding Teacher Award at Colorado State Â鶹¹ÙÍø.  Dr. Nowak has 40 publications in the areas of Nondestructive Testing of Concrete and Masonry using Microwaves, Structural Design of Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Habitat, Steel Design, and Seismic Design of Concrete Arch Dams. He has been involved in research projects with funding of over $1,000,000.  He also was awarded a patent for “Strength Related Testing of Concrete Using Microwave Signals.”

  • Hall, J.F. and P.S. Nowak, “Effect of Non-Uniform Seismic Input on Arch Dam Response” Proceedings of the Ninth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Tokyo, August 1988
  • Nowak, P.S. “Effect of Non-Uniform Seismic Input on Arch Dams” Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory, Report No. EERL 88 03, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 1988
  • Sadeh, W.Z., M.E. Criswell and P.S. Nowak, “Construction Alternatives” Plenary Paper, NASA Johnson Space Center Extraterrestrial Mining and Construction Workshop, Golden, Colorado, May 24, 1989
  • Nowak, P.S. and J.L. Hall, “Arch Dam Response to Non-Uniform Seismic Input” Journal of Engineering  Mechanics, ASCE, Vol. 116, No. 1, January 1990
  • Nowak, P.S., M.E. Criswell and W.Z. Sadeh, “Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Base” Proceedings of SPACE 90, The Second International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Engineering in Space, Volume 1, ASCE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 22 26, 1990 
  • Zoughi, R., G.L. Cone and P.S. Nowak, “Microwave Nondestructive Detection of Rebars in Concrete Slabs” Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation Conference, Center for NDE, Brunswick, Maine, July 28 August 2, 1991
  • Oaks, S.D., T.S. Siller, Y.A. Hussin, S. Hart Drabble and P.S. Nowak, “A Multi Parameter Vulnerability Analysis of Earthquake Damage and Post Event Reconstruction: An Evaluation of the Marina District.” Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Seismic Zonation, EERI, Palo Alto, California, August 25 29, 1991
  • Zoughi, R., G.L. Cone and P.S. Nowak, “Microwave Nondestructive Detection of Rebars in Concrete Slabs” Materials Evaluation, ASNT, Vol. 49, No. 11, November 1991
  • Sadeh, W.Z., M.E. Criswell and P.S. Nowak, “Lunar Base Architectural Stages” Proceedings of the 1st International Design for Extreme Environments Conference, Houston, Texas, November 12 15, 1991
  • Janakus, J., P.S. Nowak and W.Z. Sadeh, “Lunar Environmental Conditions” NASA TR, November 1991 
  • Nowak, P.S., W.Z. Sadeh and J. Janakus, “Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Base Habitat” AIAA Aerospace Design Conference, Irvine, California, February 3 6, 1992 
  • Hartmann, T.W. and P.S. Nowak, “A Geometric Approach for Eccentric Connection Design” Proceedings of the 1992 Structures Congress, ASCE, San Antonio, Texas, April 13 15, 1992
  • Zoughi, R., T. Nast and P.S. Nowak “Preliminary Results of Microwave Reflectometry as a Nondestructive Tool for Studying Concrete Properties” Proceedings of the Conference on Nondestructive Evaluation of Civil Structures and Materials, Â鶹¹ÙÍø of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, May 10 13, 1992
  • Nowak, P.S. and W.Z. Sadeh, “Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Base” Plenary Paper, Third Space Exploration Initiative Technical Exchange, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, May 5 6, 1992.
  • Nowak, P.S., J. Janakus and W.Z. Sadeh, “An Analysis of an Inflatable Module for Planetary Surfaces” Proceedings of SPACE 92, Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, ASCE, Volume 1, Denver, Colorado, May 31 June 4, 1992
  • Nowak, P.S., W.Z. Sadeh and L.A. Morroni, “Geometric Modeling of Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Base,” Journal of Aerospace Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1992
  • Sadeh, W.Z., M.E. Criswell and P.S. Nowak, “Lunar Habitat Development Stages” Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Environmental Systems, SAE, Seattle, Washington, July 13 16, 1992
  • Zoughi, R. and P.S. Nowak, “Use of Microwaves for Concrete Strength and Curing Indication” Proceedings of the Conference on Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Center for NDE, LaJolla, California, July 19 24, 1992
  • Sadeh, W.Z., M.E. Criswell and P.S. Nowak, “Lunar Base Development Strategy” Proceedings of the World Space Congress 1992, Washington, D.C., August 28 September 05, 1992
  • Nowak, P.S. “Recent Advances in Microwave Interrogation of Concrete Structures” Proceedings of the Conference on Applications of Microwave Nondestructive Testing Techniques, ASNT, Chicago, Illinois, November 16 20, 1992
  • Nowak, P.S. and T.W. Hartmann, “Eccentric Connection Design: A Geometric Approach” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 119, No. 2, February 1993
  • Nowak, P.S. and J.F. Hall, “Direct Boundary Element Method for Dynamics in a Half Space” Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 83, No. 5, October 1993
  • Zoughi, R., S. Gray and P.S. Nowak, “Microwave Nondestructive Estimation of Cement Paste Compressive Strength” Proceedings of the ACI Materials Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 1993
  • Nowak, P.S., W.Z. Sadeh and J. Janakus, “Inflatable Structures for a Lunar Habitat” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, AIAA, Vol. 31, No. 3, May-June 1994
  • Zoughi, R., S. Gray and P.S. Nowak, “Cement Paste and Mortar Compressive Strength Estimation Using Nondestructive Microwave Reflectometry” Proceedings of the International Symposium on Optics, Imaging, and Instrumentation, SPIE, Vol. 2275, San Diego, California, July 24-29, 1994
  • Nowak, P.S., J. Janakus, J. and D. Mitchell, “Internal Pressure for a Lunar Habitat” Journal of Aerospace Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 7, No. 4, October 1994
  • Zoughi, R., S. Gray and P.S. Nowak, “Microwave Nondestructive Estimation of Cement Paste Compressive Strength” ACI Materials Journal, Vol. 92, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1995
  • Folse, M.D. and P.S. Nowak, “Steel Rigid Frames with Dependent Columns - 1993 LRFD Example” Engineering Journal, AISC, Vol. 32, No. 4, Fourth Quarter, 1995
  • Bois, K., R. Zoughi and P.S. Nowak, “Microwave Dielectric and Reflection Properties of Concrete with Various Water-Cement Ratios and Aggregate Size Distributions” Third Conference on Nondestructive Evaluation of Civil Structures and Materials, Â鶹¹ÙÍø of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, September 9-11, 1996
  • ASCE Standard, Air-Supported Structures, ASCE 17-96, committee member, ASCE, 1997
  • Bois, K., A. Benally, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Microwave Nondestructive Determination of Sand to Cement Ratio in Mortar” Research in Nondestructive Evaluation, ASNT, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1997
  • Bois, K., A. Benally, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Microwave Nondestructive Determination of Sand to Cement and Coarse Aggregate to Cement Ratios in Mortar and Concrete” Presented at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, San Diego, California, July 27-August 01, 1997
  • Bois, K.J., H. Campbell, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Microwave Noninvasive Detection of Grout in Masonry” The Masonry Society Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, June 1998
  • Bois, Karl J., Aaron D. Benally, Paul S. Nowak and Reza Zoughi, “Cure-State Monitoring and Water-to-Cement Determination of Fresh Portland Cement Based Materials Using Near-Field Microwave Techniques” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, Vol. 47, No. 3, June 1998
  • Bois, K.J., H. Campbell, A. Benally, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Microwave Noninvasive Detection of Grout in Masonry” Presented at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Snowbird, Utah, July 19-24, 1998
  • Reza Zoughi, Paul S. Nowak, Karl J. Bois, Aaron D. Banally, Radin Mirshahi and Heather Campbell, “Near-Field Microwave Inspection of Cement Based Materials” Final Report, National Science Foundation: CMS-9523264, Electric Power Research Institute: WO 8031-09, December 1998
  • Benally, A.D., K.J. Bois, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Microwave Nondestructive Detection of Chloride in Cement Based Materials,” Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on Nondestructive Characterization of Materials (Organized by Johns Hopkins Â鶹¹ÙÍø Center for Nondestructive Evaluation), pp. 81 86, Sydney, Australia, June 28 July 2, 1999
  • Bois, K.J., A.D. Benally, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Dielectric Properties of Concrete at S and X Band: A Near Field Investigation” Proceedings of the SPIE’99 Subsurface Sensors and Applications Conference, Vol. 3752, pp. 12 18, Denver, CO, July 18 23, 1999
  • Bois, K., A.D. Benally, P.S. Nowak and R. Zoughi, “Application of Near Field Microwave Sensing Techniques for Aggregate Segregation Detection in Concrete Members” Proceedings of the Twenty sixth Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 25 30, 1999
  • Nowak, P.S. “Simplified Girder Analysis” ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering, Vol. 125, No. 7, July 1999