Shishay Kidanu
- Teaching Associate Professor, Geology & Geological Eng
Contact Info
- Email: shishay.kidanu@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.2180
Office Address
Leonard Hall
81 Cornell Street Stop 8358
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8358
Biography
Dr. Shishay Kidanu is an Associate Teaching Professor in Geological Engineering in the Harold Hamm School of Geology & Geological Engineering at the University of North Dakota, which he joined in the Fall of 2025. Born and raised in Shire Inda-Selassie, Tigray region, Ethiopia, he has extensive experience in engineering geology/geological engineering, engineering and environmental geophysics, geohazard analysis, and GIS-based spatial analysis.
He earned his Ph.D. in Geological Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology (United States), an M.Sc. in Engineering Geology from Graz University of Technology (Austria), and a B.Sc. in Applied Geology from Mekelle University (Ethiopia). Prior to joining UND, he worked as a Senior Staff Professional in engineering geology with Geosyntec Consultants in California and as an Assistant Professor of Geological Engineering at the Department of Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska.
At UND, his teaching and research focus on Engineering Geology, Geomechanics and Geomechanics Lab, Earth Dynamics and Earth Dynamics Lab, and a seminar course, with particular emphasis on landslides and slope stability, as well as GIS-based landslide susceptibility and hazard assessment.
GEOE 455 – Geomechanics
GEOE 455L – Geomechanics Lab
GEOE 203 - Earth Dynamics
GEOE 203L - Earth Dynamics Lab
GEOL 356/421/422 - Co-taught
Courses for Spring 2026 (scheduled):
GEOE 323: Engineering Geology
GEOE 555. Advanced Rock Mechanics
Engineering geology and geomechanics
Landslides and slope stability
GIS-based landslide susceptibility and hazard assessment
Selected Publications
- Kidanu, S.T., Darrow, M., & Schwarber, J. (2025). Landslide Susceptibility Modeling Using Geospatial Analysis in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience.
- Calvin, P.A., Misra, D., Kidanu, S.T., Sonwalker, V.S., & Metz, P.A. (2025). Preliminary Attempt to Characterize Subsurface Hydraulic Conductivity Using Geophysical (Airborne Electromagnetic) Signatures. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, 31(3), 235–250.
- Kidanu, S.T., Berhane, G., Amare, M., & Kebede, M. (2024). Assessment of Rock Mass Properties and Load-Bearing Potential in Low-Grade Metamorphic Rocks: A Study from the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. AIMS Geosciences, 10(3), 498–523.
- Basiru, A., Kidanu, S.T., Rybakov, S., Hasson, N., Kebe, M., & Acheampong, E.O. (2024). Electrical Resistivity Tomography Investigation of Permafrost Conditions in a Thermokarst Site in Fairbanks, Alaska. AIMS Geosciences, 10(1), 1–27.
- Kidanu, S.T., Varnavina, A.V., Anderson, N.L., & Torgashov, E.V. (2020). Pseudo-3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography Imaging of Subsurface Structure of a Sinkhole: A Case Study in Greene County, Missouri. AIMS Geosciences, 6(1), 54–70.
- Varnavina, A.V., Khamzin, A.K., Kidanu, S.T., Anderson, N.L. (2019). Geophysical site assessment in karst terrain: A case study from southwestern Missouri. Journal of Applied Geophysics, Vol 170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2019.103838.
- Kidanu, S.T., Anderson, N.L., & Rogers, J.D. (2018). Using GIS-Based Spatial Analysis to Determine Factors Influencing Sinkhole Formation in Greene County, Missouri. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, 24(3), 251–261.
Selected Conference Presentations
- Kidanu, S.T., Darrow, M., & Schwarber, J. GIS-Based Landslide Susceptibility Mapping Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. 65th Annual Meeting of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, September 2022.
- Kidanu, S.T. & Alhaj, A. Sinkhole Susceptibility Modeling Using Frequency Ratio (FR) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Greene County, Missouri. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 2022.
- Kidanu, S.T., Anderson, N.L., & Rogers, J.D. GIS-Based Spatial Analysis for Determining Sinkhole Influencing Factors in Greene County, Missouri. AEG Annual Meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, September 2017.
- Kidanu, S.T., Torgashov, E.V., Varnavina, A.V., & Anderson, N.L. Integrated Geophysical Methods for Imaging Subsurface Structure of a Sinkhole: A Case Study in Greene County, Missouri. SAGEEP Conference, Denver, Colorado, March 2017.
Ph.D., Geological Engineering – Missouri University of Science and Technology, United States, 2018
M.Sc., Engineering Geology – Graz University of Technology, Austria, 2008
B.Sc., Applied Geology – Mekelle University, Ethiopia, 2004