Nilsson, Tonya

Tonya Nilsson is a full-time senior lecturer in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering at Santa Clara University. Previously, she was on the faculty at California State University, Chico where she was a tenured Associate Professor.  Dr. Nilsson has her Professional License and has worked in industry on structural engineering projects.  She received her Bachelors in Architectural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1991, her Masters in Structural Engineering from Stanford University in 1993, and her Ph.D. in Structural Mechanics from University of California at Davis in 2002.  Her Ph.D. research focused on the development of new material properties to model crack propagation on ductile materials.  Dr. Nilsson has a strong interest in engineering education and worked for eight years with ASCE's ExCEED Teaching Workshops to train other engineering faculty on effective teaching methods and served for four years on the national ASCE, Committee on Faculty Development.  She is also a member of  School of  Engineering's NSF "Engage" team.

Ph.D. University of California, Davis '02
M.S. Stanford University '93
B.S. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo '91

Dr. Nilsson maintains a strong interest in pedagogy in the classroom and the development of hands-on, interactive learning methods in Strength of Materials.  She is also interested in construction methods to mitigate damage during seismic and high-wind events in structures built with non-conventional materials and construction methods.

• Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence – Santa Clara University, 2020
• Teaching Excellence Award - School of Engineering, 2020
• Presidential Special Recognition Award – Santa Clara University – for leading efforts to develop and publish a STEM Educational Master Plan and service on the STEM Academic Planning Team 2017-2019
• Innovative Professor of the Year – SCU Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, 2017-2018
• Award for Curriculum Innovation – SCU Brutocao Family Foundation Award, 2014
• ASEE Campus Star – Recognized by the American Society of Engineering Education 2014 as a standout in Engineering Education.

• CENG 7 Graphic Communication
• CENG 41 Statics
• CENG 43 Mechanics of Materials
• CENG 44A & 44B - Mechanics of Materials
• CENG 115 Civil Engineering Materials
• CENG 121 Soil Mechanics
• CENG 213 Sustainable Materials

For a list of Civil Engineering course descriptions, visit the Undergraduate Courses page or the Graduate Courses page.

Nilsson, T; Aschheim, M; King, B; "Ecological Building:  Recycled and Low CO₂ Materials for Low-Cost, Earthquake-Resistant Housing in Haiti", 13^th International Conference on Non-conventional Materials and Technologies, September 2011, abstract accepted. 

Estes, A.; Welch, R.; Ressler, S.; Dennis, N.; Larson, D.; Considine, C.; Nilsson, T; O'Neill, R; O'Brien, J. and Lenox, T.; "Ten Years of ExCEEd:  Making a Difference in the Profession", International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol 26-1, 2010

Emerson, T., "Minds in Motion – An event to engage K-12 in Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering", American Society of Engineering Education Conference Proceedings, Portland, OR, June 2005 

Emerson, T. and Ward, M., "Students Are Leaving Engineering Curriculums; Can Our Educational Approach Stop This?", American Society of Engineering Education Conference Proceedings, Portland, OR, June 2005

Emerson, T. and Mills, R., "Student Chapters – An Adjunct to Engineering Education", American Society of Engineering Education Conference Proceedings, Nashville, TN, June 2003 – Winner of the Gerald R. Seeley ASEE Fellow

Emerson, T., "Enhancing Students' Understanding of Key Engineering Concepts Through the Use of Civil Engineering Toys in the Classroom", American Society of Engineering Education Conference Proceedings, Montreal, Canada, June 2002 – Winner of the Glen L. Martin Best Paper Award

Estes A, Ressler SJ, Saviz CM, Barry B, Considine C, Dennis N, Hamilton S, Hurwitz D, Kunberger T, Lenox T, et al. The ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop: Assessing 20 Years of Instructional Development. International Journal of Engineering Education. In Press (2019).

Nilsson TL, Doyle LA. Pushing and Shoving: Improving Student Understanding of Support Reactions with Hands-on Demonstrations. In: American Society for Engineering Education National Conference. 2019. Tampa, FL. https://peer.asee.org/33216

Doyle, L.A. & Nilsson, T.L., 2019. Flipping the Classroom - Do Student Learning Gains and Perceptions Vary Based on Gender? In American Society for Engineering Education National Conference. Tampa, FL., https://peer.asee.org/32852

Doyle LA, Nilsson TL. Experiencing Failure - Recreating the Hyatt Regency Collapse to Teach Statics, Ethics, and Lifelong Learning. In: American Society for Engineering Education National Conference, Tampa, FL. 2019. https://peer.asee.org/32792

Lim S, Thompson S, Nilsson TL. Some Do’s and Don’ts in Partnership Development for a Successful Humanitarian Engineering Project. In: American Society for Engineering Education National Conference. Tampa, FL, 2019. https://peer.asee.org/32713

Estes A, Ressler S, Saviz C, Nilsson TL, Barry B, Considine C, Coward D, Dennis N, Hamilton S, Hurwitz D, et al. Celebrating 20 Years of the ExCEEd Teaching Workshop. In: American Society for Engineering Education. 2018. 

Nilsson, T. L., & Saviz, C. M., & Saftner, D. A. (2017, June), Candy Land: Engaging Students in Class Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. https://peer.asee.org/28005

Doyle, L., & Nilsson, T. L. (2016, June), Lessons Learned from Changing Content Delivery Methods in Engineering Statics Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.25551 

Echeverria, J., Sampson, C., Vargas, J., Nilsson, T., Gil-Martin, L. M., Aschheim, M. (2014). A Bamboo Braced Frame System for Tropical Climates. Informes de la Construcción, 66(EXTRA-1): m019, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/ic.13.122.

Nilsson, T, “Why Am I Learning This? Using Everyday Examples in Engineering to Engage Female (And Male) Students in the Classroom”, American Society of Engineering Education Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 2014.

Echeverria, J., Sampson, C., Vargas, J., Nilsson, T., Gil-Martin, L. M., and Aschheim, M. (2013). “Development of a Seismic-Resistant Bamboo Braced Frame System for Resisting Earthquakes in Tropical Climates,” IInd International Congress on Mechanical Models in Structural Engineering, Granada, Spain, June 2013.

Nilsson, T.; Hall, K.; Welch, R. “National Trends in Civil Engineering Major Design Experience, Part Deux”, American Society of Engineering Education Conference, Atlanta, GA, June 2013

Nilsson, T.; Hall, K.; Welch, R. “National Trends in Civil Engineering Major Design Experience”, American Society of Engineering Education Conference, San Antonio, TX, June 2012

Krishnan, S.; Nilsson, T., “Engineering Service Learning – Case study on preparing students for the global community”, American Society of Engineering Education Conference, San Antonio, TX, June 2012

• Member ASEE
• Member ASCE – Educational Activities – CFD committee 2006-2009
• Board of Directors, Civil Engineering Division – American Society for Engineering Education –2016-Present
• Faculty Advisor: Society of Women Engineers and Engineers Without Borders

Registered Civil Engineer, State of California