Beena Sukumaran obtained her Ph.D. from Purdue University in the School of Civil Engineering with particular emphasis in Geotechnical Engineering. Her Ph.D. research work included looking at the effects of microscopic particle characteristics on the shear strength of sands. She also devised a new method by which to quantify the shape of particles. She obtained her M.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and her B.S. degree from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. She worked as a visiting Professor at Prairie View A&M University soon after leaving Purdue. She also worked for Amoco Corporation performing finite element analyses on suction caissons. She continued the work at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute where she spent a year on a Norwegian Government Fellowship. Norwegian Geotechnical Institute is considered one of the leading research institutions by geotechnical engineers worldwide. Her research interests include evaluating the performance of suction caissons in different soil conditions, effect of inherent particle characteristics on liquefaction potential, pavement analysis, fuzzy set applications in geotechnical engineering and use of the discrete element method to investigate the interaction forces acting on particles. She is also extremely interested in sustainable design and design for the environment.