Rachel Pearson

Role and Background

Rachel Pearson serves as a Research Assistant Professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, working across the Construction Engineering and Management and Bowman Sustainable Land Development programs. She joined Virginia Tech in 2025.

Dr. Pearson’s research examines infrastructure development and its implications for communities. She studies how engineering practices, institutional processes, and community engagement shape the planning, delivery, and performance of infrastructure. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, her work seeks to inform infrastructure development that responds to people’s needs and advances sustainability and resilience. Her projects span water infrastructure, renewable energy and data center development, and construction approaches for disaster recovery. Her teaching focuses on sustainable infrastructure and engineering design.

Previously, Dr. Pearson worked as a civil design engineer at Bohler, contributing to commercial, residential, and data center development projects.

Education

Rachel holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Civil engineering from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia.