Barbara Luke is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNLV. She holds a Bachelor's degree with highest honors from University of Texas at Austin, Master's degree from University of California, Berkeley, and Ph.D. also from University of Texas at Austin. All degrees are in civil engineering. The graduate degrees are in geotechnical engineering, with emphasis in rock mechanics (M.S.) and soil dynamics (Ph.D.) She once served in the U.S. Army as an active-duty soldier and then as a reservist. She worked at Sandia National Laboratories, planning and conducting in situ geomechanical testing for deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Nevada.

In her capacity as adjunct academic faculty in the UNLV Department of Geoscience, Dr. Luke directs UNLV's Applied Geophysics Center, which includes the Engineering Geophysics Laboratory. The Center houses a broad base of geophysical test equipment, the centerpiece of which is a "minivib" trailer-mounted seismic vibrator source with 144-channel recording capacity.

Dr. Luke teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in geotechnical engineering and general civil engineering. Courses taught include soil mechanics, surveying, ethics and professionalism, and senior design at the undergraduate level; engineering geophysics, geological engineering, rock mechanics, and foundations engineering at the advanced undergraduate and graduate level; and advanced soil mechanics, soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering, and earth slopes and earth retaining structures at the graduate level. She has also led a cross--disciplinary seminar course on sustainable development for UNLV's Honors College. She advises graduate students at M.S. and Ph.D. levels.

Dr. Luke's research interests are in soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering. Her research focus is seismic site characterization and application of the outcomes to solve engineering problems. She is leading a multi-investigator, multi-million dollar project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to study earthquakes in southern Nevada: to characterize the earthquake hazard and its risks to citizens and structures, to inform the public of these risks, and to improve earthquake preparedness and safety. The geotechnical component of the project involves mapping shear wave velocities, conducting site response analyses, and mapping earthquake hazards. She is also working with EPA geophysicist Dale Werkema to study the seismic signature of nanoparticle contaminants in soils. Dr. Luke is a past recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award. The award supported research inquiry toward detection and delineation of high-velocity inclusions in layered soil profiles using seismic surface waves. This research continues, with new developments in data processing and interpretation. The CAREER award also supported development of an on-campus Engineering Geophysics Test Site which is used for teaching and research.

Dr. Luke is active in academic, professional and community service. She is the undergraduate coordinator for Civil and Environmental Engineering at UNLV. She is a Governor-Elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Geo-Institute. She is former President of the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society. In her home community, Dr. Luke serves as Vice Chair of her local citizen's advisory council, which reports to the County Planning Commission.