Robert Arias has been in the engineering business since 1977 and has spent much of his career providing geotechnical engineering and materials testing services in Central and South Texas. He has also provided geotechnical services in other states, Europe and the Middle East. Robert formed Arias in January 1996 in his very own garage, and has since grown Arias into a premier engineering firm. Robert has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Jeremy has been employed at Arias since its founding in 1996 and currently serves as Vice President of Arias, overseeing the Information Technology, Accounting, and Facilities departments. Through his leadership, our company excels in service to our customers. Mr. Arias has been in the IT field since 1996 and endeavors to assure that Arias resources including facility infrastructure, telecommunications, and general information technology operations assist Arias in achieving its corporate mission. Under his guidance, Arias has developed a project management and billing system (CORE) to improve service to our customers.

Jeremy studied Computer Science at Baylor University from 1999-2002.

Amber has been employed by Arias since its founding in 1996 in various administrative and operational roles. In January of 2007, she assumed management of the Human Resources department. Amber embraced the challenge of organization, personnel communication, training and recruiting and succeeded in developing an effective and vital Human Resources department. Mrs. Hawkins continues to adapt and improve Human Resources to best serve our employees and customers.

As the Vice President of Human Resources, she is directly responsible for the overall administration, coordination, and evaluation of the Human Resources function. Company-wide, she develops and implements personnel policies and procedures; maintains knowledge of industry trends, employment, and Federal and State legislation to maintain Arias’ compliance; conducts compensation reviews and oversees performance reviews; assists in contract review; conducts recruitment effort; monitors career pathing; and acts as a role model within and outside the company.

Amber received her Associates of Arts from Seattle Community College in 2005 and studied Spanish at Seattle University in 2006.

Spencer Higgs, P.E. serves as a Vice President and oversees the Arias Geotechnical Engineering Department. Spencer joined Arias in 2008 as a Senior Geotechnical Engineer and immediately served as the Professional Engineer of Record and Project Manager for numerous commercial and government projects throughout Texas.

Under Higgs’ leadership, Arias has diversified heavily into the government sector with emphasis in geotechnical engineering and pavement design for city, county, and state transportation projects and geotechnical engineering for water resources, pipeline, and drainage projects.

His geotechnical experience has included subsurface drainage systems, rock cuts and stabilization, slope stability analyses, forensic studies, deep and shallow foundation design, soil treatment and stabilization, retaining walls, ground improvement (grout columns, wick drains, chemical injection, geosynthetics), and design of rigid and flexible pavements. Spencer has served as Geotechnical Engineer of Record and Principal Reviewer for a wide-array of projects for clients including owners, architects, engineers, developers, contractors, school districts, universities, health care institutions, municipalities, ports, and TxDOT.

Mr. Higgs has been a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas since 2003 and received a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1997.

Texas Registered Professional Engineer #90172

TxDOT Pre-Certification #13484
14.1.1 - Soil Exploration
14.2.1 - Geotechnical Testing
14.3.1 - Transportation Foundation Studies
14.4.1 - Building Foundation Studies
14.5.1 - Evaluation & Design of Geotechnical Related Structures

John currently serves as Arias' Principal of Austin Operations and has provided Construction Materials Testing and Geotechnical Engineering services since 1988 for projects in Texas and Oklahoma. His experience includes: bridges, roadways, water and wastewater treatment facilities, storage tanks, tunnels and pipelines, power plants, power transmission lines, airports, railroads, municipal projects, multi-story structures, recreational facilities, schools, universities and institutional facilities. He has extensive experience analyzing foundations, pavements, and construction materials; working with many design and construction entities, including Developers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and Private and Public Owners.

Texas Registered Professional Engineer #79751
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TxDOT Pre-Certification #5274
‍12.1.1 - Asphaltic Concrete
12.1.2 - Portland Cement Concrete
12.2.1 - Plant Inspection & Testing
14.1.1 - Soil Exploration
14.2.1 - Geotechnical Testing
14.4.1 - Building Foundation Studies

Rene’ served as the CMT Operations Manager for Arias since it was established in 1996 and has provided construction materials testing and engineering managerial services for over 35 years.

He is well versed and experienced with field and laboratory testing for soils, aggregates, concrete, reinforcing steel, post tension applications, asphaltic concrete, structural steel, fireproofing, wood framing and masonry. His background provides extensive knowledge about the basis for the materials specifications and the need for construction materials to meet project-specified requirements. His project experience includes landfills (soil and geosynthetic liners); water impoundment structures including detention basins and dams; single-story/multi-story buildings for commercial and institutional purposes; transportation including roadways (toll and non-toll), bridges, and rail; drainage features; oil and gas facilities and utility projects.

TxDOT Pre-Certifications #2773
12.1.2 - Portland Cement Concrete
12.2.1 - Plant Inspection & Testing
14.2.1 - Geotechnical Testing

Mr. Selvarajah serves Arias as the Branch Manager and Senior Geotechnical Engineer for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, performing geotechnical engineering and construction material testing services. He has 11 years of experience, including academic research that is well-rounded and solution-oriented, highlighting his diverse geotechnical/pavement engineering, material testing, laboratory testing, geotechnical field investigation, and field inspection experience. Partheeban received his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 2007, and his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Hawaii in 2010.

‍Texas Registered Professional Engineer #131709

TxDOT Pre-Certification #25349
12.1.3 - Materials Engineering
12.1.5 - Portland Cement Concrete Placement
12.1.7 - Embankment / Subgrade / Backfill / Base Placement

Mr. Alex Salcedo has served as Arias’ Director of Laboratory services for fifteen (15) years and is responsible for the technical quality of the laboratory testing performed by Arias. His numerous certifications reflect his extensive knowledge and experience in the testing of various materials. He has been in the geotechnical and CMT industries since 1993.

His laboratory experience includes testing of the following materials: asphaltic concrete, concrete, soils, masonry and aggregates. His field experience includes: monitoring of foundation installation, reinforcing steel observation, concrete placement observation and testing, post-tension observation, and in-place density testing of soil, aggregate, and asphalt.

TxDOT Pre-Certification #28484
12.1.1 - Asphaltic Concrete Production
12.1.2 - Portland Cement Concrete
12.1.4 - Asphaltic Concrete Placement
12.1.5 - Portland Cement Concrete Placement
12.1.6 - Embankment / Subgrade / Backfill / Base Production
12.1.7 - Embankment / Subgrade / Backfill / Base Placement
14.2.1 - Geotechnical Testing

Chris serves as the Marketing & Business Development Manager for Arias, responsible for executing the firm’s marketing and business development efforts for Arias’ office throughout Texas.

Since joining Arias in 2017, Chris has developed existing and new client relationships, overseen the production of high-quality marketing materials including statements of qualifications (SOQs) responses, interview presentations and managing/training the marketing team. He is currently the 2021-2022 SMPS San Antonio Chapter President and is involved in ULI San Antonio and AIA San Antonio.

Chris received his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in Marketing from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in 2014.