He obtained all his three degrees (B.S. ’07, M.S. ’08, and Ph.D. ’12) in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University. His disciplinary interests include solid mechanics, computational mechanics, structural reliability and structural design. Dr. Montoya offered a fully online engineering course, Introduction to Timber and Masonry Design, in the fall of 2016. He was a faculty mentor of CEE Study Abroad Program in Urbino, Italy and is currently working on a course re-design plan for CEE courses with dense-curriculum.