He continued his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on a range of problems on soil anisotropy, from both experimental and numerical perspectives, under the advisory of Professor Mohsen M. Baligh, which led to the award of a Sc.D.
(The MIT's PhD) degree in 1987 with his thesis titled "A constitutive model for overconsolidated clays with application to the cyclic loading of friction piles".
[7] Dr. Whittle is an expert in geotechnical engineering, whose research deals principally with formulation of constitutive models for representing the complex mechanical properties of soils and their application in predicting the performance of foundations and underground construction projects.
Most recently he has led research efforts in the application of wireless sensor networks for monitoring underground water distribution systems and construction projects.
[8] He is an active consultant who has worked on more than 30 major onshore and offshore construction projects and was an expert involved in the investigations into the collapse of the Nicoll Highway in Singapore (2004–2006).