Research Group Members
In our research group, the research activities are paired with the educational and training opportunities for a diverse group of postdoctoral, graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 students.
Current Postdoctoral, Graduate, and Undergraduate Advisees
Past Postdoctoral, Graduate, and Undergraduate Advisees
Honors and Awards Received by Research Group Members
Group’s Current Members
Raymond Pepera
Ph.D. Student (2023 – present)
B.Sc. (2022) Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Tahereh Torabi
Ph.D. Student (2023 – present)
M.Sc. (2017) Iran University of Science and Technology
Amirhosein Vakili
Ph.D. Student (2023 – present)
M.Sc. (2019) Amirkabir University of Technology
Ibrahim Odeh
Ph.D. Student (2023 – present)
M.Sc. (2020) Jordan University of Science and Technology
Bahareh Dokhaei
Ph.D. Student (2022 – present)
M.Sc. (2020) Amirkabir University of Technology
Saeed Bozorgmehr Nia
Ph.D. Student (2022 – present)
M.Sc. (2013) University of Guilan
Karthian Jadhav
Ph.D. Student (2021 – present)
M.Sc. (2021) Iowa State University
Shadi Azad
Ph.D. Student (2021 – present)
M.Sc. (2018) University of Tehran
Maziar Kazemian
Ph.D. Student (2020 – present)
M.Sc. (2019) Amirkabir University of Technology
Current Undergraduate Students
– Brendan Dougherty (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Ella Lovin (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Logan Baumler (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– William Stokes (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Eli Walter (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Dylan Osborn (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Sydney Fisher (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Zachary Kahle (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Yonas Zewelde (M.Sc. Advisee) (2023 – 2024)
– Sarosh Nawaz (M.Sc. Advisee) (2023 – 2024)
– Haseeb Qureshi (M.Sc. Advisee) (2023 – 2024)
– Emil Lindersson (M.Sc. Advisee) (2022 – 2023)
– Mohammad Askari (M.Sc. Advisee) (2022 – 2023)
– Jennifer Wivast (M.Sc. Advisee) (2022 – 2023)
– Anette Nyland (M.Sc. Advisee) (2022 – 2023)
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Group’s Postdoctoral Research Associates
Dr. Dikshant Saini
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021 – 2023)
Dr. Weizhuo Shi
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2019 – 2021)
Dr. Shahin Hajilar
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2018 – 2019)
Dr. Meysam Najimi
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2017 – 2019)
Group’s Graduate Alumni
Dr. Rizwan Karim
Ph.D. Advisee (2019 – 2023)
Dissertation: Investigation of ultra-high performance concrete from material and structural perspectives
Dr. Cole Shurbert-Hetzel
Ph.D. Advisee (2019 – 2023)
Dissertation: Investigation of temperature, shrinkage, and creep effects on frame piers
Dr. Abhijit Kulkarni
Ph.D. Advisee (2017 – 2022)
Dissertation: Performance of ultra-high performance concrete shear walls subjected to wind and windborne debris impact
Dr. Kofi Oppong
Ph.D. Advisee (2016 – 2021)
Dissertation: Vulnerability assessment of bridges under vehicular collision
Dr. Dikshant Saini
Ph.D. Advisee (2015 – 2021)
Dissertation: Vulnerability assessment of buildings subjected to windborne debris impact
Quin Rogers
M.Sc. Advisee (2018 – 2020)
Thesis: Repair of damaged prestressed concrete bridge girders using cementitious materials
Dr. Weizhuo Shi
Ph.D. Advisee (2015 – 2019)
Dissertation: Investigation of shrinkage-compensating cement concrete from material and structural perspectives
Dr. Dena Khatami
Ph.D. Advisee (2015 – 2019)
Dissertation: Management of concrete bridges under aging mechanisms and extreme events
Dr. Shahin Hajilar
Ph.D. Advisee (2015 – 2018)
Dissertation: Cementitious materials subjected to mechanical and environmental stressors: A computational framework
Jordan Eikamp
M.Sc. Advisee (2018 – 2020)
Thesis: Investigation of plastic shrinkage in fiber-reinforced concrete and shrinkage-compensating concrete
Kenneth Coblentz
M.Sc. Advisee (2018 – 2020) (co-advised by Dr. Sritharan)
Thesis: Analysis of a precast concrete barrier subjected to varying loads
Cole Shurbert-Hetzel
M.Sc. Advisee (2018 – 2020)
Thesis: Structural behavior of frame piers subject to temperature and shrinkage effects
Austin DeJong
M.Sc. Advisee (2017 – 2019)
Thesis: Innovations in integral abutment connection details for accelerated bridge construction
Douglas Krapf
M.Sc. Advisee (2017 – 2019)
Thesis: Increasing service life at bridge ends of movable abutment bridges
Melvin Glenn Veigas
M.Sc. Advisee (2017 – 2019) (co-advised by Dr. Passe)
Thesis: Design and development of cellulose-based composites for the built environment
Rizwan Karim
M.Sc. Advisee (2017 – 2019)
Thesis: Innovations in material design and structural configuration of link slabs
Michael Dopko
M.Sc. Advisee (2016 – 2018)
Thesis: Fiber-reinforced concrete: Tailoring composite properties with discrete fibers
Saeed Arabi
M.Sc. Advisee (2015 – 2017)
Thesis: Vulnerability assessment of sign-support structures during transportation and in service
Jyothirmai Nandibhatla
M.Sc. Advisee (2015 – 2017) (co-advised by Dr. Sritharan)
Thesis: Material characterization and application of ultra-high performance concrete
Anmol Pakhale
M.Sc. Advisee (2014 – 2017) (co-advised by Dr. Phares)
Thesis: Acceleration of bridge construction with prolonged service life
Shahin Hajilar
M.Sc. Advisee (2012 – 2014)
Thesis: Nano-scale investigation of mechanical characteristics of main phases of hydrated cement paste
David Ribbans
M.Sc. Advisee (2012 – 2014)
Thesis: Structural vulnerability of bridge piers in the event of barge collision
Past Undergraduate Students
– Lia Miller (2022 – 2023) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– John Martin (2022 – 2023) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Aniston Cumbie (2023) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Nicolas Worsham (2022 – 2023) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Alberto Perea (2022 – 2023) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Manuel Santana (2022) (APEX-E Program)
– J’Avanti Hall-Lopez (2022) IINSPIRE LSAMP Summer Research Experience
– Quentin Tiscareno (2021) (Summer REU)
– Josiah Crawford (2021) (Summer REU)
– Thomas Gauley (2021) (Summer REU)
– Mia Wright (2020) (Summer REU)
– Jared Benson (2020) (Summer REU)
– Alec McDowell (2019 – 2020) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Alex Stein (2019 – 2020) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Thomas Gauley (2019 – 2020) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Isaac Hunter (2019 – 2020) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Noah Rudi (2019 – 2020) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Mira Luke (2019 – 2020) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Peter Gepson (2019) (APEX-E Program)
– Iluda Ko (2019) (APEX-E Program)
– Thomas Gauley (2018 – 2019) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Matthew O’Brien (2018 – 2019) (First-Year Honors Mentor Program)
– Eric Lezniak (2018 – 2019) (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
– Jiangrui Cao (2018 – 2019) (Independent Study)
– Jordan Eikamp (2017 – 2018) (Independent Study)
Continued to M.Sc. at Iowa State University
– Michael Dopko (2015 – 2016) (Independent Study)
Continued to M.Sc. at Iowa State University
– Andrew Jacobucci (2013 – 2014) (Honors College with Thesis)
Thesis: Fragility analysis of bridges with eroded abutment piles
– Marissa Shea (2013 – 2014) (Honors College with Thesis)
Thesis: Capacity loss estimation of aging reinforced concrete structures
– Eric Muench (2013 – 2014) (Honors College with Thesis)
Thesis: Damageability of reinforced concrete bridges under impact loads
– Stephanie Castine (2012 – 2013) (Independent Study)
– Angela Berthaume (2012 – 2013) (Independent Study)
– Jessica Boakye (2012 – 2013) (Honors College with Thesis)
Thesis: Seismic performance assessment of highly skewed bridges
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Group’s Honors and Awards
2023: Cole Shurbert-Hetzel
ISU’s Graduate College Research Excellence Award
2023: Shadi Azad
Best Poster Award (Second Place), 11th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2023: Amirhosein Vakili
Best Poster Award (Third Place), 11th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2022: Saeed Bozorgmehr Nia
Best Poster Award (Second Place), Iowa Better Concrete Conference
2021: Rizwan Karim
ISU’s Graduate College Research Excellence Award
2021: Rizwan Karim
Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association Scholarship
2020: Dikshant Saini
ISU’s Graduate College Research Excellence Award
2020: Jared Benson
Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University
2020: Weizhuo Shi
Postdoctoral Seed Grant
Iowa State University
2020: Maziar Kazemian
Lowell Greimann Fellowship
2019–2020: Dikshant Saini
INTERN Fellowship
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2019: Austin DeJong
Outstanding Student of the Year Award
U.S. Department of Transportation
2019: Dikshant Saini
Best Oral Presentation, Annual Graduate and Professional Student Research Conference, Iowa State University
2019: Cole Shurbert-Hetzel
Best Poster Award (First Place), 8th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2019: Dikshant Saini
Best Poster Award (Second Place), 8th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2018: Dena Khatami
ISU’s Graduate College Research Excellence Award
2018: Weizhuo Shi
Best Poster Award (First Place), Iowa Better Concrete Conference
2018: Melvin Glenn Veigas
Best Poster Award (Second Place), Iowa Better Concrete Conference
2017: Shahin Hajilar
Student Marshall for ISU’s Graduate Commencement Ceremony
2017: Shahin Hajilar
ISU’s Graduate College Research Excellence Award
2017: Dikshant Saini
Best Poster Award (Second Place), 7th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2017: Shahin Hajilar
Best Poster Award (Second Place), Iowa Better Concrete Conference
2016: Shahin Hajilar
Best Poster Award (First Place), 6th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2016: Saeed Arabi
People’s Choice Award, 6th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2016: Shahin Hajilar
ISU’s Graduate College Teaching Excellence Award
2016: Weizhuo Shi
Best Oral Presentation, Annual Graduate and Professional Student Research Conference, Iowa State University
2015: Shahin Hajilar
Best Poster Award (Third Place), 5th Annual CCEE Graduate Student Council Research Showcase and Poster Competition
2014–2017: Angela Berthaume
Graduate Research Fellowship
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2014: Marissa Shea (2014)
Emerging Leader Award, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2014: Eric Muench (2014)
Commonwealth Honors College Research Assistant Fellowship
2014: Marissa Shea
Commonwealth Honors College Research Assistant Fellowship
2013: Jessica Boakye
21st Century Leader Award, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2013: Jessica Boakye
Rising Researcher Award, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2013: Angela Berthaume
Commonwealth Honors College Research Assistant Fellowship
2013: Jessica Boakye
New Face of Civil Engineering (College Edition)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)