Principal Investigator

Behrouz Shafei, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor | Joel and Judy Cerwick Professor
Director of Graduate Education
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Iowa State University

Member/Affiliate Member with:
– Institute for Transportation (InTrans)
– Center for Building Energy Research (CBER)
– Virtual Reality Application Center (VRAC)
– Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER)

Address:
424 Town Engineering Building
Ames, IA 50011-1066
Phone: 515-294-4058; Email: shafei@iastate.edu


Appointments

  • Director of Graduate Education (2023 – present)
    Iowa State University
  • Associate Professor (with Tenure) (2020 – present)
    Iowa State University
  • Visiting Professor (2021 – 2022)
    Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
  • Assistant Professor (2014 – 2020)
    Iowa State University
  • Assistant Professor (2012 – 2014)
    University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • Postdoctoral Scholar (2011 – 2012)
    University of California, Irvine
  • Graduate Research Assistant (2007 – 2011)
    University of California, Irvine

Education

  • Ph.D. (2011) in Civil Engineering
    University of California, Irvine
    Advisor: Prof. Masanobu Shinozuka
    Dissertation: Stochastic finite-element analysis of reinforced concrete structures subjected to multiple environmental stressors
  • M.Sc. (2006) in Structural Engineering
    University of Tehran
    Advisors: Prof. Masoud Motavalli and Prof. Rasoul Mirghaderi
    Thesis: Seismic evaluation and retrofit of buildings with a special consideration of existing connections
    In collaboration with Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
  • B.Sc. (2004) in Civil Engineering
    University of Tehran

Professional and Service Activities

Prof. Shafei has established and maintained an active presence and multiple roles in the professional community. His professional service spans a number of committees in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Concrete Institute (ACI), and Transportation Research Board (TRB). He has contributed to multiple grant review activities, including serving on proposal review panels organized by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Shafei has reviewed several papers for different engineering and science journals.


Honors and Awards

2023: Interdisciplinary Team Research Award
Iowa State University

2021 – 2022: Scientific Exchange Fellowship
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

2020: Charles W. Schafer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University

2020: Postdoctoral Mentoring Award
Iowa State University

2018: NHERI Young Faculty Scholarship
Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure’s Summer Institute
National Science Foundation (NSF)

2018: Best Paper Award (Second Place)
Joint Competition for AFN10 – Standing Committee on Basic Research and Emerging Technologies Related to Concrete, AFN20 – Standing Committee on Properties of Concrete, and AFN30 – Standing Committee on Durability of Concrete, Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting

2017: Wilson Endowment Fund
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Iowa State University

2015: Young Professional Scholarship
Structural Engineering Institute (SEI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

2014: Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Fellowship
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

2014: Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

2014: Editor’s Choice Award
Journal of Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Taylor and Francis

2013: Hojjat Adeli Award for Innovation in Computing
Journal of Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Wiley

2012: U.S. Frontiers of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering (NAE)

2012: New Face of Civil Engineering
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

2012: NCSA Scholarship
Portland Cement Association Education Foundation Professors’ Workshop

2012: Young Engineer Award
Orange County Engineering Council

2010–2011: Public Impact Distinguished Fellowship
University of California, Irvine

2011: James D. Cooper Best Paper Award
International Bridge Conference, Pittsburgh, PA

2009: FEMA Student Scholarship
EERI Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT

2008: Best Paper Award (Second Place)
First International Student Paper Competition on Seismic Retrofit of Structures in honor of Prof. Ghalibafian, Los Angeles, CA.

2008: Student Scholarship
U.S. National Earthquake Conference, Seattle, WA

2007–2008: Henry Samueli Endowed Fellowship
University of California, Irvine

2006: Large Grant
European Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology, Geneva, Switzerland

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