Biography
Marlon Aguero
Marlon Aguero earned his MSc in civil engineering and computer engineering at the
University of New Mexico in USA and his MSC in industrial constructions and installations at
the Technical University of Valencia in Spain. He worked in the mine industry, in 2011 he
worked at Barrick Gold Corporation - Lagunas Norte gold mine and between 2012-2016 and
2021-2024 he worked in Freeport-McMoRan - Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru. He currently
works as a Project Engineer at Kinemetrics focused in bridge structural health monitoring.
Dr. Burcu Akinci
Dr. Burcu Akinci is the head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at
Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her B.S. in civil engineering (1991) from Middle East
Technical University and her M.B.A. (1993) from Bilkent University at Ankara, Turkey. After
that, she earned her M.S. (1995) and her Ph.D. (2000) in civil and environmental engineering
with a specialization in construction engineering and management from Stanford University.
Her research interests include development of approaches to model and reason about
information-rich histories of facilities, to streamline construction and facility management
processes. She specifically focuses on investigating utilization and integration of building
information models with data capture and tracking technologies, such as 3D imaging, and
embedded sensors and radio-frequency identification systems to capture semantically-rich
as-built histories of construction projects and facility operations. Akinci has one patent, two
patent applications, more than 60 referred journal publications, and 80 refereed conference
publications. She co-edited a book on CAD/GIS integration and another book on embedded
commissioning. She has graduated more than 16 Ph.D. students and 15 M.S. thesis
students and is currently advising/co-advising four Ph.D. students.
Sreenivas Alampalli, PhD, PE, MBA
Sreenivas Alampalli, PhD, PE, MBA is a Senior Principal in the Transportation Practice at
Stantec, a global design firm. His focus at Stantec is on asset management in the Bridge
Sector, including structural health monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation
services. Before joining Stantec, Sreenivas led public sector projects and programs at the
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for over 30 years.At NYSDOT, he
has provided progressive leadership, both as a researcher and a director, in a very broad
area of bridge asset management, including nondestructive evaluation, nondestructive
testing, SHM, and the pioneering use of fiber reinforced polymers for improving bridge
safety. He has fostered successful strategic public-private-academic partnerships to
ensure safe, reliable and cost-eƯective infrastructure using asset and risk management
procedures. He also implemented data driven decision-making processes and web-based
software tools for structure inspection, program planning and overweight permit reviews.
Sreenivas has successfully managed more than 100 research projects and authored more
than 250 technical publications related to civil infrastructure including 6 books through
collaboration with national and international research universities and industry to promote
research of interest to transportation agencies. Sreenivas is a leader in the professional
community and remains active with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE),
American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), International Society for Structural
Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII), International Association for Bridge
maintenance and Safety (IABMAS), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He is the
founding president of the IABMAS-USA National Group and serves on the ASCE Structural
Engineering Institute’s Technical Activities Division Executive Committee. He is on editorial
boards of four journals. Sreenivas has received numerous awards, including the 2021 ASCE
OPAL Award for lifetime contributions to public sector, 2021 Aftab Mufti Lifetime
Achievement Award in Civil Structural Health Monitoring from ISHMII, 2014 Bridge NDT
Lifetime Service Award from ASNT, the 2014 ASCE Government Civil Engineer of the Year
Award, and the 2013 ASCE Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research.
Dr. Thein Lin Aung
Dr. Thein Lin Aung holds a Ph.D. in engineering and is currently working as a system
development and data analysis engineer at Neubrex, Japan. His research focuses on
building digital twin models of solid structures using distributed fiber optic sensing and
finite element methods. His areas of interest include inverse analysis, model building,
compressed sensing, IoT, and real-time, high-performance computing. He is also actively
involved in the research and development of DFOS and DAS application software, utilizing
strain, temperature, and acoustic sensing data for advanced structural analysis and
monitoring.
Dr. Orhun Aydin
Dr. Orhun Aydin is an Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University in the Department of
Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Science and in Computer Science. He leads the AICHESS Lab, focusing on geospatial machine learning (GeoAI) and sensor networks for
sustainability and resilience problems. He is also the lead PI for ADAPT-STL, a Department
of Energy funded Climate Resilience Center that is building sensor infrastructure and GeoAI
methods for creating a live urban climate digital twin of the City of Saint Louis, MO. He
addresses sustainability problems using Earth observations, in-situ measurements,
physical process models, and GeoAI methods. He also develops low-cost IoT networks for
urban environmental monitoring for problems where data is sparse or non-existent.
Dr. Yi Bao
Dr. Yi Bao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean
Engineering and the Founding Director of the Smart Infrastructure Laboratory at Stevens
Institute of Technology. His research interests include innovative sensors, materials,
structures, robots, and machine learning technologies, aimed at enhancing the
sustainability, resilience, and intelligence of civil infrastructure. Prior to joining Stevens, he
was a Postdoc at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and a Guest Researcher at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is an Associate Editor of ASCE's
Journal of Bridge Engineering and Innovative Infrastructure Solutions. He has authored
more than 200 peer-reviewed journal papers, accumulating more than 8000 citations and a
h-index of 54. His scholarly achievements have earned various accolades such as the Best
Paper Award from the journal of Engineering Structures.
Dr. Başak Bektaş
Dr. Başak Bektaş is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Minnesota State
University, where she teaches courses in structural engineering, transportation engineering,
infrastructure asset management, and engineering economics. She holds a master’s degree
in industrial engineering, specializing in systems management. Dr. Bektaş’s research
focuses on infrastructure asset management, emphasizing bridges and pavements, as well
as bridge preservation, performance measurement, asset performance modeling, risk and
reliability analysis, and engineering economic analysis. She has led numerous projects
addressing asset management and preservation in collaboration with organizations such as
the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, National
Cooperative Highway Research Program, Iowa Department of Transportation, Minnesota
Department of Transportation, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Dr. Bektaş is
actively involved with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), serving as the inaugural
chair of the AJE Executive Management Issues Section Risk Management Subcommittee
(AJE00(1)) and a member of the Standing Committee on Transportation Asset Management
(AJE30). She is also a past chair and founding member of the TRB’s AKT50 Bridge and
Structures Management Committee and AKT60 Bridge Preservation Committee,
respectively, and serves on the Federal Highway Administration's Bridge Preservation Expert
Task Group. Her expertise extends to the application of statistical methods, operations
research, and data mining in addressing various transportation issues.
Dr. Deniz Besiktepe
Dr. Deniz Besiktepe is an assistant professor in the School of Construction Management
Technology at Purdue University Polytechnic Institute. After graduating from architecture
school in 2003 and thirteen years of construction and facilities management experience,
she received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, focusing on Construction Engineering and
Management at Colorado State University. Dr. Besiktepe worked as an assistant professor at
the University of Wisconsin-Stout Construction Program before joining Purdue University.
Dr. Besiktepe's research interests include facilities management and built environment,
building maintenance, condition assessment, decision-making models, fuzzy applications,
and implementing data-driven techniques in the FM area. In addition to her FM research,
she has ongoing research eƯorts in CM and FM education, social sustainability, and
corporate social responsibility in CM and FM industries, justice, diversity, equity, and
inclusion (JEDI), and operations and maintenance practices in transportation projects.
Dr. Necati Catbas
Dr. Necati Catbas is a civil engineering professor at the University of Central Florida
specializing in structural health monitoring, bridge dynamics, artificial intelligence-based
analysis, and smart infrastructure systems. His work focuses on enhancing the safety,
reliability, and efficiency of critical structural systems, particularly bridges and
transportation networks
Dr. Genda Chen
Dr. Genda Chen is Professor and Abbett Distinguished Chair in Civil Engineering, Director of
the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure, and Director of INSPIRE University Transportation
Center at Missouri S&T. Between 1993 and 1996, Dr. Chen was a bridge consultant with
Steinman Consulting Engineers, New York, NY. Since 1996 when joining Missouri S&T, Dr.
Chen has authored or co-authored 491 products, including 234 journal publications, 20
keynote lectures, and six patents, in the areas of structural health monitoring (SHM),
structural control, structural and robotic dynamics, computational and experimental
mechanics, life-cycle assessment and deterioration mitigation of infrastructure, multihazards assessment and mitigation, transportation infrastructure preservation and
resiliency. His publications have been cited for 9,640 times, with an h-index of 55 and an
i10-index of 196. He chaired the 9th International Conference on Structural Health
Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-9), St. Louis, MO, on August 4-7, 2019. He
received the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Charles Pankow Award for
Innovation, the international 2019 SHM Person of the Year award, the 1998 National
Science Foundation CAREER Award, the 2004 Academy of Civil Engineers Faculty
Achievement Award, and the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Missouri S&T Faculty Research Awards.
He is a Fellow of ASCE, the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of
Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), the International
Society for Photonics and Optics (SPIE), and Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI). He is an
Intelligent Section Editor of the Sensors journal and Vice President of the U.S. Panel on
Structural Control and Monitoring.
Dr. Zhen Chen
. Dr. Zhen Chen is one of the pioneers in modeling nonlocal interfacial failure evolution and
has designed eƯective numerical schemes for evaluating the post-peak responses with the
use of nonlocal damage, plasticity and decohesion. He initiated the interdisciplinary eƯort
to co-develop the material point method (MPM) for better simulating multiphase
interactions under extreme loading conditions (high loading rate, pressure and
temperature), with its first journal paper being cited more than 2000 times (Google Scholar).
He is the first in formulating a computational model for evaluating failure wave where both
wave and damage diƯusion occur in a single computational domain. His group has
established a computer test-bed for the first-principle simulation of multi-physics and
multiphase interactions involved in impact/blast-resistant design, in collaboration with
national labs. Zhen Chen has been very active in promoting international joint research and
education by organizing or co-organizing many mini-symposia for both the WCCM and
USACM. Recently, he has co-authored the MPM book to promote the collaboration between
the MPM community and other communities in Simulation-Based Engineering Science. The
recent Scott Sloan Best Paper Award represents his contribution to geotechnical
engineering in simulating and predicting the natural hazards in the world. In addition, he
serves on the editorial boards of five international journals (IJMCE, CMES, CPM, IJDM and
IJCM), and many international scientific organizations related to computational mechanics.
His current research is focused on multiscale digital-twin modeling and evaluation of multiphysics phenomena in engineering and life sciences via both physics-based and dataenabled approaches.
Dr. ZhiQiang Chen
Dr. ZhiQiang Chen is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Missouri in Kansas
City (UMKC). He joined UMKC in 2010 after earning his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from
the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he minored in Computer Science. In
2020, he was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 2022, he
held a visiting professorship at Saitama University in Japan. Chen’s research focuses on
Civil Systems Intelligence and Resilience, with a special emphasis on foundational
technologies for digital twinning, particularly Artificial Intelligence and Quantum
Computing. His contributions have been recognized through awards such as the Takuji
Kobori Prize from the International Association of Structural Control and Monitoring (IASCM)
and a JSPS Invitational Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He
currently serves as an Associate Editor for the ASCE Journal of Natural Hazards Review and
an Executive Editor for Springer’s Urban Lifeline. Additionally, he is a core member of
several ASCE and Transportation Research Board (TRB) committees.
Dr. Sajal Das
Dr. Sajal Das, an IEEE Fellow, is a professor of Computer Science and Daniel St. Clair
Endowed Chair in Computer Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology,
Rolla. Prior to September 2013, he was a University Distinguished Scholar Professor of
Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. During 2008-
2011, he was a Program Director at the NSF in Computer Networks and Systems Division in
the CISE Directorate. In 2012, he was selected as the E.T.S. Walton Fellow by the Science
Foundation of Ireland. Dr. Das has visited numerous universities worldwide for collaborative
research and is frequently invited as keynote speaker at international conferences. His
research interests include wireless sensor networks, mobile and pervasive computing,
cyber-physical systems, smart environments including smart healthcare and smart grid, big
data analytics, IoT, distributed and cloud computing, security, biological and social
networks, and applied graph theory and game theory. Dr. Das has directed numerous
funded projects and published more than 650 research articles in high-quality journals and
refereed conference proceedings. He holds 5 US patents, co-authored 52 book chapters
and four books titled Smart Environments: Technology, Protocols, and Applications (2005),
Handbook on Securing Cyber-Physical Critical Infrastructure: Foundations and Challenges
(2012), Mobile Agents in Distributed Computing and Networking (2012), and Principles of
Cyber-Physical Systems: An Interdisciplinary Approach (2017)
Dr. Xiaosong Du
Dr. Xiaosong Du is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering at Missouri S&T. His expertise spans artificial intelligence (including predictive
AI, generative AI, and physical AI), engineering design, and uncertainty analysis. His
research has broad applications across various fields, including aircraft shape
optimization, takeoƯ trajectory design for electric drones, spacecraft trajectory design, and
uncertainty analysis for nondestructive testing systems.
Dr. Alessandro Fascetti
. Dr. Alessandro Fascetti received his bachelor and master’s degrees in civil engineering from
the Sapienza University of Rome. After spending 6 months as a Visiting Scholar at the
University of California, Davis, he obtained his Ph.D. from Sapienza University in 2016. He
then joined the Multiscale Computational Mechanics Laboratory (MCML) in the Civil and
Environmental Engineering Department at Vanderbilt University as a Postdoctoral Research
Fellow. After 2 years as a Lecturer for the School of Engineering at The University of Waikato,
he joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of
Pittsburgh in 2021. Dr. Fascetti conducts research on digital twin modeling of horizontal and
vertical infrastructure for large-scale structural assessment and operational maintenance
optimization. His work focuses on failure mechanics as well as durability aspects,
combining multiscale computational models with in-situ and remote sensing techniques to
enable real-time assessment of complex interconnected infrastructure systems. Dr.
Fascetti has authored over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts and secured $5M in research
funding to date. He is an active member of multiple technical committees within the
American Society of Civil Engineers and the Engineering Mechanics Institute, as well as the
recipient of several national and international award, among which the prestigious Roberta
Luxbacher Faculty Fellowship from the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of
Pittsburgh.
Dr. Emad Hassan
Dr. Emad Hassan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and
Environmental Engineering at Missouri S&T. Prior to joining Missouri S&T, he served as a
research scientist at Colorado State University. He has been involved in various projects
funded by national and international agencies. Dr. Hassan earned bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from Cairo University and completed his Ph.D. at Colorado State University. Before
joining Academia, he worked as a structural design engineer in Cairo, Egypt, from 2012-
2015. Dr. Hassan’s research explores fundamental questions related to the impacts of
natural hazards on the built environment, infrastructure resilience, and disaster mitigation.
His work uses multiple methods, including experimental and analytical simulations, sociotechnical models, network analysis, and machine learning.
Dr. Dryver Huston
Dr. Dryver Huston is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Vermont,
where he has been a faculty member since 1987. He has experience in the development
and deployment of technologies for the assessment and maintenance of built
infrastructure. Recent research has focused on the use of robot swarms, networks of
wireless sensors, and scanning instruments to sense conditions, process data with AI
techniques, integrate information with digital twins, including BIM, and present to humans
in timely digital formats, such as with augmented reality. Present applications include
studies of bridges, culverts, subsurface urban infrastructure mapping and home
maintenance.
Dr. Shahrooz Mark Jahanbin
. Dr. Shahrooz Mark Jahanbin has degree in Engineering with decades of experience in
aerospace industries, he is teaching Systems Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University (ERAU). His focus includes system engineering organizations, digital
transformation, project lifecycle management, and change management in organizations.
Dr. Simon Laflamme
Dr. Simon Laflamme received the M.Eng. degree in civil engineering and the Ph.D. degree in
materials and structures from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA,
USA, in 2007 and 2011, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor with the
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University,
Ames, IA, USA, where he is also the Associate Director of the Center for Nondestructive
Evaluation. His research interests include structural health monitoring and control.
Dr. David Lattanzi
Dr. David Lattanzi is a licensed bridge engineer who puts his professional experience to
work in the development of the next generation of infrastructure inspection technologies.
Responding to the crisis of our nation’s aging infrastructure, Lattanzi’s group focuses on a
multidisciplinary combination of data analytics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and
structural engineering to help civil engineers make safer and more reliable life-cycle
assessments. Some of his current initiatives include the use of digital image analysis for
rapid post-disaster assessments and how to combine autonomous robotic inspection with
ultra-high resolution 3D imaging to create virtual worlds for inspectors.
Dr. Kang Kuen Lee
Dr. Kang Kuen Lee has been working in the railway industry for over 50 years covering rolling
stock and infrastructure maintenance, design and construction of new railway lines and
major asset upgrading/replacement projects, operations, business development, and
consultancy services both in Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas including UK,
Sweden, India, Middle East, Thailand, Philippine, Singapore, and Australia. Dr. Lee and the
research team in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has pioneered in the application of
Fiber Bragg Grating sensors for the continuous condition monitoring of mission critical
components of the railway, and the migration of railway asset maintenance to the era of
Maintenance 4.0. Recently he has also started R&D works on the deployment of machine
learning and other AI techniques to develop Smart Railway Linear Infrastructure and Smart
Trains. Dr. Lee is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Member of IET (UK) and a Fellow of the Hong
Kong Institution of Engineers. Dr Lee possesses an Engineering Doctorate degree and a
Master of Electrical Engineering degree awarded by HKPU, an M Sc degree in Physics
awarded by Hong Kong Chinese University, and a B Sc degree in Applied Computing
awarded by Hong Kong Metropolitan University.
Dr. Bo Mi Lee
Dr. Bo Mi Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Before joining Missouri S&T,
Dr. Lee was a postdoctoral associate at the University of Central Florida and the University
of California, Davis. Dr. Lee received her Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University
of California, San Diego, in 2019. Dr. Lee was the recipient of the UCF Pre-eminent
Postdoctoral Program (P3) Award, the Rising Stars Women in Engineering from the 2019
Asian Dean’s Forum, the Best Paper Award from ASME Conference on Smart Materials,
Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS) in 2018, and a dissertation fellowship
from UC San Diego in 2019, among others. Dr Lee’s research interests include
multifunctional materials, stimuli-responsive nanocomposites, and data-driven
approaches for enhancing advanced sensor technologies, structural health monitoring,
biomedical systems, and energy solutions.
Jian Li, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Jian Li, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, Dr. Jian Li is a Professor and the Dean R. and Florence W. Frisbie
Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and
Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas. He also holds a courtesy appointment
in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His research focuses
on the theoretical and experimental development of advanced sensing and structural
health monitoring techniques to enhance the resilience and sustainability of civil
infrastructure under both operational and extreme loading conditions. Through the
development of innovative sensors, sensing strategies, and data analytics algorithms, his
work aims to identify structural vulnerabilities by analyzing responses at multiple scales.
Additionally, by advancing computer vision, augmented reality, and machine learning
techniques, he creates diagnostic tools that help inspectors detect, quantify, and
document structural deterioration with greater accuracy and eƯiciency. Dr. Li has received
several awards, including the Takuji Kobori Prize, the Rising Stars in Structural Engineering
Award, and the Miller Professional Service Award for Distinguished Research. He holds
three U.S. patents and has published over 160 papers. Currently, he serves as vice chair of
the ASCE Structural Health Monitoring & Control Committee, a board member and
secretary of the U.S.-China Earthquake Engineering Foundation, and an editorial board
member for several international journals.
Tianyi Li
Tianyi Li is an assistant professor of transportation engineering at Saint Louis University. He
earned a Ph.D. degree in Transportation Engineering from the University of Minnesota and
received a Master of Science in Transportation Engineering from the University of
Washington and an B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University. Tianyi Li is a
three-time recipient of the President Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship from
the Federal Highway Administration (2021, 2022, 2023), the Hsiao Shaw-Lundquist
Fellowship, and the Matthew J. Huber Student Award from the University of Minnesota. His
research interests include Transportation-Cyber-Physical systems (T-CPS), machine
learning with transportation priors, TraƯic modeling and control, and transportation-related
safety. More information at: https://tianyili.xyz.
Dr. Ken Loh
Dr. Ken Loh is the TaylorMade Golf Chancellor’s Endowed Professor in the Department of
Structural Engineering at UC San Diego and previously served as the Department Vice Chair
(2018-2021). He is the Director of the Active, Responsive, Multifunctional, and Orderedmaterials Research (ARMOR) Lab and is the Director of the Jacobs School of Engineering,
Center for Extreme Events Research (CEER). He is also an aƯiliate faculty member of the
Materials Science & Engineering Program. Dr. Loh received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from
Johns Hopkins University in 2004. His graduate studies were at the University of Michigan,
where he completed two M.S. degrees in Structural Engineering (2005) and Materials
Science & Engineering (2008), as well as a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering in 2008. He
started his Assistant Professor career in January 2009 in the Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, before joining UC San Diego in January 2016. His
research interests are in multifunctional and stimuli-responsive materials, tomographic
imaging techniques, wearable sensors, active metamaterials, and soft material actuators
applied towards solving problems related to human performance, structural sustainment,
and human-structure interactions. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Loh is an
Engineering Duty OƯicer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a co-founder of a start-up company,
JAK Labs, Inc.
Dr. Furkan Lüleci
. Dr. Furkan Lüleci is a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Adjunct Faculty member at the
University of Central Florida (UCF), specializing in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) with a
focus on innovative, practical, and eƯective monitoring approaches. He earned his degrees
in Civil (Structural) Engineering (Ph.D & M.S. at UCF). He conducted highly multidisciplinary
research exploring the applications of Generative AI (Gen AI), Immersive Visualization tools
such as Virtual Reality, Digital Twins, and Robotics in infrastructure Operation &
Maintenance (O&M), an area he continues to work as a postdoctoral researcher.
Specifically, he investigated generating infrastructure response data using various Gen AI
models and utilized Immersive Visualization tools to improve data interpretation,
collaboration, and decision-making during the infrastructure assessment process, used
Digital Twin to enhance community and infrastructure resilience planning and practices,
and Robotics for rapid and mobile assessment of bridge and building structures. Dr. Lüleci’s
research focuses on leveraging technology-enabled methods and cross-disciplinary
approaches to better track and understand infrastructure behavior in order to optimize their
O&M using resilience, risk, and reliability frameworks, which enables data-informed
decision-making for safer infrastructures and communities. He pursues this goal through
novel, practical, and eƯective monitoring solutions. His publication record includes 17
peer-reviewed journal articles, 7 conference papers, 2 technical reports, and 2 patents,
earning accolades such as the university-level Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award (2024)
and Best Research Award (2024) from ASCE (J. of Bridge Eng.) for his work in bridge
engineering applications.
Professor Jiaqi Ma
. Professor Jiaqi Ma is an Associate Professor at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and
Associate Director of UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. Prior to that, he was
Assistant/Associate Professor and Academic Director of the University of Cincinnati
Advanced Transportation Collaborative, Project Manager and Research Scientist with
Leidos working at the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research
Center, and a contractor researcher at the Virginia Transportation Research Council of the
Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT). He has led and managed many research
projects worth of a total value of more than $20 million funded by U.S. DOT, NSF, state
DOTs, and other federal/state/local programs covering areas of smart transportation
systems, such as vehicle-highway automation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS),
connected vehicles, shared mobility, and large-scale smart system modeling and
simulation, and artificial intelligence and advanced computing applications in
transportation. He is Editor in Chief of the IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation
Systems, and Associate Editor of Nature Scientific Reports, Journal of Intelligent
Transportation Systems, and ASCE Open. He is Member of the Transportation Research
Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Vehicle-Highway Automation, Member of TRB Standing
Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Applications, Member of
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Connected & Autonomous Vehicles Impacts
Committee, publication board member of IEEE ITS Society, Co-Chair of the IEEE ITS Society
Technical Committee on Smart Mobility and Transportation 5.0.
Dr. Amir Mahdiyar
Dr. Amir Mahdiyar is an Associate Research Scholar at Princeton University, a Chartered
Construction Manager, and a PMI-certified Senior Construction Professional. He is the
winner of the CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building, UK) Construction Innovation and
Quality Scholarship 2024 for his proposal to develop a decision support tool aimed at
enhancing the success rate of Digital Twin adoption in construction projects. Amir has been
actively engaged in research on digital and sustainable construction, with over 50
publications in prestigious academic journals. He has conducted extensive research on the
use of hybrid and AI-based multi-criteria decision-making models to develop decision
support systems and has several years of experience in BIM and Digital Twin technologies.
Dr. Mojtaba Mahmoodian
Dr. Mojtaba Mahmoodian is a senior academics at RMIT University with extensive
experience in integrating technologies to develop digital twin for intelligent monitoring and
maintenance of civil infrastructure.
Dr. Subhra Majhi
Dr. Subhra Majhi is a Lecturer at Curtin University, Australia. His research focuses on
developing innovative non-destructive and non-invasive inspection techniques for built
facilities. Currently, he is working on the development of a non-contact bridge monitoring
vehicle. His co-authored research articles have received more than 470 citations. During his
Ph.D., Dr. Majhi played a key role in operationalizing the Laser Ultrasonic Monitoring (LUM)
Lab at Curtin University. He utilized laser ultrasonics to monitor corrosion in reinforced
concrete and developed an imaging algorithm to visualize corroding concrete
reinforcement. As part of his first post-Ph.D. placement, he coordinated a large industrial
research project funded by Main Roads Western Australia. In this role, he collaborated with
industry experts, academics, and technical personnel to analyze deterioration trends in
timber bridges. This research led to the development of a guided-wave ultrasonic technique
for monitoring timber bridge conditions.
Dr. Fernando Moreu
Dr. Fernando Moreu is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil, Construction, and
Environmental Engineering (CCEE) at the University of New Mexico (UNM). He holds
courtesy appointments in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science at UNM. He is the founder and director of
the Smart Management of Infrastructure Laboratory (SMILab). Prof. Moreu’s research
interests include structural dynamics and control, structural health monitoring, wireless
smart sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, computer vision, augmented reality,
unmanned aerial systems, bridge engineering, and aerospace operations. Prof. Moreu
received his MS and PhD degrees in structural engineering from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (2005 and 2015, respectively). He was the 2022 outstanding junior
faculty researcher award at the UNM School of Engineering. Prof. Moreu’s projects are
funded by the DOE, NSF, ONR, NAS, US DOT, TRB, and the commercial sector. He is a
registered Professional Engineer since 2010. Prof. Moreu is the current Secretary of the
ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Technical Committee in Structural Health
Monitoring and Control (SHMC) (2023-2026) and the current secretary of the Society for
Experimental Mechanics Technical Division of Dynamics of Civil Structures (2023-2025).
Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee
Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee is a Civil Engineer, researcher and educator. He has taught structural
mechanics, structural design, structural stability and finite element analysis courses. His
industrial consultations are on structural assessment, structural rehabilitation and new
structural materials. He loves to work on rehabilitation of heritage structures. His research
is on sustainable engineering practices. He approaches sustainable practices from three
directions- development of new sustainable materials, monitoring health of existing
infrastructure and extending life of infrastructure through rehabilitation and retrofitting.
Dr. Ruwen Qin, PhD,
Dr. Ruwen Qin, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at Stony Brook University.
Her research interests are deep learning, sensor data analysis, and complex systems theory
for achieving eƯective human-X collaboration. Her research aims to deliver theorygrounded, data-driven, and technology-assisted solutions for improving the performance,
safety, and well-being of human stakeholders of intelligent transportation systems (ITS),
civil infrastructure systems (CIS), human-in-the-loop cyber-physical systems (HiL CPS), and
complex sociotechnical urban system.
Tong Qiu, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Tong Qiu, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah. His research interests include soil
dynamics, fluid flow through porous media, landslides, granular flow, numerical modeling
of geosystems, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to various geotechnical
engineering problems. His research has been supported by diverse sources, including
federal agencies (e.g., NSF, FHWA, DOS, FRA, and SERDP), state agencies (e.g., PennDOT,
State Police, and Ben Franklin Foundation), industries (e.g., Google, Tensar International
Corporation, Alpine Equipment LLC, and Mission Critical Solutions), and DOT University
Transportation Center. He is an elected ASCE Fellow
Dr. Milad Roohi
Dr. Milad Roohi is an Assistant Professor in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering
and Construction at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), where he also serves as a
College of Engineering Teaching Fellow and directs the Smart Resilient Infrastructure and
Urban Systems (SiRIUS) Lab. Before joining UNL, Dr. Roohi was a Senior Scientist at Aon’s
Impact Forecasting R&D Center of Excellence. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-funded Center for Risk-Based
Community Resilience Planning at Colorado State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil
Engineering from the University of Vermont. Dr. Roohi’s research lies at the intersection of
infrastructure resilience, structural dynamics, and structural health monitoring, explicitly
focusing on translating advanced scientific methods into actionable strategies for
community hazard mitigation and recovery. His work—supported by agencies such as NSF,
NIST, NASA, and the Nebraska Department of Transportation—has produced over 40 peerreviewed publications and more than 60 technical talks and conference presentations. Dr.
Roohi actively contributes to several national and international technical committees and
has organized and chaired sessions at key conferences such as ASCE EMI, INSPIRE, and
IABMAS.
Dr. Soheil Sabri
Dr. Soheil Sabri is an Urban Planner and Geospatial Scientist focused on advancing urban
development through research, practical work, and education. His main interests include
Urban Digital Twins, Multi-dimensional Planning Support Systems, and analytical tools that
provide data-driven insights for urban planning. Dr. Sabri leads pioneering research in
Urban Digital Twins, covering areas like Development Envelope Control, Rule-Based
Compliance Assessment, and Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD). He significantly
influences digital urban planning through his roles in various professional organizations,
including co-chairing the Academia and Research Working Group within the Digital Twin
Consortium and contributing to the Planning Institute of Australia’s PlanTech National
Working Group, Geoscience Australia’s Spatial Digital Twin Working Group, and the Smart
Cities Council’s Digital Twin Task Force.
Dr. Md Nazmus Sakib
Dr. Md Nazmus Sakib is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and
the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (courtesy) at the University of Texas
at Arlington (UTA). He earned his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering, with a focus on
artificial intelligence, data analytics, and human factors, from Texas A&M University (TAMU).
He also holds a master's degree in Construction Management from TAMU and an
undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology. Dr. Sakib's research aims to apply interdisciplinary knowledge and skill sets to
advance the human-technology frontier, contributing to the sustainable and resilient
development of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry 5.0. His
long-term research plan focuses on implementing artificial intelligence, data science, highperformance computing (HPC), signal processing, drone technology, extended reality (MR)
training, and digital twin technology to enhance accuracy, safety, productivity, and
performance within the industry. He approaches these advancements with a strong
emphasis on human factors engineering to optimize the interaction between technology
and human operators.
Dr. Bong Chul Seo
Dr. Bong Chul Seo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and
Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T). He has
contributed to building a real-time weather and flood information system for Iowa and
Missouri that facilitates easier communication with the public and timely responses for
flood disaster prevention. His research focuses on quantitative precipitation estimation
using remote sensing data (weather radar and satellite) and its scale-dependent evaluation
for hydrologic prediction. He actively participates in the U.S. national eƯorts on improving
water prediction led by the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in
Hydrology (CIROH), and his research interest is to enhance prediction capabilities of the
current and next generation U.S. National Water Model.
Dr. Woubishet Zewdu TaƯese
Dr. Woubishet Zewdu TaƯese is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Intelligent
Infrastructure (CII) at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He obtained a
Ph.D. from the University of Turku, Finland, where part of his research was carried out at
Aalto University, Finland. The focus of his doctoral research was on applied machine
learning for durability assessment of reinforced concrete structures. He also received an
M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering from the Dresden University of Technology, Germany.
Dr. Kernicky
Dr. Kernicky is a Research Assistant Professor in the Energy Production and Infrastructure
Center (EPIC) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research focuses on
structural health monitoring, experimental modal analysis, digital twin technologies, and
advanced construction methods for large-scale infrastructure and nuclear facilities. With
extensive experience in structural analysis, finite element modeling, and non-destructive
evaluation. Dr. Kernicky has led multiple projects integrating real-time data acquisition,
structural identification, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to improve infrastructure
resilience and reduce cost overruns. As part of NRIC's Advanced Construction Technology
Initiative, his recent work explores the development of Digital Twins for quality control,
performance monitoring, and predictive maintenance in nuclear construction, leveraging
sensor integration and high-fidelity modeling to enhance decision-making. He holds a PhD
in Infrastructure and Environmental Systems from the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte and teaches various Structural Engineering courses including Advanced
Structural Analysis, Reinforced Concrete Design, and Structural Materials.
Dr. Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez
Dr. Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Construction
Management at Colorado State University, with aƯiliate appointments in Civil and
Environmental Engineering and Systems Engineering. His research integrates sustainability,
workforce development, digital technologies, and construction management, focusing on
enhancing infrastructure resilience and sustainability. He has led research initiatives
funded by federal and state agencies and private organizations, exploring innovative
applications of BIM, and life cycle assessment in the built environment. Most recently, Dr.
Valdes-Vasquez collaborated with the Beck Group on a pilot project demonstrating the
Integrated Estimating Workflow Framework, a standardized, software-agnostic approach
aimed at improving productivity and collaboration among preconstruction professionals.
This study can align with the workshop's goals by examining how multidimensional digital
twins can drive sustainability, improve infrastructure decision-making, and enhance
emergency response capabilities. He has also co-organized NSF-supported Center for
Infrastructure Transformation and Education workshops since 2021, which develop and
disseminate infrastructure-focused teaching modules across U.S. institutions. A recognized
leader in construction engineering and management education, Dr. Valdes-Vasquez, has
received national accolades, including the 2024 Associated Schools of Construction
Outstanding Teacher Award. He also contributes to the academic community as Associate
Editor of the International Journal of Construction Education and Research and Assistant
Editor for the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. His
interdisciplinary collaborations extend nationally and internationally, fostering the
integration of technologies to support sustainable, data-driven decision-making in
infrastructure management. Through research, teaching, and engagement, he is shaping
the future of construction and infrastructure sustainability.
Dr. Anusha Vangala
Dr. Anusha Vangala is a post-doctoral researcher in applied cryptography under Prof. Sajal
K. Das at the CReWMaN Lab in Missouri University of Science and Technology. She received
her Ph.D. (CSE) under Prof. Ashok Kumar Das from IIIT Hyderabad, India in 2023 for her
thesis titled "Design of Authentication Protocols in IoT-enabled Smart Agriculture
Environment" which proposed four novel blockchain-based authentication protocols in
smart farming IoT networks. In her post-doctoral research, she has developed novel
protocols that authenticate the digital twins and their physical assets in a smart factory. She
expanded her work with a novel protocol to promote secure data sharing among digital
twins in diƯerent smart factories. Her research pursuits explore the nuanced cybersecurity
issues of data transmission in IoT networks and digital twins, and prevent active adversarial
attacks using cryptographic concepts for achieving authentication. She has 28 publications
with 7 in IEEE Transactions/Journals/Magazines including IEEE Transactions in Informations
Forensics and Security and IEEE Internet of Things Journal.
Dr. Hao Wang
Dr. Hao Wang is a professor in civil engineering at Rutgers University. His research is
focused on developing sustainable, resilient, and smart civil infrastructure through
innovative materials, computation modeling, and data analytics.
Dr. Yang Wang
Dr. Yang Wang is a professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He co-directs the Social Computing Systems (SALT) Lab. He
was previously an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse
University and a research scientist in CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University. His research is
centered around usable privacy and security, and social computing. His work has appeared
in news media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, and China Daily. His
research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Health
and Human Services, Google, Alcatel-Lucent, and The Privacy Projects. He received his PhD
in information and computer science from the University of California, Irvine.
Zhijie Wang
Zhijie Wang is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research aims to enhance the resilience and
sustainability of civil infrastructure by integrating multiscale computational modeling,
experimental methods, sensing technologies, AI, and data science, ultimately creating
digital twins of infrastructure systems that are adaptive to environmental changes and can
issue advanced decision-making support. His prior research on these topics has been
published in several high-impact journals and these publications have been well received
by the engineering community.
Dr. Dalei Wu
Dr. Dalei Wu is a Professor with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at
the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Before joining UTC, he worked as a
Postdoctoral Researcher with the Mechatronics Research Laboratory at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). His areas of expertise include robotic sensor networks,
intelligent systems, cyber-physical systems, and spatial computing. He is particularly
interested in using methods of modeling, simulation, optimization, control, and machine
learning to address real-world challenges of complex dynamic systems. His research is
supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the State of Tennessee.
Dr. Grace Yan
Dr. Grace Yan, an ASCE fellow, is a Professor of Missouri S&T. She is the Director of Center
for Hazard Mitigation and Community Resilience, in which 35 faculty members from 12
departments are aƯiliated. She is also the Director of Wind Hazard Mitigation (WHAM)
Laboratory that is home to Sinquefield Missouri Tornado Simulator Twins. She has been
leading interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research teams in enhancing tornado
resilience and coastal resilience, and climate change adaptation. She has published more
than 150 refereed journal and conference papers, and secured 39 research grants, with the
total amount of $26M, from NSF, NOAA, DOT, NASA, and other agencies. From the
engineering perspective, she simulates diƯerent natural hazards (e.g., tornadoes and
hurricanes) numerically and experimentally, investigates their actions on built environment,
and evaluates vulnerability of communities to natural hazards, as well as develops
innovative approaches mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts. She is Chairing of
Board of Directors of North American Alliance for Hazards and Disaster Research Institutes
since 2021; She is chairing the 15th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering; she is on
Board of Directors of American Association of Wind Engineers; She is the Vice-Chair of
ASCE Technical Committee of Future Weather and Climate Extremes; She was elected to
serve National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine Committee on Attribution of
Extreme Weather and Climate Events and their Impacts in 2024-2026.
Dr. Zhaozheng Yin
Dr. Zhaozheng Yin’s group is working in the field of computer vision and machine learning,
with applications in civil infrastructure inspection, human robot collaboration, environment
sensing and monitoring.
Dr. Zandi
Dr. Zandi is the CEO and Co-founding of TIMEZYX, a tech company developing Structural
Digital Twins of infrastructures for enhancing the management of the built environment
under extreme climate events. He is the author of over 100 scientific articles and is widely
recognized for his expertise in and contribution to structural engineering, structural
assessment and analysis, structural simulation and modelling, structural health
monitoring, and structural codes and standardization. Dr. Zandi is also Chief Technology
OƯicer (CTO) of Timezyx and responsible for the research area Digital Twin of Civil
Infrastructures. He is co-convenor of fib TG3.2 – Modeling of Structural Performance of
Existing Concrete Structures, member of fib TG3.5 – Forensic engineering, and member of
the technical committee at IWSHM – International Workshop on Structural Health
Monitoring. Beyond his pivotal role at Timezyx, Dr. Zandi holds an esteemed aƯiliation with
Stanford University's Structures and Composites Lab. Here, he leads pioneering research
into Structural Digital Twins of Civil Infrastructures, shaping the future of structural
modeling based on real-time computation architecture, such as Physics-Informed Machine
Learning. Additionally, he plays key roles within influential bodies such as the International
Federation for Structural Concrete (fib), contributing to commissions and task groups
related to Existing Concrete Structures, driving advancements in structural modeling and
forensic engineering. Dr. Zandi's contributions have garnered repeated recognition from the
International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). He is a frequent speaker and author
on topics ranging from structural modeling, structural digital twin technology, and structural
forensic engineering to the roles and responsibilities of structural engineers in forensic
investigations.
Dr. Yanzhi Zhang
Dr. Yanzhi Zhang is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
at Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly, University of Missouri--Rolla).
Her research is in the areas of data science, and computational and applied mathematics.
Dr. Yanping Zhu
Dr. Yanping Zhu is an assistant professor in civil engineering, specializing in the
development of resilient, sustainable, and smart infrastructure. His research integrates
structural health monitoring, sensing technologies, and machine learning to enhance the
safety and longevity of concrete structures, particularly under extreme conditions such as
fire and high temperatures. Dr. Zhu's academic journey began with a degree in civil
engineering, where he explored various disciplines, including transportation and structural
engineering. During his Ph.D. studies, he developed a strong interest in structural health
monitoring, particularly for concrete structures, and investigated how emerging
technologies could improve their reliability. This interest led him to study fire-resistant
concrete materials and advanced sensing techniques for real-time structural assessment.
Currently, his research focuses on integrating fiber optic sensors and digital twin modeling
to enhance structural resilience and enable predictive maintenance. By replicating realworld structures in a virtual environment, he aims to deepen the understanding of material
behavior under stress, ultimately leading to safer and more eƯicient designs. Additionally,
he is exploring innovative methods to improve concrete’s sustainability by reducing its
carbon footprint through new material compositions and carbon absorption techniques.
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