M. Ala Saadeghvaziri, PhD, a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology, is a structural engineer and world-renowned expert on how structures respond to natural disasters. Saadeghvaziri researches the effect upon buildings and other structures due to time, usage and loadings or the outcome of disasters such as earthquakes or explosions.

Saadeghvaziri, who lectures widely, spoke at the University of Buffalo in October 2008 about the importance of improving the seismic response of fixed substation equipment.  His talk focused on the viability of advanced technologies such as friction pendulum systems to rehabilitate substation equipment. He was invited to speak by the Multidisciplinary Center for Extreme Events Engineering. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery published the research. 

Earlier this year, Saadeghvaziri highlighted the benefits of a multi-hazard approach to designing highway bridges at the National Conference on Bridges and Highways in Charleston, SC. Twice last spring he presented the seismic specifications for highway bridges and the evolution of seismic codes in the US to groups in international conferences. The US Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and Region II University Transportation Center have provided more than $750,000 since 2006 to support his work.

Saadeghvaziri’s expertise extends to the structural applications of composite and renewable materials. His recent studies of bridges, the structural response to earthquake ground motion and the serviceability of concrete bridge decks have appeared in the Journal of Engineering Structures, the Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics and the Journal of Bridge Engineering by ASCE.

In 2008, Saadeghvaziri was named a Fellow by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He is a member of ASCE’s Committees on Bridge Security, and Blast Shock and Vibratory Effects. He is also a program evaluator for ABET, Inc., the organization recognized in the U.S. for accrediting college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.

He received his doctorate, master’s and bachelor’s (with high honors) degrees, all in civil engineering, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Last update: 11/20/08