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I really cherish the diversity of our faculty and the collaborative atmosphere in our department and college… this has enabled me to push new boundaries on research related to resilience of urban infrastructure by harnessing multiple perspectives.

I am an Associate Professor in Geotechnical Engineering and Geomechanics, in the department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at CU. I obtained my undergraduate degree at Cornell University and graduate degrees at the University of California, Berkeley. Before pursuing a PhD, I worked briefly with ARUP (New York City) and Bechtel (San Francisco) Geotechnical groups on several engineering projects in the U.S. and around the world involving the design of foundation systems, slopes, and underground structures and tunnels. My team at CU studies: the interactions and interdependencies among different infrastructure systems during earthquakes and other types of disasters; the seismic performance of underground structures; and consequences and mitigation of the liquefaction hazard facing structures in isolation and in dense urban settings.
When not working, I enjoy running in the mountains (…and Colorado has the most amazing mountains…) with a husky girl named Baran. With a Persian heritage, I am also conditioned to passion for poetry and philosophy. I love travelling and learning new languages and cuisines. On Friday nights, when in town, my husband and I love to dance Cuban Salsa.
The accomplishment I’m most proud is mentoring and graduating outstanding PhD students who pursue successful careers after leaving CU. Working with amazing students and watching them grow and find their dream jobs is why we are in academia.
What sets apart CU’s CEAE department is the diversity (in terms of age, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, and expertise) of its faculty and their academic strength, depth, and impact. The culture of collaboration and synergy in CEAE and across the campus is truly unique and in my opinion, priceless.

What classes do you teach?

• CVEN 5818: Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering (offered in the Spring semester)
• CVEN 3708: Geotechnical Engineering I (offered both Fall and Spring)
• CVEN 3718: Geotechnical Engineering II (offered both Fall and Spring)
• CVEN 4728/5728: Foundation Engineering (offered in the Fall)
• CVEN 4899: Civil Engineering Senior Design (offered in the Spring)

What is geotechnical engineering? What problems do geotechnical engineers solve and why is their work important?

Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the safety and performance of earth materials (soil and rock) and their interaction with our built environment (e.g., a building’s foundation, tunnel, dam, etc.). The safety of our infrastructure depends on a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics and response of earth materials and their response during routine and extreme demands. My specific focus is on Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, which focuses on the response of earth materials and structures during earthquakes.   

Please describe your teaching philosophy. What do you believe are the best ways for students to succeed at CU Â鶹ӰԺ?

 In my opinion, a multidisciplinary and global approach is increasingly required in envisioning, designing, constructing, and maintaining a sustainable and resilient built environment. These approaches must be reflected in engineering education. In my teaching, my goals are to: (1) help attract, retain, and educate a diverse group of civil engineering students who are technically strong and simultaneously globally aware and able to effectively work in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams; (2) mentor a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students to conduct independent and fundamental research that benefits our societies and the environment.
In my view, the best way for students to succeed in engineering is to stay engaged and curious in class, gain undergraduate research experience, work as an intern during summers, and seek understanding and experience beyond what is offered in the classroom. There are many opportunities for students at CU to get hands on research experience. Most faculty members I know are open and would love to engage interested undergraduate students in their research labs.

 Example research projects (dissertation topics of some students advised or co-advised by me):

• Performance-Based Design of Compacted Stone Columns in Embankments Founded on Liquefiable Deposits (An Integrated Numerical and Experimental Approach).
• Performance-Based Evaluation and Mitigation of Liquefaction Effects on Buildings.
• Numerical Modeling of the Influence of Different Liquefaction Remediation Strategies on the Performance of Potentially Inelastic Structures.
• Influence of Dense Granular Columns on the Seismic Performance of Level and Gently Sloped Liquefiable Sites.
• Influence of Traditional and Innovative Liquefaction Mitigation Strategies on the Performance of Soil-Structure Systems, Considering Soil Heterogeneity
• Seismic response of water reservoir structures, a centrifuge experimental study
• Seismic response of shallow underground structures in dense urban environments
• Seismic response of temporary braced excavations near tall buildings

The students working in my team typically graduate with a strong knowledge of fundamentals in soil mechanics and soil dynamics, seismic soil-structure interaction, performance-based earthquake engineering, centrifuge modeling, signal processing, and advanced numerical simulations. They are typically wonderful collaborators, pay attention to details, and know how to think and seek solutions outside the box. They typically look for industry opportunities with challenging projects related to seismic safety or academic positions in another top university.

How does your research on geotechnical earthquake engineering help improve our ability to overcome natural disasters? Why is it important that your research uses a global approach?

The response of urban infrastructure to the extreme demands of disasters is neither bound by our divisions of knowledge nor geographies of practice. For this reason, I believe that a multidisciplinary and global approach is required in envisioning, designing, constructing, and maintaining a sustainable and resilient built environment. Correspondingly, my research objectives are first, to deepen our knowledge on the performance and design of earthquake resilient infrastructure and second, to promote multidisciplinary and global approaches in engineering. I combine field observations, centrifuge experiments, numerical simulations, and statistical analyses to evaluate the seismic behavior and interaction of underground and aboveground structures in dense urban environments and to improve their performance during earthquakes. I collaborate with colleagues in geotechnical and structural engineering, computer science, environmental design, and communications as well as industry leaders in engineering. I strive to promote synergy across disciplines in developing and leading innovative research ideas, while inspiring the cutting edge of applied earthquake engineering.

December 27th, 2018