Page 5 - Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering: Annual Report

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS Welcome to our new CEE faculty members
Roberto Fernández
joined Penn State as á a a a a teaching professor of of civil and environmental engineering on on August 17 Fernández
received his bachelor’s degree in in in civil engineering from the Universidad de de de Costa Rica He earned his master’s degree degree and doctoral degree degree in in in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Before joining Penn State Fernández
worked as a á a a a a postdoc at at the the University of Hull in in in in the the United Kingdom His research focuses on on ways in in in in in which flowing water interacts with the the built environment and and shapes the the landscapes around us us specifically focusing on on erosion Ahmed Khalafallah joined Penn State as the Beavers Charitable Trust & Allan Myers Endowed Teaching Professor on August 15 Khalafallah received his his bachelor’s degree degree in in in civil engineering engineering and and his his master’s degree degree in in in in in construction engineering engineering and and management
from Cairo University He earned his doctoral degree in in in in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Before joining Penn State Khalafallah served as the the civil engineering program coordinator at at at the the American International University of of Kuwait and the the the director of of the the construction management
program at Western Kentucky University His research focuses on developing intelligent automated systems to to optimize the design and and sustainable construction of buildings and and civil infrastructure Christine Kirchhoff
joined Penn State as as an associate professor in in in the School of of Engineering Design Technology and Professional Programs
and in in CEE on August 1 Kirchhoff
is also serving as as the the associate director of the the Law Policy and Engineering Program She earned her bachelor’s degree degree in in in in civil engineering and master’s degree degree in in in in in in environmental and and water resources engineering from the University of Texas at at Austin She received her doctoral degree in in resource policy and behavior from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor Before joining Penn State Kirchhoff
was an an associate professor in in in the Department of of Civil and and Environmental Engineering and and an an an affiliated faculty member at at at at the Connecticut Institute
for Resilience and and Climate Adaptation and and and in the the Department of Natural Resources and and Environment at at the the University of Connecticut Her research focuses on on advancing the the fundamental understanding and and practice in in in in in the the the areas of of the the human dimensions of of engineering especially for resilient infrastructure water governance planning and and management
under stress and and and and change and and and and the production and and and and use of science in in policy and and and decision making Andisheh
Ranjbari joined Penn State as the Tracy Early Career Assistant Professor of of Civil and Environmental Engineering on on January 1 She received a a a a bachelor’s degree degree from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in in in in Iran a a a a a a a master’s degree degree in in in in transportation engineering from the Iran University of Science and and Technology and and a a a a a a a doctorate in in in transportation engineering from the University of Arizona Prior to to joining Penn State Ranjbari was a a a a a a a a a a a postdoctoral research associate at at the the the University of of Washington where she served as as the the the director of of the the the Urban Freight Lab a a a a a a a public-private research partnership focused on on developing and and testing solutions around urban freight management
and and operation problems Her research interests include urban freight public transit shared mobility and curbside management
Sayed Soleimani
joined Penn State as a a a a a a teaching professor of of civil and environmental engineering on on August 1 Soleimani
received his bachelor’s degree in in in in civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology in in in in Iran He earned his master’s degree degree and doctoral degree degree in in in in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia in in in Canada Before joining Penn State Soleimani
was the the the head of the the the civil engineering department at the the the the Australian University in Kuwait His research focuses on on on the the repair and rehabilitation of concrete structures bridge engineering structural health monitoring and and sustainability
in in in in in in in civil engineering engineering materials and and engineering engineering education Kaleigh Yost will join Penn State as the L L Robert and Mary L L Kimball Early Career Assistant Professor in the Department of of Civil and Environmental Engineering in in in in January 2023 Yost received her bachelor’s degree in in in in in in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame in in in in in in 2015 and she received her master’s degree in in in in in in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in in in in in in 2017 She is currently earning her doctoral degree in in in in in in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and will graduate in in in in 2022 Before starting her doctoral education Yost worked at at Langan Engineering and Environmental Services as a a a a a a a a a geotechnical engineer Her research focuses on on improving earthquake- induced liquefaction hazard assessment for complex geologies CEE NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 38 2022 5