I am a Full Professor of Civil Engineering in Structural Engineering. I teach courses in Structural Engineering, primarily in mechanics. I am currently taking a hiatus from research to re-prioritize my activities. I am not seeking student research assistants at this time.
My core technical research background is in earthquake- and blast-resistant structures, including structural testing. I also have interests across a wide range of "softer" topics related to living well in contemporary times given the pace and promises of technological development; topics under this umbrella include systems thinking, complexity, uncertainty, the umbrella concepts of sustainability and resilience, planetary limits, and ethics.
I am the co-author of an engineering ethics textbook: Enginering Ethics for a Sustainable Future.
Our department operates a shake table for seismic testing. Dr. Maryam Nazari has taken over primary responsibility for this facility and can be contacted for any inquiry.
Other links: LinkedIn - Google Scholar
I was born in Mexico and moved to the United States at age eleven, not long after experiencing the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, possibly making that a key event in my future career path. I studied Civil Engineering at U.C. Berkeley (B.S. and M.S.). I also frequented philosophy courses during that time. After earning the M.S. I worked at Wiss, Janney, Elstner in the San Francisco Area evaluating buildings and designing retrofits. I subsequently completed my Ph.D. and post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Diego, in the Department of Structural Engineering, where I focused on blast loading and advanced composites and also designed the highly-post-tensioned blast simulation facility. In 2008 I joined the faculty of Oregon State University. In 2011 I started at Cal State LA and in 2016 I was awarded early tenure and promotion to Associate Professor. I spent the 2018-2019 academic year as a visiting researcher at the UNAM in Mexico. In 2021 I was promoted to Full Professor.
I am currently taking time to reflect on my priorities and future research directions.
I teach a range of classes in structural mechanics: strength of materials, structural mechanics (I and II), seismic design, and dynamics. Other classes taught at Cal State LA or elsewhere include statics, programming, design of steel structures, design of concrete structures, blast loading of structures, and structural dynamics. I have also taught a freshman-level, general education seminar class for the Reading LA sequence in the Honor's College. This class, which covers disasters and resilience in Los Angeles, is taught from a social science perspective. I have also been closely involved in the creation of the new engineering ethics course, which was co-developed with the Philosophy department. As part of this effort, I co-authored a new textbook: Engineering Ethics for a Sustainable Future.
From 2009-2015 I completed a six year term on the Sustainability Committee of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI). Within that committee I founded and chaired the Disaster Resilience Working Group. I am also active with the SEI Engineering Philosophy committee and previously was a member of the Sustainability Committee of the American Concrete Institute. I am an associate editor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems. I have recently become active in the Planetary Limits Academic Network.
I am a registered Civil Engineer in California and have completed Safety Assessment Program (SAP) training for post-earthquake evaluation of buildings. I have also completed Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.