AUS civil engineering professor named Structural Engineering Institute Fellow

Dr. Jamal A. Abdalla, Professor in Civil Engineering and Riad Sadek Endowed Chair of Civil Engineering at American University of Sharjah, (AUS) was named Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Fellow in recognition of his leadership and mentorship in the field of structural engineering.

Established in 1996, SEI is an institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) with a mission to advance and serve the structural engineering profession. The institute drives the practical application of cutting-edge research by improving coordination and understanding between academia and practicing engineers.  Of its 30,000 current members, only 288 have been named SEI Fellows.      

“I am proud to have reached this level in my profession and to be among the elite few who have combined research and practice and made real contributions to the UAE and to the profession. As an SEI Fellow, I have an opportunity to mentor young structural engineers and promote the SEI mission. I am currently the advisor of the AUS SEI Graduate Student Chapter, which is a good place for mentoring our graduate students and getting them acquainted with the work of SEI and its benefits for their lifelong learning,” said Dr. Abdalla.

Dr. Abdallah’s advancement to SEI Fellow comes in recognition of his notable contributions in structural engineering,  including his pioneer research contributions to Building Information Modeling (BIM); his applied research on Seismic Hazard Assessment (SHA) that contributed to key parameters in the development of the UAE seismic design code; his well-cited research on strengthening and retrofitting of structures using Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP), which contributed to AUS ranking in the top 10 research institutions in the world in this research field; and his meritorious service as ABET Program Evaluator for the accreditation of the civil engineering and technology programs of US institutions.

Dr. Abdalla also served as an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering and a reviewer of several ASCE journals. He established the SEI Graduate Student Chapter at AUS, which is the first outside of the USA, and is currently serving on two SEI committees: the Advances in Information Technology Committee and the SEI Global Activities Division’s Products and Publications Committee.        

Dr. Abdalla has authored more than 230 publications. He is a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academy of Science (MBRAS), a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Virginia, USA, and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

AUS is ranked number one in the UAE and among the top ​150 universities globally for civil and structural engineering, according to QS World University Subject Rankings (202​2​). According to the same ranking, College of Engineering graduates are also the top choice for employers in the UAE. The Department of Civil Engineering is recognized throughout the region for the exceptional education it offers through its undergraduate and graduate programs.

For more information about what the civil engineering program offers, visit www.aus.edu/cen/department-of-civil-engineering.