Biography

Dr. Mehrshad Amini will join the University of Rhode Island in Fall 2023 as an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Ocean Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University in 2021. Before joining URI, Dr. Amini was a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon State University and has worked collaboratively with scholars at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Risk-based Community Resilience Planning. His research experience and interests lie in structural engineering, fluid-structure interaction modeling, multi-hazard analysis, risk assessment, and resilience modeling. He has developed a probabilistic framework leveraging computational fluid dynamic analysis combined with the Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the performance of elevated residential buildings against wind and wave effects. He has been engaged in different research projects, including developing computational frameworks to better understand the impact of multi-hazard events on life safety risks as well as economic resilience metrics in terms of direct and indirect economic losses for coastal communities vulnerable to earthquakes and near-field tsunamis. The outcome of his research results in effective mitigation strategies, safer design for structures, and ultimately enhancing the community’s resilience to natural hazards. He has multiple leadership experiences, including serving as the vice president of the Structural Engineering Institute Graduate Student Chapter at Penn State. He has also received several awards, including a two-time winner of the Roger Glunt Graduate Fellowship in Residential Building Construction from Pennsylvania State University.