Professional Bio

Amir H. Behzadan, Ph.D., M.ASCE

I am a Professor of Construction Science and Graduate Program Coordinator at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Prior to my current appointment, I served as Associate Professor of Construction Science at TAMU (2017-22), Associate Professor of Construction Management at Missouri State University (MSU) (2015-17), Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering (Construction) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) (2009-15), and Assistant Professor of Construction Technology at the New York City College of Technology (2008-9) of the City University of New York (CUNY).

I obtained my Ph.D. degree (2008) in Civil Engineering, and my M.S. degree (2005) in Construction Engineering and Management both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I also hold a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering (2002) from Sharif University of Technology. I have several years of construction industry experience working as field engineer and quality inspector in projects ranging from commercial to high-rise buildings.

My research interests encompass artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and advanced sensing and visualization with applications in urban computing, resilience against climate disasters, and safety and health in the built environment. My work has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Texas Sea Grant program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Engineering Information Foundation (EiF), Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (HCSHWM), and the industry.

My teaching interests include core construction and civil engineering topics. At the undergraduate level, I have taught in areas such as surveying and instrumentation, construction methods, construction contracts, structural design, soils and foundations, mechanics of materials, and statics. At the graduate level, I have developed and taught courses in research methods, project management, decision-making under uncertainty, data mining, and process simulation. I have received multiple teaching awards including the ASEE Outstanding New Teaching Award (2012), Distinguished New Faculty Award from the International Academy for the Scholarship of Learning Technology (2012), UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award (2015), and Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2014) from UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science. In 2009, I attended and completed the requirements of the ASCE ExCEEd Workshop in West Point, NY.

I have also served the professional community in multiple capacities. Most notably, I am currently on the editorial board of two technical journals, namely Construction Engineering and Management (JCEM) since 2009, and Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE) since 2020. Between 2013 and 2022, I served on the elected board of officers of the Visualization, Information Modeling, and Simulation (VIMS) Committee under the ASCE Computing Division. At MSU, I was the faculty coach of the ASC Heavy Civil student team. Between 2010 and 2015, I advised the ASCE-UCF student chapter. During this time, I received several recognitions for my contributions to the profession including three consecutive Faculty Advisor of the Year Awards (2013, 2014, 2015) from the ASCE FL Section, and the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award from ASCE Region 5 (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) in 2014.