M. Ala Saadegh-Vaziri is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. He joined NJ IT in 1988 as an assistant professor after receiving his BS (with high honors, 1981), MS (1983), and PhD (1988) degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His area of specialization is structural engineering with emphasis on nonlinear response of structures, finite element and computational methods, extreme event engineering (notably seismic and blast loads), multihazard mitigation, and structural applications of composite and renewable materials. 

He is a member of ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), and is involved with professional service by serving as reviewer for various agencies such as NSF (National Science Foundation) and many Joumal publications and by conducting regional and national workshops and technical sessions. He is currently serving on ASCE’s Bridge Security Committee, and Blast Shock and Vibratory Effect Committee. He is a Program Evaluator (PEV) for ABET; a nonprofit, non-govemmental organization that accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. He is also a registered professional engineer in the state of New Jersey.