Post-Doctoral Advising
Past Post-Doctoral Researchers at Rice University
Dr. Vahid Bisadi (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, October 2012
Research: Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment with Application to Dry Cask Storage Tanks and Bridge Structures
Current Position: Senior Modeler, RMS, Newark, CA
Dr. Ozkan Kale (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University, May 2014
Research: Probabilistic Seismic Analysis of Fractional Order Ground Motion Intensity Measures
Current Position: Associate Professor, TED University, Ankara, Turkey
Dr. Georgios Balomenos (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, May 2016
Research: Coastal Infrastructure Resilience
Current Position: Assistant Professor, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Dr. Giannis Gidaris (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Notre Dame University, June 2015
Research: Multi-Hazard Risk and Community Resilience Assessment
Current Position: Assistant Vice President, Swiss RE, New York, NY
Dr. Ehsan Fereshtehnejad (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Ohio State University, August, 2018
Research topic: Multi-Hazard Infrastructure Resilience and Decision-Making in a Coastal Setting
Current Position: Bridge Management Engineer at Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, VA
Dr. Yousef Mohammadi Darestani (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, The Ohio State University, August 2019
Research: Community Resilience Assessment and Enhancement against Wind and Flood Hazards
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Dr. Majid Ebad Sichani (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May 2018
Research: Oil and Gas Supply Chain Infrastructure Resilience
Current Position:
Dr. Mehrzad Rahimi (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Ohio State University, 2021
Research: Multi-hazard hurricane recovery and restoration approach for the built environment
Current Position: Geotechnical Engineer at Stantec, Denver, Colorado
Dr. Haifeng Wang (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of Buffalo, 2021
Research: Disaster resilience of coastal communities
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Dr. Pranavesh Panakkal (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, August 2024
Research: Situational Awareness Frameworks for Real-Time Sensing of Flood Impacts on Road Transportation Networks
Current Position: Research Scientist, The Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Graduated Ph.D. Students at Rice University
Dr. Jayadipta Ghosh (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2013
Thesis: Parameterized Reliability Assessment and Life-Cycle Analysis of Aging Highway Bridges
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Dr. Navid Ataei (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2013
Thesis: Reliability Assessment of Coastal Bridges Vulnerable to Hurricane Events
Current Position: Structural Analysis, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA
Dr. Emily McCarthy (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2014
Thesis: Application of Compact, Geometrically Complex Shape Memory Alloy Devices for Seismic Enhancement of Highway Bridge Expansion Joints
Current Position: Senior Staff Engineer, SGH, Houston, TX
Dr. Zhenghua Wang (Co-Advisor with Leonardo Duenas-Osorio)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2014
Thesis: Risk Based Design of Bridges and Associated Transportation Networks under Natural Hazards
Current Position: Risk Engineer, ABS, Houston, TX
Dr. Sabarethinam Kameshwar (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2017
Thesis: Multi-Hazard Fragility, Risk and Resilience Assessment of Select Coastal Infrastructure
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
Dr. Majid Ebad Sichani (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2018
Thesis: Seismic Risk Assessment of Vertical Dry Casks
Current Position:
Dr. Navya Vishnu (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, March, 2019
Research: Multi-Threat Sustainability Assessment of Bridges and Bridge Networks
Current Position: Engineer at AIR Worldwide, Boston, MA
Dr. Carl Bernier (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, July, 2019
Research: Fragility and Risk Assessment of Above Ground Storage Tanks during Storm Events
Current Position: Catastrophe Perils Graduate, Swiss RE, New York, NY
Dr. Ao Du (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, May, 2020
Research: High Confidence Seismic Risk Assessment Using Fractional Order and Advanced Intensity Measures
Current Position: Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Dr. Sushreyo Misra (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, August 2022
Research: Seismic Resilience of Intermodal Freight Transportation Networks
Current Position: Research Scientist, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Dr. Catalina Gonzalez Duenas (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, August, 2020
Research: Multi-Threat Coastal Infrastructure Vulnerability
Current Position: Assistant Professor, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Dr. Pranavesh Panakkal (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, December 2022
Research: Situational Awareness Frameworks for Real-Time Sensing of Flood Impacts on Road Transportation Networks
Current Position: Research Scientist, The Water Institute of the Gulf, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dr. Kendall M. Capshaw (Advisor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Rice University, April 2024
Research: Risk and Resilience Modeling of Coastal Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Current Position: Project Consultant, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Houston, TX
Graduated Ph.D. Students at Collaborative Universities
Dr. Danusa Tavares (Co-Advisor with Patrick Paultre)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Universite de Sherbrooke, December 2011
Thesis: Seismic Fragility of Highway Bridges in Quebec
Current Position: Structural Department Head, Intertechne Consultores S.A., Curitiba, PR Brazil
Dr. Karthik Ramanathan (Co-Advisor with Reginald DesRoches)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, May 2012
Thesis: Next Generation Seismic Fragility Curves for California Bridges Considering the Evolution of Seismic Design Philosophy
Current Position: Vice President, Extreme Event Solutions, VeriRisk, Boston, MA
Dr. Jazalyn Dukes (Co-Advisor with Reginald DesRoches)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, May 2013
Thesis: Application of Bridge Specific Fragility Analysis in Seismic Design Process of Bridges in California
Current Position: Research Structural Engineer, Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Dr. Gustavo H. Siqueira (Co-Advisor with Patrick Paultre)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Universite de Sherbrooke, June 2013
Thesis: Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Highway Bridges in Quebec Rehabilitated with Natural Rubber Isolators
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP Brazil
Dr. Mairead Ni Choine (Co-Advisor with Alan O’Connor)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Trinity College, Dublin, May 2014
Thesis: Seismic Reliability Assessment of Aging Integral Bridges
Current Position: Manager, KPMG, Ireland
Dr. Farahnaz (Fara) Soleimani (Co-Advisor with Reginald DesRoches)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, May 2017
Research: Fragility of California Bridges – Development of Modification Factors
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Dr. Sujith Mangalathu (Co-Advisor with Reginald DesRoches)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, May 2017
Thesis: Performance Based Grouping and Fragility Analysis of Box-Girder Bridges in California
Current Position: Data Science Vice President, JP Morgan Chase, Norcross, GA
Dr. Segura, Rocio L. (Co-Advisor with Patrick Paultre)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, June 2019
Thesis: Seismic Fragility Assessment of Concrete Gravity Dams using Meta-Model-Based Multivariate Functions
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
Dr. Pedro Alexandre Conde Bandini (Co-Advisor with Patrick Paultre)
Completed Degree: Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, July 2021
Thesis: Study of the seismic retrofitting of a bridge with rubber isolators in cold environment through fragility surfaces
Current Position: Post-Doctoral Researcher, Universite de Sherbrooke