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Profile

College / Department

College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering

Teaching areas

Structural Analysis and Design

Research areas

Structural reliability, finite element modeling, bridge engineering, experimental testing of large reinforced concrete elements

Education

B.E., Civil Engineering, American University of Beirut, 1984
M.S., Civil Engineering, Penn State University, 1986.
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Michigan, 1990.

Professional experience

Director of Structures, Otak international, Abu Dhabi, while on leave from the AUS, June 2008-June 2009.
Project Engineer, Transportation Division (Bridges Section), Gannett Fleming, Inc., Harrisburg, PA, 1990-1994.
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering Department, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 1994-1999.
Professor (2006-present), Department Head (2006-2008), Associate Professor (1999-2006), Civil Engineering Department, American University of Sharjah, UAE.

Memberships

Professional Engineer, State of Pennsylvania, USA. American Society of Civil Engineers (lapsed). American Concrete Institute (lapsed).

Contact

stabsh@aus.edu
+971 6 515 2957

Dr. Sami Tabsh

Professor
PhD in Civil Engineering, University of Michigan, USA

Sami W. Tabsh has been a faculty member at the University of Houston, Texas, and a project engineer for complex structures with Gannett Fleming, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Dr. Tabsh's research interests are in reliability-based code development, bridge structures, high-rise buildings and large-scale experimental testing. He has been published man times in international journals and conference proceedings, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Pennsylvania, USA.

Publications

Tabsh, S.W., Abdelfatah, A.S., and El Kadi, H.A., "Engineering students and faculty perceptions of academic dishonesty," Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 25 No. 4, 2017, pp. 378-393
Tabsh, S.W., and Mitchell, M.M., “Girder Distribution Factors for Steel Bridges Subjectedto Permit truck or Super Load,” Structural Engineering and Mechanics journal, Technopress, Vol. 60, No. 2, October, 2016, pp. 237-249.
Tabsh, S.W., El-Kadi, H.A., and Abdelfatah, A.S., “Past and Present Engineering Students’ Views on Academic Dishonesty at a Middle-Eastern University,” International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 31, No. 5, 2015, pp. 1334–1342.
Tabsh, S.W., “Influence of Deficient Materials on the Reliability of Reinforced Concrete Members,” International Journal of Civil, Architectural, Structural and Construction Engineering, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 8 No. 5, 2014, pp. 464-471.
Tabsh, S.W., “Comparison between Reinforced Concrete Designs Based on the ACI 318 and BS 8110 Codes,” Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An international Journal, Technopress, Vol. 48, No. 4, November, 2013, pp. 467-477.
Tabsh, SW, and Najm, H., “Bridge Structures,” Editorial, Advances in Civil Engineering journal, Volume 2012 (November 2012), Hindawi, Article ID 912612, 2 pages. doi:10.1155/2012/912612
Tabsh, SW, El Kadi, HA, and Abdelfatah, AS, “Faculty Response to Ethical Issues at an American University in the Middle-East,” Journal of Quality Assurance in Education, Volume 20, Issue 4 (October), 2012, pp. 319-340.doi:10.1108/09684881211263957
Tabsh, S.W., Abdelfatah, A.S., Alhamaydeh, M., and Yehia S., “Comparison of Civil Engineering Curricula in the Arab World,” International Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE), Vol. 28, No. 5, 2012, pp. 1213-1220. ISSN 0949-149X.
Yehia, S., AlHamaydeh, M., Abdelfatah, A., and Tabsh, S., “ABET-accredited civil engineering programs following track system: Part I – survey and framework development,” Global Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2012, pp. 57-68.
Yehia, S., AlHamaydeh, M., Abdelfatah, A., and Tabsh, S., “ABET-accredited civil engineering programs following track system: Part II – implementation of the proposed framework,” Global Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2012, pp. 69-76.
Abdelfatah, A., and Tabsh, S.W.,"Review of Research on and Implement of Recycled Concrete Aggregate in the GCC," Special Issue on Use of Recyclable Materials in Sustainable Civil Engineering Applications, Advances in Civil Engineering journal, Vol. 2011 (2011), Hindawi, Article ID 567924, 6 pages.
Abdelfatah, A., Tabsh, S., and Yehia, S. “Utilization of Recycled Coarse Aggregate in Concrete Mixes,” Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vol. 5, No. 6, June 2011, pp. 562-566.
Abdelfatah, A.S., and Tabsh, S.W., "Engineering Students’ Perception of Academic Dishonesty at an American University in the Middle East," Online Journal for Global Engineering Education (OJGEE), Vol. 5, Issue 1, Article 1, October 2010, pp. 1-12.
Tabsh, S.W., “Stress-Strain Model for High Strength Concrete Confined by Welded Wire Fabric,” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 19, Issue 4, April 2007, pp. 286-294.
Tabsh, S.W., “Elimination of the Effect of Strain Gradient from Concrete Compressive Strength Test Results,” Computers and Concrete Journal, Techno-Press, Vol. 3, No. 6, December 2006, pp. 375-388.
Tabsh, S.W., and Geblawi, O., “Simplified Structural Analysis of Retaining Walls on Stepped Footings,” Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, ASCE, Vol. 11, No. 1, Feb, 2006, pp. 25-38.
Tabsh, S.W., O’Neill, M.W., and Nam, M., “Structural Resistance Factors for Drilled Shafts with Minor Flaws Loaded in Shear,” Engineering Structures Journal, Volume 27, Issue 5, April 2005, pp. 653-825.
Tabsh, S.W., and Al-Shawa, A-R, “Effect of Spread Footing Flexibility on Structural Response,” Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, ASCE, Volume 10, Issue 2, April 2005, pp. 109-114.
O’Neill, M.W., Sarhan, H., and Tabsh, S.W., “Structural Capacity Reduction for Drilled Shafts with Minor Flaws,” Structural Journal, American Concrete Institute, Detriot, Vol. 101. No. 3, May, 2004, pp. 291-297.
Luker, I., and Tabsh, S.W., “Effect of Non-Uniform Straining on Concrete Compressive Strength,” Journal of Concrete, Cement and Aggregates, American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), Vol. 26, No. 2, 2004, pp. 42-51.
O’Neill, M.W., Tabsh, S.W., and Sarhan, H., “Structural Behavior of Drilled Shafts with Minor Void Anomalies Subjected to Axial, Flexural and Combined Loads,” Journal of Engineering Structures, Elsevier, Vol. 25, January, 2003, pp. 47-56.
Tabsh, S.W., and O’Neill, M.W., “Behavior of Drilled Shafts with Minor Anomalies Subjected to Axial Compression.” Transportation Research Record, No. 1272, Transportation Research Board, NAS, Washington, D.C., 2001, pp. 65-72.
Lambert-Aikhionbare, N., and Tabsh, S.W., “Confinement of High Strength Concrete Columns with Welded Wire Fabric,” Structural Journal, American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Vol. 98, No. 5, September-October, 2001, pp. 677-685.

Conference Presentations

Tabsh, S.W., “Influence of Deficient Materials on the Reliability of Reinforced Concrete Members,” Proceedings of the ICCESE 2014: International Conference on Civil, Environmental and Structural Engineering, Berlin, 22-23 May, 2014.
Tabsh, S.W., and El-Emam, M., “Finite Element-Based Parametric Analysis of Mat Foundations," Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering, Delft, 18-20 June 2014.
Kayani, A-W, Tabsh, S.W., “Experimental and Computational Studies on Steel Base Plates on Leveling Nuts,” First Australasia and South-East Asia Structural Engineering and Construction Conference - Research, Development and Practice in Structural Engineering and Construction, Edited by V. Vimonstatit, A. Singh, and S. Yazdani,RPS Research Publishing, Perth, Australia, Nov 28-Dec 2, 2012, pp. 335-339.
Tabsh, S.W., and AlRahmani, M., “Survey of recent structural failures in the UAE,” 35th International Symposium on Bridge and Structural Engineering, Organized by IABSE-IASS, London, Sep. 2011, abstract on p. 501, paper on CD.
Tabsh, S.W., “Effect of Lower-than-Expected Material Strength and Out-of-Tolerance Construction on the Safety of Reinforced Concrete Members,” Proceedings of the Highrise Towers and Tall Buildings 2010 International Conference (HTTB 2010), Munich, April 14-16, 2010, Abstract on p. 144-145, Full paper on CD.
Tabsh, S.W., "Structural Safety of Reinforced Concrete Structures Designed Following the ACI 318 Code," Proceedings of the 34th IABSE Symposium 2010: Large Structures and Infrastructures for Environmentally Constrained and Urbanised Areas, Venice, Italy, September 2010, on CD.
Abdelfatah, A., Tabsh, S.W., and Yehia, S., “Alternative Ways of Making Concrete with Recycled Coarse Aggregate,” 4th International Conference on Applications of Traditional and High Performance Materials in Harsh Environments, Institute of Materials Systems, AUS, Sharjah, March 24-25, 2010, on CD.

Awards and Honors

Professor of the Year (1997), University of Houston's student chapter of ASCE.
Cullen College of Engineering's outstanding teachers award (1998), University of Houston.
Best Teacher Award (1999),Engineering student Council, American University of Sharjah.
Research Initiation Grant, University of Houston, 1996. FHWA/ADSC research Grant, University of Houston, 1998-1999.
Faculty Research Grant, American University of Sharjah, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013 & 2017.Emirates Foundation Grant 2010 (Dr. Yahia, Co-PI). Gulf Ecosystem Research Center 2014 (Dr. Abed PI).

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