The College of Engineering (CEN) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) has appointed two new senior faculty members, effective August 18, to strengthen its focus on research and innovation. Dr. Irtishad Ahmad was appointed as Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and Dr. Vian Ahmed was appointed as Director of Alternative Delivery Graduate Education. They both bring years of experience to their new positions and will play an important part in the university’s commitment to becoming the region’s leading research and graduate education institution.

Prior to joining AUS, Dr. Irtishad Ahmad was Professor and Founding Director of the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability in the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Florida with specialization in ICT (information and communication technology) and information systems in construction, decision and risk analysis, reinforced concrete designs and concrete technology. At FIU he developed the backbone of graduate courses in construction management and civil engineering, as well as a certificate program on ICT in civil engineering for industry professionals.

Dr. Ahmad earned his PhD in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. He is a frequent speaker and panelist in national and international conferences on topics including but not limited to sustainability and resilience of built infrastructures, information technology in construction and effects of wind loading on structures. He has completed several funded research projects in construction and civil engineering and has published extensively. Dr. Ahmad has co-authored a book entitled Quantitative Techniques for Decision Making in Construction. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Management in Engineering, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for six years from 2002 to 2008 and is currently an Executive Member of the Editorial Board of the same journal. He is an elected fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Dr. Vian Ahmed was most recently a professor in the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford in the UK. She has had numerous administrative roles at Salford, including Associate Dean for International Programs, Director of the online Doctoral program, and Director of Graduate Studies and Post-graduate Research. Her research expertise is in construction project management and IT, with themes in sustainability, intelligent design and disaster and resilience management. She also has rich expertise in e-learning and has published significantly in that educational domain.

Dr. Ahmed has significant experience in doctoral education, having graduated over 28 PhD students. She has written a book on research methodology and is a long-time teacher of the subject. In her faculty role, she will contribute to the engineering systems management master’s and doctoral programs, and in the development and implementation of the new Master of Science in Construction Management program.

In this new role at AUS, she will lead efforts across CEN to develop alternative delivery modes (online, blended, distance, off-site, etc.) for our graduate programs to attract the growing market of engineering professionals in the UAE and across the region.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Irtishad Ahmad and Dr. Vian Ahmed join CEN. As AUS grows and develops its graduate programs, the expertise both these individuals bring to their respective roles will prove of immense value as we move towards becoming the premier research university in the Gulf,” said Dr. Richard Schoephoerster, Dean of CEN.