SHAHRZAD ROSHANKHAH

I am an assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since August 2021. My research involves laboratory and numerical simulations to model the coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical behavior of geomaterials using high-resolution, multi-scale, and multi-phase process monitoring techniques. Before joining the U, I was a research scientist at Caltech, where I studied the behavior of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured rocks through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, as well as the elasto-plastic behavior of particle impacts. I also worked as a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach, for two years. I received my Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech and my M.Sc. degree from the Amirkabir University of Technology, both in geotechnical engineering. I have worked in the civil and geotechnical engineering industry for over six years and am a holder of a Professional Engineering License from the State of Utah.

EDUCATION

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

  • Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering Aug. 11 - May 15
  • Thesis: Physical Properties of Geomaterials for Thermal Energy Geosystems
  • Minor: Computational heat transfer and mass transport through porous media
  • M.Sc., Geotechnical Engineering Aug. 11 - May 13

Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

  • M.Sc., Geotechnical Engineering Sep. 04 - Mar. 07
  • Thesis: Numerical Modeling of the Behavior of Granular Materials under Triaxial Loading with Discrete Element Method

Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

  • B.Sc., Civil Engineering Sep. 99 - Jun. 03

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • Assistant Professor, The University of Utah Jul. 2021 - on
  • Lecturer, California State University, Long Beach Aug. 2019 - June 2021
  • Lecturer, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Aug. 2019 - Dec. 2019
  • Research Scientist, California Institute of Technology Oct. 2017 - Jul. 2019
  • Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology Feb. 2016 - Sep. 2017
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology Aug. 2011 - Dec. 2015
  • Senior Engineer, Imen Saazeh Fadak Consultants, Tehran Jun. 2008 - Jul. 2010
  • Civil and Geotechnical Engineer, VPSPS, Tehran Sep. 2005 - Jan. 2009
  • Staff Engineer, Prozheh Saaz Consultants, Tehran, Iran Jul. 2003 - Aug. 2005

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Early Career Reseach Fellow, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Gulf Research Program, Sep. 1, 2025
  • CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (NSF), Aug. 01, 2025
  • Emerging Leader, Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), Feb. 22, 2024
  • ExCEED Teaching Workshop, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Jul. 28-Aug. 04, 2023
  • Early Career Distinguished Service Award, American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA), Jun. 28, 2023
  • Faculty Affiliate, Global Change and Sustainability Center, Oct. 27, 2022
  • Faculty Affiliate, Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Utah, Jan. 10, 2022
  • ARMA Future Leader, American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA), Jun. 24, 2020
  • WPI STEM Faculty Launch Travel Grant, NSF, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Oct. 2-3, 2019
  • NHERI Summer Institute, NSF, Univ. Texas San Antonio, Jun. 4-6, 2018
  • USUCGER Early Career Workshop Travel Grant, NSF, Case Western Reserve University, May 20-22, 2018
  • Future Faculty Program, Georgia Tech CTL, Jun. 8-9, 2015
  • The Woman of Distinction, Runner Up, Georgia Tech WRC, Oct. 25, 2014
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, CEE, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, Aug. 2011 - May 2015
  • Full Scholarship for Undergrad Studies, Semnan Univ., Iran, Sep. 1999 - Jun. 2003
  • Programming Olympiad, Runner Up, Tehran, Iran, Nov. 1998

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2001-on
  • Geo-Institute (GI) 2007-on
  • Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) 2011-on
  • International Society of Soil Mech. and Geotech. Engr. (ISSMGE) 2007-on
  • US Universities Council on Geotech. Education and Research (USUCGER) 2015-on
  • American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) 2017-on
  • International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM) 2017-on
  • American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2016-on
  • American Chemical Society (ACS) 2023-2025
  • The Scientic Research Society (Sigma Xi) 2014-2019
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE) 2016-2019
  • Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) 2017-2020
  • Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG) 2019-2022

  • I am an assistant professor at the University of Utah’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since August 2021. My research involves laboratory and numerical simulations to model the coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical behavior of geomaterials using high-resolution, multi-scale, and multi-phase process monitoring techniques. Before joining the U, I was a research scientist at Caltech, where I studied the behavior of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured rocks through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, as well as the elasto-plastic behavior of particle impacts. I also worked as a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach, for two years. I received my Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech and my M.Sc. degree from the Amirkabir University of Technology, both in geotechnical engineering. I have worked in the civil and geotechnical engineering industry for over six years and am a holder of a Professional Engineering License from the State of Utah.