FIU engineering dean named “Engineer of the Year”

MIAMI – Florida International University College of Engineering and Computing Dean Amir Mirmiran has been named the Miami-Dade American Society of Civil Engineers 2009 Engineer of the Year, adding to his list of  accomplishments since assuming leadership of the college.

Mirmiran, 48, who became the college’s dean in February after serving in that role on an interim basis since 2007, received the award at the chapter’s annual awards and installation dinner at the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant in Miami on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

“Being recognized by your colleagues is humbling and rewarding at the same time,” Mirmiran said. “It means that what you have done has had an impact on the community and is a reflection of the quality engineering program we have at FIU.”

Dean Amir Mirmiran

Among the highlights of the past year, the college dedicated the Integrated Intelligent Transportation System Laboratory, a traffic management center that is one of the most sophisticated laboratories of its kind in the nation. ABET, the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, recently awarded full six-year accreditation to all of FIU’s engineering programs, including a new Environmental Engineering program.

“Dean Mirmiran has been key in creating and sustaining an environment in which faculty and students can be successful,” said FIU Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Douglas Wartzok. “His academic background, leadership and proven track record of engaging government, business and community leaders are key to the continued development of the college.”

Earlier this month, FIU dedicated the Titan America Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory. The 2,250-square-foot laboratory, renamed in recognition of a gift by Titan America LLC, is the only laboratory in a Florida university accredited by Miami-Dade County as an official site for determining whether building materials and other products comply with the county’s strict building code.

The laboratory is particularly close to Mirmiran’s heart, since he spearheaded the effort to establish it after arriving at FIU in 2004 as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. To accomplish that, he persuaded construction industry leaders to donate material, labor and services to build the lab.

“The value of the donated material and services was easily half a million dollars,” Mirmiran said. “The industry understood the need for this type of facility and the laboratory has proven its worth, advancing research, making products more economical and making the industry more competitive while keeping our community safe.”

Earlier this year, the construction industry also came to the rescue when budget cuts almost forced the college to merge its Department of Construction Management with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Nearly 40 companies raised the $250,000 necessary for the Construction Management program’s operating budget for this fiscal year. The college is now raising money for next fiscal year.

Mirmiran sees the College of Engineering and Computing as a major research engine for FIU, itself powered by high-caliber faculty and students. The college boasts an enrollment of close to 4,500 students, of which 700 are master’s students and more than 200 doctoral students. It is ranked as the 22^nd largest undergraduate engineering program in the nation by the American Society for Engineering Education and most of its programs rank among the 30 largest in the country. In the 2008-09 academic year, research expenditures grew to $14.9 million, up 20 percent from the previous year and research awards grew to $15.3 million, up 8 percent from the year before.

Despite financial challenges brought on by reductions in funding for state universities, Mirmiran’s goals as dean include continuing to build on research, forming partnerships in the community, and reaching out to its network of 13,000 alumni for support.

“I see tremendous opportunities for our college, as well as unfulfilled potential,” Mirmiran said. “We have to look at more creative ways to maintain and grow what we have and ultimately make the college a national leader in our field.”

For Mirmiran, engineering runs in the family – his brother is the president of a major civil engineering firm, Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson (JMT), and several of his relatives are also engineers. Mirmiran holds a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Tehran, and master’s and PhD degrees in civil engineering from the University of Maryland. In addition to FIU, he has held academic appointments at the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, and North Carolina State University. Mirmiran, who holds two patents on innovative composite construction systems, is the recipient of an NSF Faculty CAREER Development Award and NASA Tech Briefs Award, and is an elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Concrete Institute.

Mirmiran’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Federal Highway Administration, and Departments of Transportation in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. He has enjoyed continuous funding from NSF since 1996 and has published 75 peer reviewed journal articles.

Mirmiran lives in Weston with his wife, Fae, and their six-year-old daughter, Tara.

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Media contact: Madeline Baró, 305-348-2234

About the FIU College of Engineeringand Computing:
Ranked as the 22^nd largest undergraduate engineering program in the nation, Florida International University’s College of Engineering and Computing is South Florida’s leading engineering education resource. The College offers a complete range of fully ABET-accredited engineering baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degree programs. Research is an integral part of the College’s mission and its success, boasting 2008 research awards of $15.3 million. The College is committed to diversity, and is ranked nationally as a top producer of Hispanic engineers at all levels and eighth in the nation for B.S. degrees awarded to African-Americans.

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.