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Message from the Chair

Dear Students, Colleagues, and Friends,

As we conclude our fall quarter—my third as Chair of the Department, I can’t help but continue to marvel at the vision that our Department founders had 26 years ago when trying this “experiment” of a unique, highly cross-disciplinary structural engineering program. Our faculty continue to excel across the broad structural domain, whether it be in advanced thermoplastic composites or optimizing geometry and materials for energy absorption, while our students rack up awards for their excellence in composites or advancing safety/reliability. Come read all about it in our newsletter here while you’re enjoying winter break. Wish everyone a healthy and restful holiday season!

Michael Todd
Professor & Chair

Professor Mehran Tehrani Leads International Three-Year ~$1M Grant on "Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) of Thermoplastic Composites"

Supported by the National Science Foundation and the DFG, German Research Foundation, UC San Diego Professor Mehran Tehrani announces a new research grant he is leading on "Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) of Thermoplastic Composites." In collaboration with Gregory Odegard (Michigan Tech), Jann Simon (University of Wuppertal, Germany), and the NASA Glenn Research Center (Evan Pineda and Brett Bednarcyk), the central focus of this research grant addresses research-driven training and integrated computational materials engineering to develop a physics-based, multiscale modeling framework. Read More >>>

Professor Mehran Tehrani honored to be one of two inaugural recipients of Composites Part B’s Global Mid-Career “Excellence in Composites Engineering” Award

Congratulations to UC San Diego Professor Mehran Tehrani for his achievement in being one of two inaugural recipients of Composites Part B's Global Mid-Career "Excellence in Composites Engineering" Award. Professor Tehrani thanks his nominator and mentor, Prof. Hyonny Kim, and to Editors-In-Chief Prof. Ole Thybo Thomsen and Prof. Uday Vaidya for supporting him in being recognized for this achievement. Furthermore, Tehrani is also listed among the 2025 Editor's Top Reviewers for Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. Tehrani says that he is grateful for Prof. Suresh Advani for "highlighting the imporance of peer review." Read More>>>

UC San Diego Engineers selected for $5M Award from U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), lead new Center for Simulation and design of Heterogeneous Architectures for Performance and Energy absorption

Researchers at UC San Diego have been awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to lead a new Focused Investigatory Center developing next-generation impact-resistant materials. The SHAPE Center, directed by professor of Structural Engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering Alicia Kim, will pioneer computational topology optimization methods to automatically design advanced nonlinear materials with internal geometries previously thought impossible to model. This multi-institution collaboration unites engineers and computer scientists from UC San Diego and the Colorado School of Mines as part of the NNSA's Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program. Read More >>> 

Ph.D. Student Saeed Khaleghi Receives the SYENSQO Award for Best Student Paper in Composites at the American Society for Composites 2025 Conference

Saeed Khaleghi, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Structural Engineering, recently received the SYENSQO Award for Best Student Paper in Composites at the American Society for Composites 2025 Conference for his groundbreaking paper titled “Engineered Gaps in Thermoplastic Composite AFP Layups for Enhanced VBO Consolidation.”  Saeed feels honored and inspired by the many researchers and advisors who supported him in achieving this award, thanking his advisor Dr. Mehran Tehrani for his guidance, Joseph Kirchhoff for his collaboration, and Dr. Paulina Diaz-Montiel for making the travel award possible. Read More >>>

UC San Diego's Enrique Simbort Zeballos awarded Best Paper Award from the IASSAR Awards Committee at the 14th International Conference on Structural Safety and Reliability

The IASSAR Awards Committee honored Enrique Simbort Zeballos with the Best Paper Award at the 14th International Conference on Structural Safety and Reliability (ICOSSAR 2025) at UCLA. His insightful paper titled "Bayesian Nonlinear Finite Element Model Updating of a Full-Scale Bridge Column: Insights from Calibration of Inherent Damping Model” presents part of his Ph.D. research under the guidance of Prof. Joel Conte and offers new insights into its characterization under seismic loading. The work advances Bayesian approaches for calibrating nonlinear finite element models, with particular emphasis on identifying the amplitude-dependent nature of inherent damping in reinforced concrete systems. Read More >>>

UC San Diego Professor Mehran Tehrani's nomination choice leads to big win at the American Society for Composites 2025 Conference

Joseph Kirchhoff, a PhD student at UT Austin, was recently honored with two of the most prestigious student awards at ASC 2025 (American Society for Composites), recognizing his exceptional work and impact in the field. His achievements were celebrated by his advising team, including co-advisor Mehran Tehrani—who also served as his nominator for the ASC PhD Scholarship and is a professor at UC San Diego—and Professor Omar Ghattas from The University of Texas in Austin. This outstanding accomplishment highlights Joseph’s dedication, innovation, and growing leadership within the composites research community. Read More >>>

First-ever UC San Diego SE Alumni Social Hour at the 2025 Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) Convention

Alumni engagement within the UC San Diego Structural Engineering Department has grown tremendously over the past year, thanks to a dedicated group of alumni and development staff eager to strengthen connections and give back. This energy came to life during the first-ever UC San Diego SE Alumni Social Hour at the 2025 Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) Convention, held at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego from September 3-5. The event was sponsored by the Department of Structural Engineering with generous support from Simpson Strong-Tie. More than 100 alumni attended, creating a lively evening of reconnection and celebration. Read More >>>

Please consider providing a charitable donation to the Structural Engineering Department in 2025. Your philanthropic contribution strengthens what is possible for our students, faculty, and facilities. Click below to explore where you can make your impact this year. 

Gifts can be made through donations of cash, appreciated securities and cryptocurrency. For any questions or to inquire about establishing a named fund, please contact Madison Lyle, Associate Director of Development at m1lyle@ucsd.edu or (858) 424-1450.