Education

  • PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. Project: Physical Properties of Geomaterials for Thermal Energy Geosystems
  • MSc, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic). Project: Numerical Modeling of the Behavior of Granular Materials under Triaxial Loading with Discrete Element Method
  • BSc, Civil Engineering, Semnan University

Research Summary

Understand and quantify the evolution in physical properties of natural and engineered porous materials upon heat and mass exchange, particularly, under extreme conditions, e.g., high stress, high fluid pressure, and high temperature, through experimental and numerical modeling. The objective is to design sustainable and resilient geo-energy and civil infrastructure.

Biography

Inspired by unprecedented challenges facing our era on energy, water, and the environment, and ample opportunities for geo-engineers to solve many of them, Dr. Shahrzad Roshankhah aims to develop models for the hydro-thermo-chemomechanical behavior of geomaterials at extreme conditions. Shahrzad is an assistant professor at the University of Utah, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since fall 2021. Before joining the U, Shahrzad was a research scientist at the California Institute of Technology, where she studied the behavior of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured rocks through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations as well as the elastoplastic behavior of particle impacts in granular flows. She also served as a lecturer at the California State University, Long Beach, for two years. She received her Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her M.Sc. from Amirkabir University of Technology, both in geotechnical engineering. The results of her research on various geo-energy-related topics are published in several prestigious peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Dr. Roshankhah regularly serves her respective scientific communities such as ARMA, ASCE, GI, Energy Geotechnics, and SPE as a track leader, session developer, technical reviewer, and committee member. Before starting her doctoral studies, Shahrzad worked in engineering consulting firms for over six years, where she conducted analysis and design of a variety of civil infrastructure. Shahrzad is now a Professional Engineer in the state of Utah.