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Shideh Dashti, an associate professor of geotechnical engineering and geomechanics, has won a Green Faculty award through the 27th annual Campus Sustainability Awards Program. The award was given to Dashti for her leadership in establishing Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RISE), a research initiative focusing on climate change, disaster resilience and sustainability, notably shedding light on the climate vulnerabilities of incarcerated populations in Colorado.

The Campus Sustainability Awards program recognizes outstanding individuals and departments who demonstrate a sincere commitment to enhancing CU Boulder’s longstanding commitment to sustainability. Awardees exhibit innovation that directly reduces the university's ecological footprint, enhances social cohesion and equity in the campus community and/or integrates sustainability into the culture of Boulder and our local communities. This year, there are eight campus sustainability awardees

Awards will be in the form of a 100 percent recycled-content plaque presented by campus leadership at the 31st annual Campus Sustainability Summit on April 25. 

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Engineering a sustainable and equitable future takes innovation and collaboration.

Shideh Dashti is the Acting Associate Dean of Research at CU Boulder's College of Engineering & Applied Science, as well as an Associate Professor in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department.

Dean Dashti's research is specifically focused on geotechnical engineering, centrifuge modeling, and designing resilient infrastructure in the wake of earthquakes and climate-related natural disasters.

Shideh is also a Co-Director of the College's Center for Infrastructure, Energy and Space Testing (CIEST), as well as the Director RISE - an interdisciplinary research collaboration at CU Boulder to explore the intersection of resilient infrastructure, sustainability, and equity.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUww6HOz8A8]

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Acting Dean Keith Molenaar has selected Shideh Dashti to serve as the acting associate dean for research in the college. Dashti will start in May 2022.

“I am honored to be selected and to serve in this important role in our own community and the broader research community on campus,” Dashti said. “I look forward to learning from, collaborating with, and supporting all of the researchers in our college as we strive to achieve our collective mission to become a top research institution in the world.”

With the appointment, Dashti becomes the first female associate dean for research in the college’s history. She will lead the Research Support Office team in offering support across the life of research proposals from idea to submission, execution, and publication.

Dashti immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1999 and completed her undergraduate work in civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University with subsequent graduate work at the University of California Berkeley. She joined CU Boulder in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering in 2011 and currently serves as an associate professor. Her research focuses on performance-based evaluation and mitigation of geotechnical hazards affecting structures and lifelines during earthquakes and compounded climate extremes.

Dashti has held several leadership roles in the college, serving as the co-director of the Center for Infrastructure, Energy and Space Testing and as the director of the Resilient Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RISE) Interdisciplinary Research Theme. Nationally, she is a co-principal investigator and steering committee member of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association – a National Science Foundation group that leads post-disaster geotechnical engineering reconnaissance efforts around the world. She has received a number of awards for her research contributions, most recently the 2021 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Dashti will hold the position while Professor Massimo Ruzzene serves as acting vice chancellor for research for the campus. She said a top priority will be continuing new publication recognition and reputation efforts, coordinated pre- and post-award support for large and strategic grants, and tailored support and engagement opportunities for junior faculty.

“I also want to prioritize and continue relationships with our local national lab partners during my time,” she said. “And reimaging opportunities for outreach to alumni, industry, foundations, and other donor communities around our incredible research portfolio.”

Molenaar said Dashti is an accomplished researcher and leader and will be a tremendous advocate for all researchers in the college. 

“Professor Dashti’s combined interdisciplinary research experience and leadership skills make her an extraordinary selection for this position.  I look forward to seeing what she accomplishes and where the Research Support Office goes from here,” he said.

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