Sam Salem, Chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.
On November 1, the Volgenau School of Engineering welcomed Dr. Sam Salem as the 6th Chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering. Salem has more than 28 years of professional and academic experience in construction engineering, project management, infrastructure asset management, and sustainable development.
“Dr. Salem joins the department at an exciting time of growth in student enrollment, faculty ranks and research endeavors,” said Liza Wilson Durant, acting chair. “His experience and new vision will yield new programs, new opportunities for student engagement and expand CEIE’s research opportunities.”
Prior to coming to Mason, Salem was the Abdallah H. Yabroudi Chair in Sustainable Civil Infrastructures at in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. Salem is especially interested in green construction and infrastructure. He developed the specialty as a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati, where he directed the Infrastructure Systems and Management Program. While at Syracuse, he helped institute a certificate program in infrastructure management and policy, and developed a new graduate program in construction engineering and management.
In addition to teaching, Salem has served as principal investigator on a $7 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant (shared with four other universities) to establish a transportation research center focusing on reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
“Dr. Salem’s multi-disciplinary approach to his work has led to outstanding collaborations with researchers from across the globe including engineers, computer scientists, and also social scientists, physicians, and researchers in public health, and operations research and industrial engineering,” said Durant. “I expect his multi-disciplinary approach to underpin new directions for CEIE programs and as well as new industry partnerships to ensure CEIE graduates are prepared to have impact on the infrastructure challenges of the 21st century.”
More about Dr. Salem’s accomplishments may be found here: http://civil.gmu.edu/news/spring-2017/dr-sam-salem-joins-ceie-in-november-as-the-department-chair)