The M. Saiid & Sohila Saiidi Professorship

Educator

When Foundation Professor M. “Saiid” Saiidi was a boy, a powerful earthquake hit near his home in Iran. Houses were reduced to rubble, and the fear of aftershocks was strong enough that he and his neighbors chose to sleep out in the open that night, for fear that their homes might topple. This seminal experience led Saiidi to a career dedicated to increasing the safety and stability of buildings and bridges. Over the course of his career, his curiosity and drive led him to the United States and, eventually, the University of Nevada, Reno in 1979.

“Nevada is a pioneer land, and I wanted to be part of history here. I wanted to make this place stand out,” he said. “As an assistant professor, I had a lot of freedom and a lot of support, from the department chair up. It was very empowering.”

Forty-one years later, as he prepares to teach his last class, Professor Saiidi has helped bring the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to the world stage. Through 148 grants totaling $30 million, more than 500 publications, and the mentorship of 157 students, he has, indeed, made Nevada stand out.

On the strength of the research performed by Dr. Saiidi and his colleagues, the University of Nevada, Reno’s program on bridge earthquake engineering is considered one of the best in the world. Saiidi’s contribution to this reputation is undeniable, but when he speaks about the growth of the department, he takes a step back.

“When you want to develop the reputation of your program, there are four factors you have to get right: Faculty, facilities, institutional support, and high-quality students,” he said. “Little by little, over the years, we worked on all four of these. We brought in top-notch people and helped them succeed. As I retire, I see the momentum continuing and accelerating. It is very fulfilling.”

Researcher

In his lifelong quest to improve bridge construction and performance, Saiidi has found that having a comprehensive knowledge of his field is only the starting point for true innovation.

“What you are looking for when you approach a problem in your field is the gaps in knowledge — what don’t we know, what aren’t we doing that we could be doing?” Saiidi said. “For me, finding the solutions for these knowledge gaps often comes from looking into other fields, looking at other materials, techniques, and ideas they have implemented and seeing if they could be adapted to the construction of bridges that retain their integrity even after earthquakes.”

This is how Saiidi decided to utilize material — nickel-titanium — that is commonly used in consumer products, like eyeglass frames, as a primary component in his pioneering bridge-making techniques.

“Bridges built with a modified concrete — using a combination of polyvinyl fibers — and with nickel-titanium bars instead of steel bars will not only survive an earthquake, but they will still be usable afterward,” Saiidi said. “We have proven that in the Shake Lab.”

In 2017, the FHA and the Washington Department of Transportation chose to implement his findings in the construction of a bridge on State Route 99. When it opened to traffic last February, the bridge was recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as a Top 5 project of the year.

“Engineers are problem solvers,” Saiidi said. “We want to do research that is on the cutting edge but that has practical application. With the Seattle bridge, I spent twenty years doing research on nickel-titanium materials that no one had looked at in this field. With the opening of the bridge, we took an idea from A to Z.”

Mentor

Perhaps even more than when he speaks about his own research, when Saiidi talks about his students, the pride he feels is clear.

“Our students are the cream of the crop. They are professionals. I have a lot of respect for them,” Saiidi said. “We have so much intellectual exchange, and inevitably, things other than research come up in our discussions. They are almost like my children, and I cherish the connections I have with them.”

As a tangible manifestation of the connection he has with his students, in 2012, Saiidi began presenting each of his Ph.D. and M.S. students, past and present, with an original painting he made for each. For his Ph.D. students, the scenes and places represented are from his native Iran, while his M.S. students receive paintings depicting the United States.

The impact he has had on his students is manifest. Claudia Pulido ’01 Ph.D. said Dr. Saiidi “made an indelible mark in my personality and in how I approach my mentees.” Ashkan Vosooghi ’10 Ph.D. said he wished he could get another Ph.D. with Dr. Saiidi, and Ali Mehrsoroush ’14 Ph.D., when hearing about his retirement, said, “I owe you many of my life advancements and achievements forever and would like to thank you from bottom of my heart.”

Ahmed Akl ’15 Ph.D. summed it up nicely: “It has been an honor and a pleasure working with you.”