In 1992, an earthquake damaged several buildings and historic monuments in Egypt, where Mohamed Soliman spent his early life.
"I saw these engineers assessing damage, investigating failures," Soliman says. "That was when I fell in love with the profession. I knew I wanted to be a structural engineer."
Today, as a postdoctoral researcher at Lehigh’s ATLSS (Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems) Engineering Research Center, Soliman is gaining recognition as one of the most knowledgeable and forward-thinking young researchers in his field.
Soliman, who completed his Ph.D. in structural engineering at Lehigh in January 2015, recently received the 2015 Alfred Noble Prize, one of the top interdisciplinary awards given to engineers.
Soliman shared the award with his Ph.D. advisor, Dan M. Frangopol, the Fazlur Rahman Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture. The two researchers won the award for their paper, "Life-Cycle Management of Fatigue-Sensitive Structures Integrating Inspection Information," which was published in ASCE’s Journal of Infrastructure Systems in June 2014.
"Mohamed truly is one of the best Ph.D. students I’ve ever had," Frangopol says. "He is very hard-working, ambitious, committed to success, always willing to learn, and his ability to work with others is unmatched."
Soliman, meanwhile, acknowledges the impact his adviser has had on his life and career. "I consider Dr. Frangopol a mentor, father and a friend," he says. "He's provided me endless support in every possible way during my time at Lehigh."
The Noble Prize will be presented at the ASCE’s Annual Convention in New York City on October 13, 2015.
Read the full story at the Lehigh University News Center.
-John Gilpatrick is the Communications Specialist with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University.
