International Advisory Board – Short Bios

January 12, 2026International Advisory Boardby aftab.mufti@umanitoba.ca

Professor Ali Maher

Ali Maher, Ph.D., F.ASCE, is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) at Rutgers University. Under his leadership, CAIT has evolved into a nationally recognized center of excellence in multimodal transportation infrastructure, asset management, resiliency, and mobility. Since 1996, CAIT has served as a USDOT University Transportation Center and is currently a core member of the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation.

Dr. Maher earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Michigan. He is the former president of the United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER), serves on ASCE’s Geo-Institute Committee on Soil Improvement, and sits on the board of the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure. He is also an editorial board member for several journals, including ASTM’s Geotechnical Testing Journal and Civil Structural Health Monitoring (CSHM).

Dr. Daniel Cusson

Dr. Daniel Cusson is a Principal Research Officer and Team Lead at the National Research Council Canada’s Construction Research Centre, since 1994. His academic journey began at Université de Sherbrooke, where he earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Structures) in 1993. It was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Laboratoire central des ponts et chaussées (LCPC) in Paris, France, in 1994. Dr. Cusson has dedicated his research career to enhancing the safety and resilience of Canada’s critical civil engineering infrastructure by developing innovative solutions to improve structural performance, develop and de-risk technologies, and supplement traditional condition assessment methods with cutting-edge smart sensing technologies, such as satellite-based deformation monitoring of transportation infrastructure. With a portfolio of over 220 scientific publications, including 100 publications that have garnered over 4300 citations, Dr. Cusson’s R&D work is a testament to his commitment to improving the safety and structural performance of Canada’s infrastructure.

University Education

1994: Postdoctoral Fellowship – Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC), Paris, France
1993: Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Structures) – Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
1989: B.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering – Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada

Grants, Awards and Scholarships (Last 5 Years)

2025: Aftab Mufti Medal for Best Paper of the Year 2021 in JCSHM, Society for Civil SHM
2022: Outstanding Collaboration for Innovation Award, National Research Council Canada
2022: Recognition and Celebration of Excellence Award, NRC Construction Research Centre
2022: Technology to Market Award, NRC Construction Research Centre
2022: Partnership Award, NRC Construction Research Centre
2021: Intellectual Property Advancement Award, National Research Council Canada

Expertise

Structural health monitoring of bridges and buildings using advanced remote sensing technologies
Numerical modelling of the thermo‑mechanical behaviour of concrete bridges and buildings
Service life prediction of critical concrete infrastructures

Professional Activities

Adjunct Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa – Co‑supervision of two Ph.D. students
International Advisory Board Member – Society for Civil Structural Health Monitoring
RADARSAT Constellation Mission Standard Coverage Working Group – Canadian Space Agency
Member – Professional Engineers Ontario

Dr. Francisco Carrion

Francisco J. Carrion is Coordinator of the Coordination of Vehicle Engineering and Structural Integrity of the Mexican Transport Institute. From 1992 to 2023, Dr. Carrion was responsible for the development of the Vehicle Performance and Materials Laboratory Division, specifically for research projects on fracture mechanics, corrosion, structural dynamics, nondestructive testing, and bridge SHM applications for highway bridges. He was responsible for setting up the Bridge and Intelligent Infrastructure Monitoring Center, which includes the most important bridges in Mexico and considers full instrumentation systems for remote monitoring, structural evaluation and prognosis. At present, including the laboratory division projects, he is responsible for directing and coordinating research projects on advance materials applications for the transport sector, and the direction of the National Experimental Center of Technological Innovation for Vehicle Safety. Part of his research activities include direction of 11 graduate thesis, 27 international journal articles, more than 100 articles, courses and technical publications in international and national conferences. He is council member of the SCSHM Society for Civil Structural Health Monitoring and has been member of the APS American Physical Society, SPIE The International Society for Optics and Photonics, SAE International and OSA The Optical Society.

Professor Nurdan M. APAYDIN

Nurdan M. APAYDIN is a full-time professor at the Department of Earthquake Engineering, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Bosphorus (Bogazici) University in İstanbul.Between 2021 and 2024, she worked as a full-time professor at the Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Civil Engineering Division of the Istanbul University and was also the head of the Transportation Department. Before 2021, she maintained her academic studies alongside her government work for many years. Prof. Apaydin is a former regional director in the General Directorate of Infrastructure Investments of Transport and infrastructure Ministry. She was responsible for all transportation infrastructure projects on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. She is also the former Head of the Structures department in the General Directorate of Turkish State Highways (KGM). During this position, Prof. Apaydin was responsible for the construction of long span bridges and tunnels along all state highways in Turkey. While she was working as the Head of the Structures department at Turkish State Highways, she led the preparation of the Earthquake Regulations for Transportation Structures (Highway Bridges-Tunnels-Railway Bridges-Airports- Ports-Electricity Distribution Facilities-Pipelines) in Turkey within the framework of the Turkish “National Earthquake Strategy and Action Plan”. She was the regional deputy director during the construction of the Third Bosphorus Bridge. Also, Prof. Apaydin carried out the retrofitting of long span bridges in Istanbul, hanger replacement and earthquake retrofitting of the first Bosphorus bridge and seismic rehabilitation of motorway bridges. She was awarded first place in completion of the course for highway engineering given by the General Directorate of Highways. Her doctoral thesis titled “Seismic Analysis of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Suspension Bridge” was awarded first place ranking by the Roads Turkish National Committee (YTMK) among doctoral theses. She joined the advanced technical training program in CALTRANS on the subject of “Seismic Bridge Design and Engineering” within the framework of the technical cooperation between US and Turkish governments in 2002.

Prof. Apaydin is the founder and the president of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS) Turkey group, which deals with bridge repair and rehabilitation issues; bridge management systems; needs of bridge owners; financial planning, whole life costing and investment for the future; bridge related safety and risk issues and economic and other implications

Professor Christian Boller

Graduated in civil engineering at Technical University of Darmstadt/Germany in 1980 and received an engineering doctoral degree in material mechanics and fatigue life evaluation from the same institution in 1987. Worked at Battelle-Europe in materials technology from 1987-1990 before moving into the aircraft development division of MBB Military Aircraft (today Airbus). 1998 chief engineer aerostructures. In 2003 chair of ‘Smart Structural Design’ at the University of Sheffield/UK. 2008 – 2020 director of Fraunhofer IZFP. Since 2008 he holds the chair for Non-Destructive Testing and Quality Assurance (LZfPQ) at Saarland University. 2013 – 2024 director of the NDT master course programme at Dresden International University (DIU). 2014 – 2019 visiting professor at the School of Aeronautics of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) in Nanjing/China. Author and co-author of more than 300 publications including ‘Materials Data for Cyclic Loading’ (1987) and ‘Encyclopaedia on Structural Health Monitoring’ (2008) both a 5-volume compendium each. Organizer of the ‘European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring’ in 2004, 2012 and 2022 and the ‘Symposium on NDT in Aerospace’ since 2010. Structural Health Monitoring Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 and Honorary Fellow of the Indian Society for Non-destructive Testing (ISNT) since 2023.

Universität des Saarlandes, Lehrstuhl für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung und Qualitätssicherung, Campus Dudweiler, Am Markt Zeile 4, 66125 Saarbrücken,

Tel. 0681 302 64100, Fax 0681 302 4859, E-Mail c.boller@mx.uni-saarland.de

Dr Nicholas (Nicky) de Battista

Dr Nicky de Battista is an architect and civil engineer with several years of experience in structural design and construction site management. He holds a professional practice warrant in Malta, where he was responsible for the design of various small- and medium-sized projects, including residential, commercial and educational developments between 2002 and 2008. He is also a qualified project manager (UK Level 4).

In 2009 he obtained a Master of Science (MSc) degree in structural engineering from the University of Sheffield, UK, for which he carried out his dissertation research on the dynamic performance of a football stadium grandstand under crowd-induced loading.

Between 2009 and 2013, Nicky carried out doctoral research on wireless technology and data analytics for structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure. During this time, he spent two years doing research work at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore. He obtained his PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2014.

Between 2014 and 2023 Nicky was a post-doctoral Research Associate at the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at the University of Cambridge, where he carried out applied research in state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, mainly using fibre optic sensing. During this time, Nicky successfully delivered several instrumentation and monitoring (I&M) projects in the UK, with particularly notable projects being the design, installation and operation of fibre optic monitoring systems in a Crossrail sprayed concrete lined tunnel, in the James Dyson concrete framed building, in the 52-storey Principal Tower high rise building and in numerous pile foundations.

In 2016 Nicky co-founded Epsimon Ltd, an I&M consultancy company specialising in the design, assembly, system integration, installation and operation of fibre optic monitoring systems for a wide variety of civil infrastructure. As a director and technical specialist for Epsimon, he has delivered numerous I&M projects both in the UK and worldwide, including in Europe, North America and Australia.

Through both his research work at the University of Cambridge and his work as a specialist consultant, Nicky has gained extensive experience in the implementation of different types of fibre optic sensing technologies, including fibre Bragg gratings and distributed strain and temperature sensing. He is co-author of the books “Distributed fibre optic strain sensing for monitoring civil infrastructure – A practical guide” and “Wireless sensor networks for civil infrastructure monitoring: A best practice guide” published by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2016.

Nicky has been a member of the Society for Civil Structural Health Monitoring (SCSHM, formerly ISHMII) since 2009. He served as a Council Member between 2019 and 2025, following which he was appointed to the Society’s International Advisory Board.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicky-de-battista/

Email: nicky.debattista@epsimon.com

Web: www.epsimon.com

Professor Zhishen Wu

Dr. Zhishen Wu is now president of Henan University of Technology, a chair professor at Southeast University in China and an emeritus professor at Ibaraki University in Japan. He is a foreign fellow of the Engineering Academy of Japan, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and a fellow of ASCE, JSCE, ISHMII, and IIFC etc. His research interests include carbon/basalt fibers and FRP composite technologies, advanced sensor technologies and structural health/risk/disaster monitoring, control and management.

He has published 16 books，22 book chapters and over 600 papers in refereed journals, holds over 100 authorized patents and contributed to 30 standards and guidelines as one of the leaders.

His many awards include the JSCE Research Award in 1990, the JSCM Technology Award in 2007, 2009 International SHM Person of the Year Award, National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology of China in 2012, IIFC (International Institute for FRP in Construction) medal in 2016, National Prize for Technology Innovation of China in 2017 and the Aftab Mufti Life-Time Achievement Medal of ISHMII(International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructures) in 2023, etc.

He is currently the president of the International Society for Basalt Fibers and Composites (ISBFC) and has served as the president of ISHMII. He serves as an editor, associate editor, editorial board member for more than ten international journals, including as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International of Sustainable Materials and Structural Systems.

Dr. Mayuko Nishio

Dr. Mayuko Nishio is an Associate Professor in Department of Engineering Mechanics and Energy at University of Tsukuba, Japan. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2004 and 2006, respectively, and her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2009. Prior to joining University of Tsukuba, she held postdoctoral positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2009 and The University of Tokyo in 2010, followed by an associate professorship at Yokohama National University from 2011 to 2019.

She had worked on structural health monitoring using various sensing technologies including fiber-optic sensor, vibration sensor, and GNSS to aerospace and civil structures since her PhD study. Her current research interests include data assimilation, structural reliability evaluation, seismic risk analysis, and machine learning applications in civil structural engineering. Her recent works focus on vision-based structural health monitoring, and digital twinning and surrogate modeling for structural performance evaluations leveraging machine learning techniques.

She serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, and contributes to some technical committees of some societies relate to structural health monitoring including Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE). Her work has been recognized by several awards, including the JSCE Best Paper Award in 2020.

Eng. Srinivasulu Kunchala

Mr. K. Srinivasulu is a distinguished civil engineer, entrepreneur, and industry leader with over 25 years of experience in civil infrastructure and more than a decade of specialised leadership in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and advanced instrumentation. As the Founder and Managing Director of KDM Engineers India Pvt. Ltd., he has played a pivotal role in positioning the organisation as one of India’s foremost SHM and infrastructure-monitoring companies. His vision centres on integrating scientific modelling, sensor-based diagnostics, and continuous monitoring into the safety and decision-making frameworks of critical infrastructure systems across India.

Since founding KDM in 2012, he has led the organisation’s transformation into a multi-disciplinary SHM and instrumentation leader. He has built one of India’s strongest in-house SHM teams—recruiting and empowering specialists and doctorate-level professionals—and developed deep organisational capabilities in FEM-based behaviour assessment, instrumentation planning, data analytics, and long-term monitoring. His leadership is grounded in technical rigour, disciplined field execution, and uncompromising data integrity. Drawing from prior experience in design consultancy, construction, materials diagnostics, concrete and material engineering, geotechnical investigations, and quality control/assurance, he brings a strong practical understanding of field conditions, which now shapes KDM’s technology-driven monitoring practices.

Mr. Srinivasulu is committed to advancing data-driven, predictive, and safety-centric infrastructure management in India. He actively collaborates with government agencies and engineering bodies to promote SHM as a national engineering priority.

As a newly inducted International Advisory Board Member of the Society for Civil Structural Health Monitoring (SCSHM), he aims to contribute to global SHM initiatives and strengthen collaboration between international researchers and Indian infrastructure authorities. His focus includes enhancing global–India SHM knowledge exchange, promoting intelligent sensing and digital monitoring, supporting the evolution of a unified national SHM framework, and advancing resilient, technology-enabled infrastructure systems.

His long-term vision is to ensure that SHM becomes a standard engineering protocol in India, embedded into the design, construction, maintenance, and lifecycle planning of all critical civil structures.

Professor Brian Uy

Professor Brian Uy has over thirty years of experience as a research leader and more than twenty years as an academic leader across four universities. He is currently Scientia Professor of Structural Engineering at UNSW and served as Head of the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney (2016–2022). His contributions have been recognized with Engineers Australia’s Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year Award (2019) and the John Connell Gold Medal (2021). He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2022) and the Royal Society of New South Wales (2023).

Brian has held senior management roles at UNSW, Sydney, Western Sydney, and Wollongong, leading initiatives that strengthened research performance and benefited regional Australia. Internationally, he has advanced collaborations in research, student recruitment, and professional activities. He is Vice President of both the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), representing over 30,000 members worldwide. In 2026 he will become the 105th President of IStructE—the first Australian-born to hold the role.

He has authored over 750 publications, including 300 journal articles (90% in Q1 journals), delivered more than 350 conference papers in 35 countries, and secured over $150 million in competitive funding, including 47 ARC grants. He has served on ARC Colleges of Experts, Laureate Fellowship committees, and ERA evaluation panels.

Brian chairs Standards Australia committees on composite and bridge structures, contributes to international codes, and provides consulting and expert witness services for major infrastructure companies and legal practices. He serves on 14 editorial boards and is Chief Editor (Asia-Pacific) for Steel and Composite Structures.

In 2024, Stanford ranked him 34th globally in civil engineering. With over 19,500 citations and an h-index of 77, he has supervised more than 150 students, many now professors worldwide. His career reflects a deep commitment to advancing structural engineering research, education, and professional practice.

Further Information: UNSW Profile: https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/brian-uy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-uy-7a771862/

Dr. Karim Helmi

Dr. Karim Helmi is an associate professor at the Construction & Building Engineering Department at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria Egypt.

Dr. Helmi received his M.App. Sc., from the university of Windsor, ON, Canada and his Ph.D. for the University of Manitoba, MB, Canada. In addition, he has over 15 years of professional experience in structural design. He is also a reviewer at the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring and the Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering.

Dr. Helmi has worked on several research projects in the areas of the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) in strengthening and reinforcement of reinforced concrete members. He also worked on several research projects related to SHM mainly in the area of Bridge Weigh in Motion (BWiM), in the United States and Canada. Other SHM projects included structural testing of bridges, measurement of thermal movement of bridges and scour detection of bridge piers.

Research interests include, the use of FRP in the construction and repair of reinforced concrete structures, structural health monitoring, bridge weigh in motion and finite element modelling.

Competencies include structural design of reinforced concrete and steel structures, finite element modelling and evaluation and testing of structures.

As the world’s infrastructure ages, replacing this infrastructure will be difficult and costly. Therefore, there is a need for innovative solutions to evaluate, retrofit and extend the life of current infrastructure. Structural Health Monitoring plays an important role in addressing this problem.

Dr. Helmi is committed to advocate and enhance the current state of the art of structural health monitoring through research and teaching.

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