He is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of structural and fire engineering. Kodur has established a leading-edge research program that has reached a high level of sustained professional distinction in research and scholarly activities; teaching; and public and institutional service.
Kodur's unique research in the fire safety field is credited with developing the fundamental understanding on the behavior of materials and structural systems under extreme fire conditions. The techniques and methodologies resulting from his research is instrumental for minimizing the destructive impact of fire in built infrastructure, which continues to cause thousands of deaths and billions of dollars of damages each year in the U.S. and beyond.
Neeraj Buch, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said Kodur has made significant contributions to strategic research, technology development, and international collaborations. "He has established a unique and high-profile research program in structural fire engineering at MSU."
His contributions to the field of structural fire safety and high performing construction materials are seminal and numerous and his research accomplishments have had major impacts, Buch said. Kodur's industrial background at the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) provides him with a unique perspective and his research is highly innovative in combining theoretical-depth with highly relevant practical applications.
As founding director of the Center for Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics (SAFE-D Center) funded through an MSU Strategic Partnership Grant, Kodur, together with his research team is applying advanced experimental techniques and complex numerical modeling approaches for developing rational calculation methodologies and innovative practical solutions for fire design of various structural systems. For undertaking fire experiments, he designed and developed unique structural and material fire testing facilities (valued at more than $2 million) at MSU, the first of its kind at a U.S. university.
"This unique and sophisticated fire testing facilities, dedicated in 2007, is highly cost-effective in operations, since the furnace can be used to test a variety of structural configurations," Buch continued.
Kodur has advised 26 PhD and 24 master's students, and mentored 25 visiting scholars and 19 undergraduate research students. Working with students and collaborators, Kodur has published research results in 450+ technical papers - including 350+ peer-reviewed papers in prestigious international journals and conferences. He is one of the highly cited authors in Civil Engineering and Fire Protection Engineering disciplines, with more than 11,300 citations and an h-index of 60. He is a sought-after speaker and media source. He has delivered 61 keynote and plenary presentations in structural and fire resistance areas. His research has been widely covered by the main-stream media. He has given more than 65 media interviews, helping to promote fire research facilities and the expertise available at MSU, Buch added.
Kodur has served on numerous panels in the U.S. and internationally. He has organized and chaired major conferences, including the international workshop "PROTECT 2015" at MSU.
Among his many honors, he is a Fellow of five institutes and academies, including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), American Concrete Institute (ACI), Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), and Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). His other major awards include a NATO award for collaborative research, an American Institute of Steel Construction Faculty Fellowship Award, and an NRC (Government of Canada) Outstanding Achievement Award. He has received some of the highest honors bestowed on engineers in Canada and India.
Most notably, he was part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and American Society of Civil Engineers high profile "Experts Team" that investigated the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings as a result of Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
Kodur's new book, Structural Fire Engineering, has just been published by McGraw Hill and provides hands-on techniques engineers can apply to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of fire in built infrastructure. Kodur notes there are very few books available on this specialized topic so his new publication is helping to fill in knowledge gaps in the fire safety field.
2020 Withrow Distinguished Senior Scholar Award
This award is presented each spring to a faculty member of with five years of service to the university and holds the rank of professor. The award is in recognition of demonstrated excellence in scholarship.