Venkatesh K.R. Kodur of Michigan State University has been named a National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) Fellow for a lifetime of outstanding achievements in structural and fire engineering.
Kodur is a University Distinguished Professor in MSU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and is director of the Center on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics. He will be honored Dec. 9 at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.
He said recognition from one of the world’s oldest and most respected scientific academies is both humbling and inspiring.
“It reflects the collective efforts of my students, collaborators and colleagues in advancing the science and practice of structural fire safety and resilience. It reaffirms the importance of global collaboration in advancing science and highlights the strong bonds between my work at Michigan State University and the broader scientific community in India,” Kodur added.
MSU Research Foundation Professor and CEE department chair Peter Savolainen said Kodur brings critical research and real-world insights into MSU’s classrooms, creating a learning environment that is unparalleled.
“He has created unique strengths that distinguish MSU from other universities around the world. His knowledge of fire-related structural performance is becoming increasingly important with the frequency and severity of wildfires and other related disasters. We are honored to have him in our department,” Savolainen added.
Kodur’s fire safety research is credited with developing the fundamental understanding of the behavior of materials and structural systems under extreme fire conditions. His research techniques and methodologies are instrumental in minimizing the destructive impact of fire on built infrastructure, which continues to cause thousands of deaths and billions of dollars of damages each year in the U.S. and beyond.
Working with students and collaborators, Kodur has published more than 550 peer-reviewed papers in journals and conferences. He has given 100+ plenary and keynote presentations at major international conferences and meetings. Recognized as one of the highly cited authors in civil engineering and fire protection engineering, he has more than 26,400 citations and, according to Google Scholar, has an "h” index of 90.
Kodur has served on numerous panels in the U.S. and internationally. Among his many honors, he is a fellow of eight institutes and academies, including the Royal Society of Canada, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), American Concrete Institute (ACI), Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), and Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).
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.
He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Bangalore University, India, and master’s and doctoral degrees in structural engineering at Queen’s University in Canada.
Written by Patricia Mroczek
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page