Nazanin Irani | Civil Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Nazanin Irani | Civil Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Postdoctoral Researcher at  Ruhr University Bochum | Germany

Dr. Nazanin Irani is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering, and Environmental Geotechnics at Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB), Germany. She holds a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Shiraz University of Technology (2023), along with M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in Civil and Geotechnical Engineering from Iranian institutions.

Profile:

Educational Background:

Dr. Irani earned her Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Shiraz University of Technology (2018–2023), preceded by an M.Sc. in Geotechnical Engineering (2015–2017) and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (2010–2014) from institutions in Iran. She graduated with top honors and received distinctions throughout her academic career.

Professional Experience:

Dr. Irani has held multiple roles in both academia and industry. She has served as a Scientific Associate and Postdoctoral Researcher at RUB since 2023. Her earlier experience includes research at Shiraz University of Technology and visiting research at RUB’s Chair of Continuum Mechanics. Additionally, she has worked in civil structural design and construction management in Iran.

Research and Teaching Engagement:

Her research focuses on constitutive modeling of soils, finite element simulations, soil improvement using AI, and geothermal energy enhancement. She lectures on specialized topics including Soil Dynamics, Geotechnical Structures, and Earthquake Engineering at RUB. Dr. Irani has supervised multiple Ph.D. and Master’s theses in advanced soil mechanics and AI applications.

Honors and Awards:

Dr. Irani has received multiple prestigious grants and scholarships, including two €1 million research grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Emmy Noether Programme.

Publications and Contributions:

Dr. Irani has authored 13 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Acta Geotechnica, Computers and Geotechnics, and the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. Her work bridges experimental, numerical, and AI-driven approaches to solving complex geotechnical problems.

Research Interests:

Her main areas of interest include:

  • Thermodynamically consistent constitutive modeling

  • Particle breakage in soils

  • Micro-to-macro soil behavior analysis

  • AI and machine learning in geotechnics

  • Environmentally sustainable soil improvement techniques

Citation Metrics for Dr. Nazanin Irani:

  • Total Citations: 113

  • Citations Since 2020: 113

  • h-index: 6

  • i10-index: 4

Publication Top Notes:

A state-dependent hyperelastic-plastic constitutive model considering shear-induced particle breakage in granular soils

2022
Citations: 35

Effect of scrap tyre on strength properties of untreated and lime-treated clayey sand
2021
Citations: 18

Effects of over-consolidation history on flow instability of clean and silty sands
2022
Citations: 17

Micro-mechanical response of transversely isotropic samples under cyclic loading
2023
Citations: 10*

Effects of the inclusion of industrial and agricultural wastes on the compaction and compression properties of untreated and lime-treated clayey sand
2020
Citations: 9

Tawakalitu Odubiyi | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Tawakalitu Odubiyi | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Research Associate at INTI International University | Malaysia

Dr. Tawakalitu Odubiyi is a Teaching and Research Associate with over six years of international experience spanning Germany, Malaysia, the UK, Finland, South Africa, and Nigeria. She holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische Universität Berlin and a Master’s in Construction Management from the University of Johannesburg. Her expertise lies in Quantity Surveying, Civil Engineering, and the application of Digital Twin and BIM technologies in the built environment.

Profile:

Academic Background

Dr. Odubiyi holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, where her research focused on digital transformation in construction. She also earned a Master of Technology in Construction Management from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Her academic background reflects a strong foundation in both technical and managerial aspects of the built environment.

Professional Experience:

Dr. Odubiyi has gained diverse research and teaching experience through various academic and industrial positions. She is currently serving as an Independent Researcher at INTI International University in Malaysia, where she conducts empirical research and leads seminars on sustainable technologies. Previously, she worked as a Research Scientist at Technische Universität Berlin, contributing to projects on business models for Cloud BIM and Digital Twin solutions. Her industry experience includes roles as a BIM Consultant at Bentley Systems in London and a BIM Researcher at Trimble Inc. in Finland, where she developed strategic digital roadmaps and conducted case studies on cost estimation and contract administration. She also served as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Johannesburg and as a Mentor and Lecturer at TU Berlin, demonstrating a strong commitment to student support and academic leadership.

Research and Publications:

Dr. Odubiyi has authored 16 scholarly articles using a mix of qualitative, quantitative, and grounded theory approaches. She has actively presented her findings at international conferences and workshops. Her research focuses on digital transformation in construction, cost management innovation, and the role of BIM in contract and project administration.

Areas of Expertise:

Her core areas of expertise include Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, BIM integration, contract administration (FIDIC, NEC), and curriculum design. She is proficient in BIM tools such as Autodesk Revit, Navisworks, CostX, and Bentley iTwin. She is also experienced in research methodology, grant writing, and academic mentoring across cross-cultural and distance learning environments.

Technical and Professional Skills:

Dr. Odubiyi is skilled in Agile methodologies and tools including Salesforce CRM, Confluence, Jira, Kanban, and BPMN. She has applied these in both academic project management and industry collaborations.

Awards and Recognition:

Dr. Odubiyi has received several prestigious awards, including the Marie Curie Horizon Fellowship from the European Union (2020), the Global Excellence Scholarship from the University of Johannesburg (2019), and the National Research Fellow Bursary (2018). In 2023, she received Community Impact Recognition from the Young Quantity Surveyors of Nigeria for her contributions to the profession.

Citation:

Cited by
All: 141
Since 2020: 132

h-index
All: 8
Since 2020: 8

i10-index
All: 7
Since 2020: 7

Publication Top Notes:

  • Using neural network model to estimate the rental price of residential properties
    2019
    21 citations

  • Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of virtual team in Nigerian construction industry
    2016
    21 citations

  • Information and communication technology application challenges in the construction industry: A narrative review
    2019
    14 citations

  • A concise review of the evolution of information and communication technologies for engineering innovations
    2021
    13 citations

  • Impact of security on rental price of residential properties: evidence from South Africa
    2019
    13 citations

  • Barriers to implementing quality management system in the Industry 4.0 era
    2019
    12 citations

  • Strategies for building information modelling adoption in the South African construction industry
    2019
    12 citations

  • Impact of Green features on rental value of residential properties: evidence from South Africa
    2024
    8 citations

  • Assessing South African construction worker’s knowledge of modern technologies for effective material management
    2021
    6 citations

  • Evaluation of the use of modern technologies for effective material management in South African construction industry
    2019
    5 citations

  • Bridging the gap between academic and practice Quantity Surveying in Nigerian construction industry
    2019
    5 citations

  • Roles and effects of utilizing recent technologies on material management for construction work in South Africa
    2019
    4 citations

  • Forecasting rental values of residential properties: a neural network model approach
    2020
    3 citations

  • A model validation and predicting the rental values of residential properties using logistic regression model
    2020
    2 citations

  • Information and Communication Technologies for construction services in South Africa: A PROCSA Scope
    2021
    1 citation

  • An Evaluation of Information and Communication Technology Application in South African Construction Industry
    2019
    1 citation