Farhad Ansari

Farhad Ansari is a UIC Distinguished Professor and Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a leading specialist in monitoring the structural status of bridges, dams, buildings and tunnels, with expertise in fiber optic sensor technology for structural health monitoring systems. His work spans infrastructure monitoring projects worldwide, including assessments of the Brooklyn Bridge and monitoring systems for bridges in China.

Professor Ansari received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (1983), M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado (1979), and B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1976).

Professor Ansari's research focuses on the application of optical fiber sensors for structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure. His expertise includes forensic investigations of bridges, development of monitoring systems using both discrete (FBG) and distributed sensors (BOTDA, Rayleigh, MZ), and nondestructive testing methodologies. He has consulted on structural monitoring systems for bridges worldwide, including New York's Brooklyn Bridge, Lingotto Bridge in Turin, Italy, Manhattan Bridge, and numerous bridges across the United States and China.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on distributed fiber optic sensing technologies for bridge monitoring, with particular emphasis on crack detection, deflection monitoring, and vehicle weight detection without traditional influence lines. His work bridges civil engineering, materials science, and optical technology to create innovative solutions for infrastructure monitoring that are fast, accurate, and affordable.

Professor Ansari has received numerous honors including the Aftab Mufti Medal for achievements in civil structural health monitoring (2018), Presidential Fellow of the University of Illinois System (2019-2020), and UIC Distinguished Professor designation (2015). He also received the Nova Award from the Construction Innovation Forum in 1997.

As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring published by Springer, Professor Ansari has shaped the discourse in his field. He has served on numerous panels including as a Panel member for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in Hong Kong and as Oversight Panel member for the IDEA Program of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. His laboratory at UIC develops strategies for forensic analysis of bridges and other infrastructure, producing graduates with unique expertise in sensors, NDT, and structural health monitoring.

Professor Ansari's Structural Health Monitoring Laboratory specializes in developing monitoring systems for civil infrastructure. The lab's capabilities are unique due to their combination of structural engineering expertise with specialized knowledge in fiber optic sensors. They work on the complete lifecycle of monitoring systems from design and installation to real-time data acquisition and analysis.