AKM Anwarul Islam

Afer graduating from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) in 1992 with a degree in civil engineering, AKM Anwarul Islam worked in Bangladesh as well as in Singapore before moving to the United States in 1999 for higher education. He received his MS and PhD in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in structures from the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. Dr. Islam worked in the design and construction of bridges and structures around the world including Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge (US$1 billion) in Bangladesh, an Expressway Bridge and a 24-storied Ministry of Education building in Singapore. He worked as a Senior Structural Engineer at PBS&J, Tallahassee, Florida, where he designed numerous highway bridges including several bridges on Interstate 10. Dr. Islam joined Youngstown State University in 2005 as an Assistant Professor in the Department Of Civil and Environmental Engineering and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009. His research involves impact of blast and hurricane on highway bridges, use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer in enhancing structural strength of concrete members, and structural health monitoring of bridges by analyzing structural response spectra collected through wireless sensor network. Dr. Islam published several journal articles and conference papers on the above topics, and is ACTIVE in creating a Smart Bridge, which health can be monitored from any remote location via World Wide Web. Dr. Islam is a registered professional engineer in the States of Florida and Ohio, and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and six national committees on bridges and structures.

Dr. Islam organizes the Miniature Bridge Building Competition at the Mahoning Valley among local high school students since 2008 during the Engineers' Week. This competition has drawn tremendous media and community attention since its first year. It is tailored to help students implement their tehcnical capabilities and understand the basics of applied science and engineering, which help them decide a career in civil engineering with structural emphasis.

Dr. Islam lives with his wife Tamanna Chowdhury, and two sons Bisshoy and Ikra in Canfield, Ohio.

Honors and Awards

Fellow, ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop Fellowship, July 23-28, 2008, West Point Military Academy, West Point, New York. Research Professor, Youngstown State University, 2006-07, 2007-08. University Research Council Grant, Youngstown State University, 2006-07, 2008-09. Biography published in the Marquis “Who’s Who in the America,” 2003-07. Annual awards for outstanding performance in PBS&J, 2001-04. United States Federal Government Scholarship, 1999. Research Assistant, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, 1999-05. Bangladesh Government scholarships, 1977-92. YSUpdate published on its front page his interview about his research related to securing bridges against blast attacks. YSU Alumni Winter Magazine 2007 published an interview entitled “Bridging the Future” on his research for securing nation’s highway bridges against [...] blast attacks. His interview on vulnerabilities and methods of securing of nation’s bridges to [...] blast attacks were broadcast on CBS and Fox News Channels on January 24, 2007. “The Vindicator” published his interview entitled “Study reveals vulnerability of bridges to terror attacks” on December 16, 2006, outlining vulnerabilities of nation’s bridges and methods of securing them against [...] blast attacks. “WKBN Radio” interviewed him on January 26, 2007, about his research on securing bridges against [...] blast attacks. Channel 33 interviewed him about the Miniature Bridge Building Competition on January 26, 2010. During the competition, The Jambar published from YSU interviewed him about the competition.

Dr. Islam has been performing research in creating structural health monitoring of highway bridges using wireless sensor network, which he calls "SMART BRIDGE."