Graduate student finds abundant interdisciplinary research opportunities at ISU Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department (ISU CCEE)
Sajed Sadati had three top considerations when he was looking for a graduate school: his topic of study, his advisors, and the college from which he would earn his degree. He found all three at Iowa State, and something more.
“[My advisors] propose projects which are interdisciplinary so that you get the chance to work in different areas and learn,” Sadati says.
Sadati, a doctoral student at Iowa State, is currently enrolled in ISU CCEE’s Intelligent Infrastructure Engineering specialization, or IIE. The specialization introduces students to a highly multi-disciplinary research approach that combines fields like control theory, artificial intelligence, sensing systems, optimization theory and asset management.
“I really enjoy being a part of the Iowa State University community and doing my research here,” Sadati says. “I think it prepares me for my future career, and I can develop skills that I want and that I’m interested in.”
Sadati’s background is in both aerospace and mechanical engineering. In coming to ISU, he wanted to broaden his experience even more. He teamed up with faculty, like Assistant Professor Kristen Cetin in construction engineering and Professor Halil Ceylan in geotechnical/materials engineering, to take part in various interdisciplinary studies. One example is finding feasible ways of melting and removing ice and snow on airport runways through electrified processes so that conventional methods that use fossil fuel-based vehicles and chemicals are unnecessary.
“I’m specializing in intelligent infrastructure engineering, which isn’t that different from my background, because the projects that are being conducted here are building toward a sustainable community,” he says.
Both Sadati and his wife, Elham Jahani, are pursuing degrees at Iowa State.
“One other aspect of ISU that I really like is that opportunities are endless here,” Sadati says. “For example, my wife could also get a position here based on her background. It’s really fortunate and exciting for us, as a couple.”
Whether on campus or off, Sadati says Ames is a unique community in which to study and live.
“It’s the community here in Ames,” he says. “People are really welcoming, they are open and the community is really diverse.”
Note: Note: In May-July 2018, Iowa State University College of Engineering Communications is setting out to find the top reasons why graduate students choose to pursue their educations at ISU CCEE. “Engineer at ISU CCEE” is a video/written series featuring graduate students from ISU CCEE. Each student shares his or her unique reason for choosing Iowa State. Find out more about the graduate experience at ISU CCEE by following this series, “Engineer at ISU CCEE,” on our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts (Iowa State University Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering or ISUConE).