George Deodatis

Professor George Deodatis received his Diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece in 1982. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Columbia University (received in 1984 and 1987 respectively). He started his academic career at Princeton University where he served as Assistant Professor and Associate Professor (with tenure). He moved to Columbia University in 2002 where he served as Associate Professor and Professor. He currently holds the Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Chair at the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University. He served as Department Chair from 2013 to 2019 (two terms). Since 2022, he also holds a joint appointment as Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering. His research interests are in the field of probabilistic methods in civil engineering and engineering mechanics, with emphasis on structural safety and reliability and risk analysis of the civil infrastructure subjected to natural and man-made hazards (including earthquakes, floods, and climate change). He has received the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability Junior Research Prize, the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Alfred M. Freudenthal Medal from the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE. He is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE. In 2009, he was elected President of the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability for a four-year term. In 2017, he was elected President of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE for a two-year term. While on the faculty at Princeton University, he was awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching, Princeton's highest teaching honor. At Columbia University, he has received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates, Columbia's highest teaching honors.