Dr. Nizar Lajnef is a professor of civil engineering at Michigan State University. Dr. Lajnef received two M.S degrees, in Computational Mechanics in 2005 and in Civil Engineering in 2008, and a Ph.D degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University in 2008. His current research activities include: capacity building in STEM education, technology transfer, sensors design for structural health monitoring, and damage detection algorithms with application to civil, mechanical and biomechanical systems. Dr. Lajnef is the author of more than 120 peer-reviewed publications. He was a recipient of the Academy of global engagement fellowship, the Lilly Teaching Fellowship, and the Nothstine fellowship. Dr. Lajnef is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), chair of ASCE’s data sensing and analytics committee, and co-founder of Infratico Inc, a technology development startup. Dr Lajnef is involved in research, technology transfer and outreach projects in the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Tunisia, Cote D’ivoire, Botswana, and Malawi.