Siamak Sattar (Fed)

Dr. Siamak Sattar is the Leader (Acting) of the Earthquake Engineering Group in the Materials and Structural System Division at the Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In this capacity, he oversees NIST’s research activities as the lead agency of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) (Public Law 115-307). Dr. Sattar is committed to advancing measurement science to reduce earthquake risk and enhance public safety and economic security. His research focuses on functional recovery, performance-based design of concrete and Fiber Reinforced Polymer-retrofitted structures, and uncertainty quantification. During his tenure at NIST, Dr. Sattar has led significant projects, including developing two congressionally mandated reports on improving the functional recovery of the built environment (NIST SP-1254) and immediate occupancy building performance objective following natural hazards (NIST SP-1224). Over the last decade, his research produced technical information for use by code and standard committees to reduce buildings' seismic risk and improve the built environment's recovery after earthquakes. Dr. Sattar serves on multiple standard and technical committees. He is a voting member of the ACI-369 Committee on Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation, the ACI-374 Committee on Performance-based Seismic Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures, and the Functional Recovery Task Committee of the Provisions Update Committee (PUC). He also chairs the ACI-374A committee on Functional Recovery and serves as the vice-chair of the PUC Functional Recovery sub-committee on the Recovery Categories and Performance Metrics. Dr. Sattar is dedicated to developing early career researchers and has mentored multiple undergraduate, master’s, Ph.D., and post-doctoral researchers.

Dr. Sattar has received recognition for his research and leadership from several organizations, including NIST, the Department of Commerce (DOC), the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the Structural Engineering Association of Northern California (SEAONC), and the Structural Engineering Associate of California (SEOAC). Notably, he recently received the prestigious Department of Commerce Gold Medal for his research and leadership in functional recovery of the built environment and the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for his research on improving seismic design criteria and evaluation of buildings.

Dr. Sattar received his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. Prior to that, he worked for four years as a practicing structural engineer specializing in the design of concrete and steel structures.