Dr. Hassan Davani

Bio

Hassan Davani is an Assistant Professor at the SDSU Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, specialized in stormwater management and water resources engineering. He is the Primary Investigator of several federally funded research projects, including the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Department of Transportation. He has over 20 peer-reviewed journal publications to date, and has collaborated internationally in UK, Germany, etc. Hassan has earned his BS degree in Civil Engineering from the Power & Water University of Technology in Tehran, Iran (2009); his MS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran (2012); and his PhD degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (2016).

Areas of Specialization

Hassan Davani is a member of the water resources engineering faculty in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at San Diego State University where he directs the Urban Water Group (UWG) and teaches courses on stormwater management, hydraulics, open channel design and hydromodification management. All his experience in academia and industry has focused on the application of advanced computational techniques to explore emerging climatic stressors and flooding challenges to the civil infrastructure. He serves as a member for two committees of the American Society of Civil Engineers: International Participation Committee, and Urban Water Resources Council. He is a licensed Civil Engineer at the State of California. 

Awards & Honors

2022 - Trailblazer, SDSU’s Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$), a campus-wide recognition for creating an inclusive environment in classes for students from low-income groups. These innovations are recognized by the Cool4Ed initiative at the CSU Chancellor's Office, which is supported by the State of California (AB 798), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: https://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewSite.htm?id=9161456 

2020 - Research Coordination Network – “Energy-Water Nexus Analysis of Solar Energy Industry”, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center

Certifications

Licensed Professional Civil Engineer (PE) by the State of California

Human Subject Research (HSR) Certificate, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)

Courses

CIV E 444: Applied Hydraulics and Laboratory

CIV E 530: Open Channel Hydraulics

CIV E 639: Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure

CIV E 730: Advanced Topics in Water Resources

See here for open educational materials: https://www.hassanh2o.com/courses

Directed Student Research

Vincent O’Hara-Rhi, MS student (thesis), Evaluation of transportation safety against flooding in disadvantaged communities. Project funded by Safe-D program. Thesis defense recorded at: https://sdsu.zoom.us/rec/share/EiaK56O9I8aNV6APRp85WXMgym6iDTjgLu2CL6uwX1KsTow8cJGnNkv blXOvHQLA.tP6gvPMcaxaqaNFA

Michael Violante, MS student (thesis), Decision Support Systems to Enhance Electricity Grid Resilience against Flooding Disasters. Thesis defense recorded at: https://sdsu.zoom.us/rec/share/odOZL0ChktbkjXbidTRR261_Rc3X- uzGOekobET7TTAilYtGDP4pDcmSVT6B5YzT.yKrHImTUOIcpe_lU

Cheyenne Graves, MS student (thesis), Exploring efficient methods for monitoring Oil & Grease pollution in stormwater to promote safe sampling, Project funded by Industrial Environmental Association Research and Education Foundation. Thesis defense recorded here.

See the full list here

Education

2009 - B.S. Civil Engineering, Power & Water University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

2012 - M.S. Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2016 - Ph.D. Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Utah

Grants

“Collaborative Research: Sustainable Water Infrastructure for Adapting to Coastal Climate Change”. PI, National Science Foundation, Project Dates: 06/01/2021 to 05/31/2024.

Project Page: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2113987

“Enhancing the Resilience of Underserved Coastal Communities against Compound Flooding”, PI, NOAA Sea Grant Program, Project Dates: 02/01/2022 - 01/31/2024. 

“Missing the Main Load? Quantifying Marine Debris Loadings from Storm Drain and River Margin Sources in the San Diego River”, NOAA Marine Debris Research Program, Co-PI, Project Dates: 08/01/2021 to 07/31/2024 

Project Page: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/funding-opportunities/noaa-marine-debris-program-awards-funding-5-new-projects-research-marine

“Evaluation of Transportation Safety against Flooding in Disadvantaged Communities”, PI, Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Center (UTC), Project Dates: 10/15/2020 to 4/15/2022 

Project Page: https://safed.vtti.vt.edu/projects/evaluation-of-transportation-safety-against-flooding-in-disadvantaged-communities/ 

Final report published by U.S. DOT: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/62014 

“Quantifying the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure in Removing Microplastics”, PI, CSU Chancellor’s Office, CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology (COAST), Project Dates: 1/5/2021 to 31/10/2022.

“Statistical Analysis on Oil and Grease Monitoring Data to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Intermediate Devices”, PI, Industrial Environmental Association Research and Education Foundation, Project Dates: 1/21/2020 to 12/31/2021.

Media

ABC10, By Jeff Lasky, Published September 29, 2022, Experts warn that San Diego is not prepared for a major storm:

https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/experts-warn-that-san-diego-is-not-prepared-for-a-major-hurricane  

NBC7, By Joe Little, Published September 1, 2021, Looking to Keep Imperial Beach Above Water: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/looking-to-keep-imperial-beach-above-water/2708004/  

NBC7, By Joe Little, By Joe Little, Published December 2, 2021, Researchers Work to Keep Imperial Beach Above Water, https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/researchers-work-to-keep-imperial-beach-above-water/2807605/ 

The San Diego Union-Tribune, By Tammy Murga, Published August 14, 2022.How can Imperial Beach residents participate in solutions against flooding? https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/south-county/story/2022-08-14/how-can-imperial-beach-residents-participate-in-solutions-against-flooding-this-group-wants-to-help 

Publications

See my Google Scholar page for an up-to-date list of my publications 

Research

Stormwater Management, Green Infrastructure, Coastal Resilience, Climate Change, Sea-Level Rise, Life Cycle Assessment, Sustainable Development, Image Processing, Machine Learning, etc.