IOANNIS ZISIS

FIU SITE DIRECTOR

Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environment Engineering
Florida International University
  Ioannis Zisis, PhD

PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION

Dipl.-Ing in Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 2003
M.A.Sc. in Building Engineering, Concordia University, Canada, 2006
Ph.D. in Building Engineering, Concordia University, Canada, 2011

CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: izisis@fiu.edu

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INTERESTS

Structural and Environmental Wind Engineering, Wind Tunnel Testing, Field Monitoring, Building Codes of Practice and Wind Standards, Building/Architectural Engineering.

PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University (2025-present)

Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University (2018-2025)

Co-Director, Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, International Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University (2017-Present)

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University (2012-2018)

SIGNIFICANT HONORS AND AWARDS

  • In collaboration with his colleagues NHERI WOW EF was lauded by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to receive the 2018 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation
  • Faculty Research Award, College of Engineering, Florida International University (2018)
  • Postdoctoral Industrial R&D Fellowship: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2011)
  • Catherine Lalonde Memorial Scholarship, Canadian Wood Council (2008)

SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES

  • Leadership in a National Research-to-Practice Ecosystem:
    • Serve as the PI and Site Director of the NSF-funded Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) for Wind Hazard and Infrastructure Performance (WHIP).
    • This center actively facilitates the transfer of academic research directly to industry and government agencies, supporting the development of new solutions and products to reduce the impact of hurricane and severe wind events on buildings and infrastructure.
  • Direct Impact on National Building Standards:
    • As a voting Member of the ASCE/SEI 7 Wind Load Subcommittee and the ASCE/SEI 49 Wind Tunnel Testing Standards Committee, I contribute directly to translating research findings into the national building code.
    • This includes work on defining minimum design loads and wind tunnel testing requirements for structures, ensuring that the latest scientific knowledge, including my own work on wind loads for PV panels and roof components, is codified into engineering practice.
  • Creation and Dissemination of Open-Source Research Data:
    • I am a primary contributor to the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) DesignSafe-CI repository.
    • This has resulted in the publication of over 12 distinct open-access datasets from large-scale experimental projects, making high-fidelity wind-structure interaction data publicly accessible to the global research and education community to support subsequent research and curriculum development.
  • Innovation in Teaching and Broadening STEM Participation:
    • I have engaged in scholarly work on developing a modernized Wind Engineering curriculum to better prepare future civil engineers for addressing natural disasters.
    • I also co-organize the annual Wall of Wind School Challenge, a public outreach and STEM education initiative for K-12 students, actively broadening the participation of pre-college students by challenging them to design and test hurricane mitigation concepts.
  • Translating Research into Commercial Product Innovation:
    • Fundamental research conducted by our group on roof component performance under high winds has been successfully translated into a practical solution, resulting in the award of a U.S. Patent (US 11459759 B1) for “Roof Shingles Having Perforations”.
    • This demonstrates a direct transfer of engineering science into a patented, commercially viable product intended to improve the wind-resilience of residential roofing systems.