Dr. Sam Salem, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Dr. Salem, a tenured Associate Professor who joined the Dept. of Civil Engineering in July 2012, has extensive professional engineering, academic and research experiences in the field of Structural Engineering with focus on structural integrity and failure of timber, steel and concrete structures at both, ambient and elevated temperatures of fire. Dr. Salem has acquired his Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) in Structural Engineering with distinction from the Fire Safety Engineering Program in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2012.

He also holds a M.A.Sc. degree in Structural Engineering and B.A.Sc. degree (honour) in Civil Engineering from Egypt. Following his graduation, he worked as a Structural Engineer and gained broad experience in the design and construction of numerous buildings and bridges including industrial steel buildings, hangers, multi-storey residential buildings and steel bridges for several years.

Dr. Salem is a licenced Professional Engineer with PEO, a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), and an Associate Professional-Professor member in the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) and Canadian Wood Council (CWC). He is also a voting member in the Standing Committee on Structural Design (SCSD) of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) and Partner/Research Collaborators with Ontario Mass Timber Institute (MTI).

Dr. Salem has received a number of awards and honours in recognition of his excellence in teaching, e.g., Lakehead University Teaching Excellence Award (2014 & 2018) and Merit Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, Carleton University Outstanding Teaching A. Award and Civil Engineering Teaching A. Excellence Award, and others.

For Dr. Salem’s teaching assignments, click here.

Dr. Salem research interests lie primarily in the field of structural engineering, including analysis and design, large-size experimental testing, and computer modelling of steel, concrete, and timber buildings and structures. In addition, Dr. Salem’s area of expertise extends to include structural integrity and failure, structural design optimization, structural fire engineering, performance-based fire resistance design, computer modelling of structures, and large-scale fire resistance testing. He first-authored several refereed publications in structural engineering in general, and in the fast-developing area of structural fire engineering in particular.

Shortly after he commenced his academic career as a Professor in the Dept. of Civil Engineering at Lakehead University, he established his new research program to investigate the structural fire performance of different building structural systems through advanced analytical study, computer modelling, and large-size experimental testing. Dr. Salem has secured more than $1.4 million dollars research grants from different federal and provincial governments, as well as private sectors. His applied research program is mainly supported by Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (OMRI), Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and Lakehead University.

Early in 2013, Dr. Salem was appointed by Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) as a Project Leader for the new Fire Testing and Research Laboratory funded using his CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund. In 2014, he was awarded a 5-year NSERC Discovery Grant to investigate the structural fire performance of new engineered-wood building systems. Dr. Salem has also been awarded numerous internal research grants from Lakehead University as well as other funding agencies. Dr. Salem has received a number of awards and honours in recognition of his excellence in research, e.g., NSERC Discovery Grant, Leaders Opportunity Fund (CFI & OMRI), Emerging Technology Program Grant (NOHFC), Reserach Development Fund (LU), Carleton University Senate Medal Award for Academic and Research Achievement, and others.

For Dr. Salem’s current research projects, click here.