Meet the dean
Before taking over as dean of the Wayne State University College of Engineering in August 2022, Ali Abolmaali served as chair of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) for 10 years. He was the Dr. Tseng Huang Endowed Professor in Structural Engineering and Applied Mechanics, the founding director of UTA Center for Structural Engineering Research, and the professor-in-charge of the Structural Simulation Laboratory at UTA.
Throughout his academic career, Dean Abolmaali has been dedicated to student access and success, particularly for those from diverse backgrounds. As dean of the WSU College of Engineering, he has initiated various activities to promote civil discourse, which is vital for encouraging critical thinking, fostering understanding, and creating an environment where diverse perspectives are heard and respected. His ability to lead by cultivating and promoting collaborative relationships with diverse constituencies has been instrumental in the success of his current and previous administrative roles. He is a strong advocate for shared governance and believes in maintaining the highest ethical standards and integrity in all aspects of academic life.
Dean Abolmaali's leadership philosophy is based on an objective approach and genuine care for faculty, staff and students. He believes that student "customer service" and timely "follow-up and action" are essential to student access and success. To enhance experiential learning at Wayne State, Dean Abolmaali established and launched the unique Engineering Clinic in 2023. Modeled after medical school students' hospital training, the clinic is supervised by an experienced professional engineer who guides students as engineering interns working on real-world engineering projects for credit. This clinic is the only one of its kind in the nation, providing STEM students with practical training identical to what they would experience upon graduation.
Dean Abolmaali's leadership strengths include increasing enrollment, research expenditures, philanthropy and improving rankings. He led UTA’s Civil Engineering Department to its highest historical growth, increasing enrollment by over 300% to become the nation's largest civil engineering department. During his short tenure at WSU, he has led the College of Engineering to its highest new master’s level enrollment and championed the establishment of seven fully online M.S. programs in collaboration with industry to address its needs.
In his second year at WSU, he led the College of Engineering to increase research expenditures by over 40%, working collaboratively with faculty and staff through various approaches. At UTA, he increased research expenditure to its highest historical level. Dean Abolmaali is passionate about building strong relationships with alumni, donors, government agencies and industry partners to advance institutional strategic objectives and secure resources for continued growth and development. He has secured several endowed professorships, and his fundraising abilities are impeccable.
Dean Abolmaali's research portfolio includes computational structural engineering and full-scale structural testing of civil, aerospace, and underground structural systems, as well as research in fluid-structure interaction problems and biomechanics. He has conducted several high-profile failure investigation research projects for the National Transportation Safety Board, including the Boston tunnel collapse (Big Dig tunnel), the Minneapolis bridge collapse, and the Big Springs, Nebraska bridge collapse. He uniquely developed several carbon fiber multi-sensor robots and artificial intelligence-based remaining service life prediction algorithms for underground structures. As a principal investigator, he has secured more than $43 million in research and development funding from industry, local, state, and federal government agencies.