Excellence in International Engagement, 2023
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
Since 2001, Professor Jo Sias has been an active faculty in the department of civil and environmental engineering, where she has made significant contributions to the educational, research and outreach missions of UNH.
Sias is a well-known expert internationally: She is editor-in-chief of the leading international journal in her research area and has recently delivered invited lectures in Africa, Europe and Central and South America. She held the prestigious Fulbright fellowship during 2015-2016. Sias helped develop a cotutelle (dual Ph.D. program) agreement between UNH and University of Parma and co-advised UNH’s very first cotutelle doctoral student. Some examples of Sias’ efforts to enhance the international visibility of UNH includes hosting of research fellows and visiting graduate students from China, Italy and Serbia as well as participating in the European Commission’s Marie Curie International Training Network.
Sias has supervised and co-supervised 41 graduate students and three post-doctoral research associates, 25 of them international students and scholars representing Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Italy, Nigeria and Vietnam. This diverse international makeup of her research group clearly demonstrates internationalization in her research and advising.
Sias’s individual and collaborative efforts at building international engagements and enhancing the international visibility of UNH are exemplary. She has fostered several international research collaborations, mentored diverse groups of international students, hosted international scholars at UNH and she continually brought a global perspective to her undergraduate and graduate courses.
About this Award
This award recognizes exceptional international engagement by a current UNH faculty member. Nominees should have a well-established and ongoing record of international education and/or research while on the UNH faculty. Such activities should include several of the following: directing UNH managed programs abroad, individual research, collaborative research with international partners, exchange teaching, encouraging and supporting student involvement in international research (e.g., IROP), evidence of global perspectives within curriculum, service on international boards and task forces, consulting and/or publications/performances. UNH benefits-eligible faculty members are eligible, except recipients within the last five years. This award is supported by the Global Education Center.
