About Me
I’m Mohamad Kazma, a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt University. I received my B.E. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon, in 2019, and my M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2024. My research focuses on modeling, optimization, and monitoring of complex dynamical systems representing infrastructure networks.
I work under the supervision of Dr. Ahmad F. Taha in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University. I am currently working on several projects at the intersection of control theory, optimization, and infrastructure systems. My dissertation research focuses on developing theoretical frameworks for sensor placement in nonlinear systems, with applications to water quality monitoring and power grid stability.
Current Position
Vanderbilt University — PhD Candidate, Civil Engineering
Advisor: Dr. Ahmad F. Taha (Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Committee: Dr. Ahmad F. Taha (Chair), Dr. Thomas Beckers, Dr. Sankaran Mahadevan, Dr. Daniel Work
Dissertation: Advances in Scalable Observability and Sensor Placement for Nonlinear Systems: Theory and Applications
Education
Vanderbilt University
PhD, Civil Engineering — Jan. 2022 – Expected Aug. 2026
MSc, Civil Engineering — Jan. 2022 – Dec. 2024
Notre Dame University-Louaize
BEng, Civil and Environmental Engineering — Jan. 2015 – May 2019
Contact
JH265, 2301 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville, TN
mohamad.h.kazma(at)vanderbilt.edu
mhkazma.github.io
You can find a copy of my CV here.
Research Interests
Primary: Observability and sensor placement in nonlinear dynamical systems, submodular optimization for infrastructure monitoring, and control-theoretic methods for civil infrastructure networks.
Secondary: Water distribution network modeling, power grid stability analysis, coupled hydrologic-hydrodynamic systems modeling, uncertainty quantification in complex systems, and resilience-oriented control of infrastructure systems.
Teaching
Vanderbilt University
CE 3300: Risk, Reliability, and Resilience Engineering (SP2025)
Instructor: Dr. Hiba Baroud — Taught 6 of 12 modules on probability and statistical inference using R.CE 6380-01: Applied Machine Learning (SP2024)
Instructor: Dr. Sankaran Mahadevan — Covered modern ML methods with Python for science and engineering.
Notre Dame University-Louaize
- Drilling & Production Engineering Lab, PEN 472 (FA2021)
- Environmental Engineering Lab, CEN 365 (SP2020 – SP2021)
Awards & Certifications
- Selected for the 2020 IP Valorization Grants Program at Berytech — Innovation Voucher ($25,000)
- Co-recipient, ELCIM–IRI Center of Innovation and Technology Innovation Voucher ($6,000) for project “Concrete Masonry Units Enhanced with Phase Changing Materials”
- 2nd place team, ASCE 2019 Popsicle Bridge Competition (Lebanon)
Academic Service
Journal Reviewer: IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, IEEE Control Systems Letters, Automatica, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IFAC Control Engineering Practice, IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, Systems & Control Letters, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, Water Resources Research
Conference Reviewer: IEEE PES General Meeting, IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), American Control Conference (ACC)
Conference Volunteer: Staff Support Volunteer, 2021 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)
Professional Memberships: Student member of IEEE and ASCE; IEEE Control Systems Society, IEEE Power & Energy Society, IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society
Curriculum Vitae
You can find a copy of my CV here.