People | SIGMa Stout Infrastructure, Geotechnics and Materials Lab

TEAM

Principal Investigator

Hessam Yazdani, PhD, PE

Dr. Hessam Yazdani is a tenured Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the SIGMa Lab at the University of Missouri, Columbia. His research expertise spans experimental and computational multiscale mechanics, geotechnical engineering, reliability analysis, machine learning, and optimization.

Dr. Yazdani has (co)authored more than 70 publications in books, journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports. He is the recipient of several prestigious international and national awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the DURIP Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) Best Student Paper Award, and an ASTM International Project Grant.

As an educator, he has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses such as Statics, Solid Mechanics, Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering (Introductory and Advanced), Seepage in Soils, Computational Geotechnics, Design of Steel Structures, Civil Engineering Software and Design, and Engineering Economics, among others. His teaching and mentorship have earned him multiple awards and recognitions.

Dr. Yazdani received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Kerman and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. (Google Scholar Profile).

Postdocs and Visiting Scholars

Kaveh Roushan, PhD

Kaveh joined the SIGMa Lab in November 2024 as a Visiting Scholar. His research focuses on shallow geothermal systems, the thermomechanical behavior of energy micropiles, and pile-supported embankments and pavements. He earned his Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology. (GS)

Yasaman Sanayei, PhD

Yasaman joined the SIGMa Lab in August 2024 as a Visiting Scholar. Her research focuses on the modeling and simulation of bio-based nanocomposites, as well as the fate and transport of contaminants in aqueous environments. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Technology from Universiti Sains Malaysia. (GS)

Caro Tabar, PhD (former)

Caro was with SIGMa from October 2024 until November 2025, focusing on AI-assisted simulation of nanocomposites and materials discovery.

Doctoral Students/Alumni

Shahbaz Paramban

PhD Student (Google Scholar)

Shahbaz joined SIGMa in January 2024. He holds an MSc in Design Engineering from NIT Jalandhar and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from MDIT Kozhikode (both in India). His research focuses on the intersection of nanomechanics, multiscale materials modeling and simulation, and machine learning

Hamid Ghasemi

PhD Alumnus

Hamid joined SIGMa in 2017 and graduated with a PhD and many high-quality publications in 2022. He is currently an Advanced Modeling Engineer and Data Scientist in Micron Technology.

Undergraduate Participants

Parker Cain

Parker studies civil engineering at Mizzou. He was with SIGMa in fall 2025 participating in a project on the mechanics of polymer nanocomposites.

John Sellinger

John studies biological engineering at Mizzou. He was with SIGMa in fall 2025 participating in a project on the mechanics of polymer nanocomposites.

Caleb Houston

Caleb studies chemical engineering at Mizzou. He was with SIGMa in fall 2025 participating in a project on the mechanics of polymer nanocomposites.

Kyla Nguyen (former)

Kyla was with SIGMa in sprign 2025 participating in a project on the characterization and simulation of polymer nanocomposites.

Cade Johnson (former)

Cade was with SIGMa in spring 2025 participating in a project on the characterization and simulation of polymer nanocomposites.

Christian Ferguson (former)

Christian was with SIGMa in sprign 2025 participating in a project on the characterization and simulation of polymer nanocomposites.

Khalid Hamed (former)

Khalid was with SIGMa in fall 2024 participating in a project on processing, microstructure, and properties of polymer nanocomposites.

Ivan Linger (former)

Ivan was with SIGMa in fall 2024 participating in a project on processing, microstructure, and properties of polymer nanocomposites.

Cassie Lueck (former)

Cassie was with SIGMa in fall 2024 participating in a project on the characterization and simulation of polymer nanocomposites.

Robbie Criddle (former)

Robbie was with SIGMa in summer 2024. His research at SIGMa focused on nanomechanics and the characterization of polymer nanocomposites.

Cameryn Burnette (former)

Cameryn was with SIGMa in 2022 participating in a project on developing coarse-grained models for polymers. She is from Houston, TX, and is currently doing her PhD in materials engineering at MIT.

Sigmund Adrian Skinner (former)

Raised in the beautiful twin-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago, Sigmund conducted computational research on the mechanical properties of nanomaterials during his time at SIGMa. He is currently pursuing an MSc in structural engineering at Johns Hopkins.

Camille Wallace (former)

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Camille is passionate about structural design and community service. At SIGMa, she was involved in a project on the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube-filled polyethylene composites that was later published in the journal Polymer Composites. She is now a structural engineer with Boeing.

Alfred Walfall (former)

A native of Maryland, Alfred was involved in SIGMa in 2021 focusing on the simulation of 2D nanomaterials.

Emilda Gwerengwe picture_edited_edited.jpg

Emilda Gwerengwe (former)

A native of Zimbabwe, Emilda's research at SIGMa focused on designing materials using artificial intelligence. She is now an airfield design engineer at Jacobs.

Christopher Tilford (former)

Christopher is from Houston, Texas, His research at SIGMa focused on developing predictive models for the properties of 2D nanomaterials, an experience that helped him secure a research internship at Harvard.

Smart Infrastructure, Geotechnics and Materials Lab

small indentations, global impact