YSU STEM is excited to introduce Dr. Sahar Ehsani, the first female professor of Civil and Environmental Engineer since the founding of the STEM College in 2007.

Sahar Ehsani is a Civil and Environmental Engineering professor at YSU. She was born and raised in Iran where she received her bachelor’s degree from University of Tehran in Iran in Water Engineering. Ehsani then moved to Surrey county in the UK to continue her studies in Water and Environmental Engineering at the University of Surrey. After completing her MSc degree, Ehsani moved to Las Vegas, and pursued her doctorate in the same field at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She graduated in the summer of 2019 from UNLV, worked as a research assistant for several months and then moved to Youngstown in August of 2020 to start her new career as an Assistant Professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering at YSU. Dr. Ehsani taught Environmental Engineering Design and Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering during the Fall 2020 semester, and is teaching Solid and Hazardous Waste Management and Statistics during the Spring 2021 semester. 

Prior to applying to YSU, Dr. Ehsani was aware that YSU has a well-established, ABET accredited Civil Engineering program. She read the major’s curriculum sheet and was passionate about the school’s mission of preparing students for the real-world industrial practice by offering practical engineering design and laboratory courses. She also wanted to pursue a career that requires both teaching and researching and YSU is a great place for that.

Prior to coming to YSU, Dr. Ehsani was unaware that she is the first full-time female faculty in Civil and Environmental Engineering since the college's founding. However, Dr. Ehsani wasn’t surprised to hear that. There is a big gender gap in STEM majors and the majority of students and consequently the majority of the teachers in this field are men too. The good news is that many schools are actively working hard to change this gender disparity.

Dr. Ehsani is passionate about the mission of working towards having a more gender balanced student population in the engineering majors at YSU. There are many pieces to this puzzle and closing the gender gap may not be easily achieved and it requires a collective, proactive and long-term approach. However, she would like to do her part by encouraging more local high school women students to pursue STEM areas at YSU by engaging them in hands-on engineering activities and making them aware of the fact that they have the intelligence to succeed in the STEM majors if they choose this field. Dr. Ehsani believes improving gender balance is an important issue that deserves serious attention. Everyone is better off working in a more diverse work environment!

Besides teaching environmental courses, Dr. Ehsani plans to be active in research, write proposals on pressing environmental matters and get enough funds to start a research team at YSU. She would also like to combine research and teaching in the classrooms as she thinks that the best teaching is informed and influenced by the latest research.

Dr. Ehsani would like to help students start the American Water Works Association (AWWA) chapter. She was a member of this organization during her doctorate years and with the help of the student chapter, she went to several conferences, and had a fun social experience while connecting with many professionals in the area of Water and Environmental Engineering. Students can benefit a lot from this chapter, and they can also learn about many scholarship and career opportunities. 

If students are interested in speaking with Dr. Ehsani, you can contact her at sehsani@ysu.edu.