Dr. Joseph Assaad graduated as Civil Engineer from the Lebanese University in 1999, he then continued his Masters’ in Toulouse University (France) and obtained his Ph.D from Sherbrooke University (Canada), where he graduated with a high distinction in 2004.

Upon his return to Lebanon, Dr. Assaad was appointed as R&D Manager in a leading enterprise that manufactures and commercializes a variety of construction materials and ready-to-use products for the building and cement industries. Concurrently, he was teaching in local universities on part-time basis, which allowed him to widen his research activities and develop strong networks of collaboration and exchange of know-how with academics and professors.

His research interests significantly expanded over time, to include a wide variety of topics related to Civil Engineering, such as modern cement clinkers, alkali-activated geopolymers, composite materials, applicability of soil mechanic principles to fresh concrete, bond to steel reinforcement, corrosion, microstructure, durability, 3D printing, recycling of aggregates and other waste materials, seismic behavior of non-structural elements, and sustainability in construction.

In 2018, Dr. Assaad joined, the University of Balamand on full-time basis. In 2019, he was appointed as Chairperson for the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department.

In the course of his career, Dr. Assaad served on numerous standardizing committees for Libnor Institution (LSI), organized many training conferences for the concrete industry, and secured series of research grants from different organizations such as National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), Lebanese Industrial Research Achievements (LIRA), Lebanese University, and others. He established numerous agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local and international Universities to exchange graduate students and conduct joint research activities. So far (i.e., Nov. 2019).

Dr. Assaad has more than 75 technical papers published in renowned journals such as ACI, ASCE, CBM, etc. His current h-index is 20 (according to Scopus) with more than 1150 citations, placing him among the top Civil Engineering researchers in Lebanon. His h-index and i10-index are 26 and 49, respectively, with over 2100 citations according to Google Scholar. Dr Assaad completed two books in 2009 and 2017 about the thixotropic properties and applicability of geotechnical principles to cementitious materials.

Dr. Assaad believes that peer-reviewing and editorial memberships are among the piers for academic work, allowing researchers to establish themselves as well-known experts in their fields and gaining large platforms to introduce ideas and remain updated with current research trends. With this in mind, he actively participated as Editorial Board Member and peer-reviewer to prestigious journals such as ACI, ASCE, CCR, CBM, etc. specialized in Materials and Structures. So far (i.e., Nov. 2019), Dr. Assaad has over 300 verified reviews listed on his profile https://publons.com, which allowed him receiving multiple “Top Peer Reviewer” and “Outstanding Reviewer” awards in Civil Engineering for years 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Dr. Assaad received numerous local and international distinctions and awards. In 2014, he received from CNRS-Lebanon the “Research Excellence Award” in recognition of his distinguished scientific research related to the reduction of CO2 emissions during cement production. This made him among the very few non-academic researchers to receive such award from CNRS-Lebanon. Two years later (i.e., 2016), he was honored with the prestigious Research Excellence Award organized jointly by the “Société de la Légion d’Honneur Franco-Libanais” and “Institut Français au Liban” for his outstanding contribution in research and exposure of Lebanese scientists to the international community.

Engineers and Professors Award, Municipality of Sherbrooke, Canada, 2002
The Quebec and Eastern Ontario Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, 2004
Top Young Researcher in Concrete Technology, 2009
ACI Materials Committee Outstanding Reviewer, 2012
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, ASCE
Research Excellence Award, 2014, National Council for Scientific Research, Lebanon
6. Publons Award: “Top Reviewer for Materials Science – 2015”
7. Publons Award: “Sentinels of Science: Engineering – 2016”
8. “Research Excellence Award” 2016, “Société de la Légion d’Honneur Franco-Libanais” and “Institut Français au Liban”
9. Publons Award: “Top Peer Reviewer in Engineering – 2017”
10. Publons Award: “Top Peer Reviewer in Engineering – 2018”
11. “Outstanding Reviewer – 2018”, Construction and Building Materials, Elsevier
12. “Outstanding Reviewer – 2018”, Heliyon, Elsevier
13. Publons Award: “Top Peer Reviewer in Engineering – 2019”