Background
I am Safeer Ahmad Zaheer, a Pakistani national from Namli Maira, a small village in the hilly mountains of Abbottabad. My early experiences in a seismically active region, where traditional construction methods led to significant vulnerabilities, inspired me to pursue a career in civil engineering. I completed my B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan, in 2015. I then pursued an M.Sc. in Structural Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary, on a fully funded Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship, which I completed in 2019. My M.Sc. research focused on the structural effectiveness of conventional reinforcing steel shear links. I have practical experience as a Structural Design Engineer and a Site Engineer, and I am currently a Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) since September 2019. I am actively involved in research areas such as BIM-integrated design and energy optimization for sustainable construction.
Motivation
I am enthusiastic about joining the BRIDGITISE program for the DC8 TWINS project on “Probabilistic Digital Twins for continuous bridge performance modelling.” My motivation stems from the critical infrastructure challenges in Pakistan, which urgently require advanced monitoring and maintenance strategies to reduce financial burdens through technological advancement. I aim to develop probabilistic digital twins and an advanced digital platform integrating SHM data into BrIM systems for continuous bridge performance assessment. This Ph.D. program at Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), complemented by industry collaboration with Sacertis Ingegneria (SAC) and North Consulting (NOR), will allow me to contribute to the design and development of advanced monitoring systems. Utilizing real-time diagnostics, big data analysis, and customized models, I aim to bridge academic research with practical application, generating marketable solutions to improve critical infrastructure safety, resilience, and sustainability.