Virtual reality could reduce worksite accidents
Sharareh “Sherri” Kermanshachi, a University of Texas at Arlington associate professor of civil engineering, received $946,000 from the Texas Department of Transportation to address workforce development needs, along with virtual reality and other technologies that could result in safer work-zone environments.
“The goal is to create simulations of real-world scenarios prior to going out into those work zones,” Kermanshachi said. “The project’s aim is to prevent or reduce worksite accidents due to human errors and to improve the safety of the field engineers, project managers and inspectors. Virtual reality will provide a realistic experience to engineers prior to traveling to field work zones.”
Kermanshachi has earned numerous grants and awards at UT Arlington, including the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award; Mark Hasso Educator of the Year; the Women in Technology Award from the Dallas Business Journal; the American Society of Civil Engineers Professional Service Award; and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to supervising multiple postdoc, doctoral and master’s students, Kermanshachi is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Transportation Research Record and ASCE Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction. She has published more than 150 books, journal articles, conference papers and research reports and served as a panel member on multiple research projects funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Ali Abolmaali, UT Arlington chair and professor of civil engineering, said Kermanshachi’s successes in continuously securing state and federal grants with national impact show those agencies’ confidence in her research.
“Her projects reflect the here and now of research,” he said. “This project has the potential to save lives. Dr. Kermanshachi has accomplished much considering she has been at the University only since 2016.”