ISU Office for Research Announces Strategic Realignment; Dr. Mustafa Mashal Named Associate Vice President for Research: Innovation Partnerships

To support Idaho State University’s rapidly growing research enterprise and capitalize on surging external opportunities, the Office for Research announced a leadership realignment. Dr. Mustafa Mashal, previously the Special Advisor to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, will transition into the role of Associate Vice President for Research: Innovation Partnerships. He will retain his tenured full professor position in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at ISU and his joint appointment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory.

This title change represents a strategic shift of existing resources within the Office for Research, rather than the creation of a new position. As the research landscape evolves, ISU is positioning itself to better engage with private industry and external stakeholders. As Associate Vice President for Research: Innovation Partnerships, Dr. Mashal will provide strategic support to the Office for Research to bridge the gap between academic discovery and private innovation. His mandate is to engage the entire ISU campus across all disciplines to identify external opportunities and strengthen collaborations with industry, national laboratories, and peer institutions. By supporting faculty in securing funding and developing intellectual property, he will incentivize interdisciplinary partnerships that drive economic development.

“Our research enterprise is growing, and our leadership structure must evolve to support that trajectory,” said Dr. Martin Blair, Vice President for Research and Economic Development. “Dr. Mashal has already been a key driver of our success as a Special Advisor. By formalizing this focus on innovation partnerships, we are utilizing his unique background in private industry, national laboratory and academia to pursue external alliances and elevate the university’s profile without expanding our administrative footprint.”

Dr. Mashal received his PhD in civil engineering from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Before joining ISU in 2016, he spent more than eight years in industry across three continents. An internationally recognized expert in structural and earthquake engineering and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute, he has contributed to over 200 publications, holds five granted or pending patents, and secured more than $6.25 million in funding, including $4.1 million as Principal Investigator. He is the founder of the Disaster Response Complex and the Structural Laboratories at ISU, which are among the region’s unique facilities. His honors include three Fulbright grants, the ASCE Alfred Noble Prize, the Idaho Business Review Accomplished Under 40 Award, the ASCE Southern Idaho Section Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year Award, the University of Canterbury Visiting Erskine Fellowship, and the 2025 ISU Distinguished Researcher Award, among several other national and international accolades. Dr. Mashal’s research has been implemented in award-winning real-world structures in New Zealand, the United States, and other regions around the globe. One of the recent research projects he led at ISU for the Idaho Transportation Department was implemented in the design and construction of the Ft. Hall Interchange Bridge over I-15 in southeast Idaho. The project was a national winner of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) High Value Research Award. He currently leads multiple projects focused on environmental security, construction and advanced materials, and innovative technologies for resilient civil and critical infrastructure.  

Dr. Mashal has served on key national standards committees within ASCE, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), and other professional societies. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Idaho and a Chartered Professional Engineer and International Professional Engineer in New Zealand. 

To learn more about his work and professional background, connect with Dr. Mashal on LinkedIn.