EERI is pleased to announce that the 2023 recipient of the Shah Family Innovation Prize is Eyitayo (Tayo) Opabola (M.EERI 2020), in recognition of his significant contributions to earthquake engineering research and practice, supported by expertise in engineering mechanics, experimentation and community resilience. The Shah Prize is awarded to early- to mid-career individuals who have emphasized creative and innovative thinking and demonstrated the potential to make major contributions to the field of earthquake risk mitigation and management. The prize recognizes a combination of past accomplishments and future potential.
Opabola is an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He completed his BE (Civil and Industrial Engineering) and MS (Structural Engineering) from the Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Russia. He is a 2022 recipient of the European Commission-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at the University College London, United Kingdom. Amongst other awards, he is the 2019 recipient of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) Graduate Research Award.
Opabola’s research focuses on laboratory and field testing of large-scale structural components and systems, assessment and design of civil infrastructure under single and multiple hazards, and developing risk-informed methodologies for resilience enhancement of buildings and communities. He is a member of several technical committees on seismic assessment and design of reinforced concrete structures. He has served as a consultant for a wide range of disaster risk management projects in Africa, North America, Europe, Oceania, Central Asia and South-East Asia. He has also served as a member of the UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) missions to Indonesia and Turkey.
