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UNM Engineering Ph.D. candidate named ASCE ‘24 Outstanding Reviewer

August 11, 2025 - By Carly Bowling

photo: Siham Al Shanti

Siham Al Shanti, a Ph.D. candidate in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, was named an Outstanding Reviewer of 2024 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Al Shanti has served as a reviewer for the ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering since 2023. She credits her understanding of reviewing papers to her advisor, Distinguished Professor Mahmoud Reda Taha, who would give his research group papers to review and constructively critique the work, highlighting both contributions and limitations.

Taha encouraged Al Shanti to begin reviewing papers for a journal. She says she has never turned down an invitation to review a paper and spends up to 10 days reading and providing constructive feedback. Al Shanti also tries to consider what kind of additional work or rewriting will help improve the quality of work and be feasible for the author.

“Being a reviewer has improved the way I present my own results. Now, when I write, I explain things in a more comprehensive way that people outside my research field may be able to understand,” she said.

Al Shanti is set to defend her thesis next month. The recognition was just what she needed to finish out strong, she said.

“When I received the email from ASCE, it pushed me forward and gave me the motivation I needed to finish my Ph.D. and keep making a positive impact in the civil engineering field,” she said.

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