Dr. Habib Dagher, Ph.D., P.E.
Executive Director of Advanced Structures and Composites Center University of Maine
(207) 581-2138
Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E.
Dr. Habib Dagher, P.E. is the founding Executive Director of the Advanced Structures & Composites Center, a National Science Foundation funded research center housed in an 100,000 ft2 laboratory with more than 260 full and part-time personnel. The UMaine Composites Center is a world leader in the development of low-cost, high-performance structural composites for construction. The Center has served more than 500 clients worldwide, and has received top national awards for its research.
Bath Iron Works Professor of Structural Engineering
Principal Investigator, New England Aqua Ventus
Principal Investigator, DeepCwind Consortium
Bath Iron Works Professor of Structural Engineering
Dr. Habib Dagher’s Biography
Dr, Dagher is the founding Executive Director of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC). Under his leadership, the Center has grown from 4 to 260 personnel and is now housed in a 100,000 ft2 laboratory, the largest university-based research Center in Maine. Dr. Dagher is a world-leading advocate for developing sustainable infrastructure and energy systems which simultaneously optimize structures, materials, manufacturing, construction and maintenance. Dr. Dagher initiated a number of major research programs which have gained ASCC national and international reputation, such as:
- The large- scale bio-based additive manufacturing program in which the largest polymer 3D printer in the world was installed, earning 3 Guinness World records including for the largest 3D printed boat in the world in 2019.
- Floating offshore wind technology research program to address the state’s and nation’s energy transformation. He assembled and led a team that deployed the VolturnUS 1:8, the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine in the United States. Success of the technology led to over 40 patents, a further $150 million investment from the US DOE and two of the world’s largest offshore wind developers. He led development of unique research facilities including the Alfond W2 Wave-Wind basin, the first US ocean engineering basin combining a high-quality wind machine with a wave basin to develop floating wind technology and the second largest wind blade testing facility in the US.
- Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center to address the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. Funded by the US DOT, it brings together the New England State DOTs and Universities to develop more sustainable materials and construction methods. Some bridge technologies developed at ASCC include: The “Bridge-in-a-Backpack” technology, which are inflatable composite arch bridges that are approved in the AASHTO bridge Code, and have been spunoff into a growing private business. The longest composite materials highway bridge in the US, a 540ft girder bridge in Maine, in cooperation with the Maine DOT
- Other composite technologies include The Modular Ballistic Protection System (MBPS), the first such technology to be approved and fielded by the US Army to protect troops in tents from blast and ballistic threats, and The longest carbon-fiber composite vessel built for the US Navy, an 83ft long high-speed interceptor
Dr. Dagher holds more than 80 patents, has over 100 publications, and has received numerous awards, including: The 2015 White House Transportation Champion of Change, The Carnegie Foundation Maine Professor of the Year, The Distinguished Maine Professor Award, The American Society of Civil Engineers Charles Pankow Innovation Award, the Maine Better Transportation Association Transportation Champion, WindPower Engineering and Development Innovator 2017, Engineering News Record Top 25 Newsmakers, Maine International Trade Center Innovator of the Year, Maine Development Foundation Champion for Economic Development.
Education
Ph.D., Civil/Structural Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1985
M.S., Engineering Mechanics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1984
M.S., Civil/Structural Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982
B.S., Civil Engineering, Cum Laude, University of Dayton-Ohio, 1980