Mikhail V. Chester

Overview

My work focuses on aligning infrastructure with the accelerating, increasingly uncertain, and complex conditions that are defining our future. I develop new technologies, governance models, and knowledge systems to transition and adapt infrastructure to myriad future challenges including emerging and disruptive technologies, cybertechnologies and security, finance models, ageing assets, and weather disruptions. I work on both civil and defense infrastructure modernization challenges. See the Research section for an expanded description of my interests and projects. My writings on the topic can be found in the Publications section.

Helmick Professor of Infrastructure Resilience
» Director of the Metis Center for Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering
» Leader of the Resilient Infrastructure Lab
Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Arizona State University

Program Affiliations:
Graduate Faculty, School of Sustainability
Global Futures Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation
Affiliate Faculty, Global Security Initiative

Academic Positions

present 2025

Helmick Professor

Arizona State University,
Civil, Environmental, & Sustainable Engineering
present 2022

Professor

Arizona State University,
Civil, Environmental, & Sustainable Engineering
2022 2017

Associate Professor

Arizona State University,
Civil, Environmental, & Sustainable Engineering
2020 2019

Visiting Scholar (on Sabbatical)

University of California Los Angeles,
Institute of Transportation Studies, and,
Civil and Environmental Engineering
2017 2011

Assistant Professor

Arizona State University,
Civil, Environmental, & Sustainable Engineering
2011 2010

Guest Researcher

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
International Energy Studies Group
2011 2008

Post-doctoral Researcher

University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Transportation Studies, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Education

Ph.D. 2008

Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering

University of California, Berkeley
M.S.2005

M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering

University of California, Berkeley
M.S.2003

M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University
B.S.2005

B.S., Civil Engineering with an additional major in Engineering & Public Policy

Carnegie Mellon University

Honors, Distinctions, and Awards

2026

Carnegie Mellon University's CEE Distinguished Alumni Award

Awarded Carnegie Mellon University's Civil and Environmental Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.
2025

Helmick Professor of Infrastructure Resilience

Named a Helmick Professor of Infrastructure Resilience chair.
2025

American Society of Civil Engineers Community Innovation Team

Member for the ASCE Community Innovation Team. Team responsible for delivering high risk high reward ideas directly to ASCE board.
2024

ClimateIQ Advisory Board

Advisory board member for The New School's Urban Systems Lab ClimateIQ project with Google.
2024

Stanford Top 2% Scientists Ranking

Listed in top 2% of global scientists in Stanford University 2024 Annual Assessment of Author Citations. Ranking considers citations, h-index, coauthorship-adjusted hm-index, and citations to papers in different authorship positions.
2023

New York State Extreme Heat Action Plan

Expert panelist for the State of New York's Extreme Heat Action Plan.
2023

National Academies Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment

Committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment.
2023

National Academies Committee on Communities, Climate Change, and Health Equity

Committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's report and workshop on Communities, Climate Change, and Health Equity – Lessons Learned in Addressing Inequities in Heat-Related Climate Change Impacts.
2023

Co-author on the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment

Co-author on the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) Transportation chapter.
2022

ASU Knowledge Exchange for Resilience Fellow

The Knowledge Exchange for Resilience is committed to solving our most perplexing problems through use-inspired research that builds community resilience.
2022

Contributing author on the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)

Contributing author on the chapter on Cities, Settlements, and Key Infrastructure.
2021

Reuter's Hot List of World's Top Climate Scientists

Ranked as number 402 on Reuter's Hot List of World's Top Climate Scientists. Ranking based on number of publications, citation ratio, and Altmetric Attention Score (reach).
2021

ASU Outstanding Faculty Mentor

Nominated by graduate students and recognized by ASU's Graduate College as an outstanding faculty mentor.
2019

Stanford Top 1000 Scientists Ranking

Ranked number 798 of 66,925 scientists in the environmental sciences field for 2019. Ranking considers citations, h-index, coauthorship-adjusted hm-index, and citations to papers in different authorship positions.
2018

National Academy of Engineering's Frontiers of Engineering

One of approximately 80 people selected for the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering symposium at MIT Lincoln Labs in September 2018.
2017

ASU Engineering Fulton Exemplar Faculty

Awarded ASU Engineering's Fulton Exemplar Faculty for research productivity, instructional load, student evaluations and doctoral student mentoring.
2017

American Society of Civil Engineer's Huber Award

Awarded a Huber Research Prize for my work in life cycle assessment and infrastructure resilience to extreme events.
2016

Environmental Research Letters 10th Anniversary Special Collection

Publication Environmental Assessment of Passenger Transportation Should Include Infrastructure and Supply Chains selected to Environmental Research Letter’s 10th Anniversary Collection as one of the top 3 articles of 2009.
2015

ASU Engineering Top 5% Teaching Award

Top 5% Teaching Award from Arizona State University's College of Engineering for 2015.
2013

National Academy of Engineering's Frontiers of Engineering Education

One of 73 people in the US selected for the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering Education workshop in Irvine, CA in October 2013.
2013

ASU Departmental Teaching Award

Teaching Award from Arizona State University's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment for 2013.
2012

Expert Testimony to the California Legislative Analyst's Office on High-speed Rail

Testified to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office on the environmental impacts of high-speed rail in April 2012.
2011

Environmental Research Letters 5th Anniversary Collection

Publication Environmental Assessment of Passenger Transportation Should Include Infrastructure and Supply Chains selected to Environmental Research Letter’s 2011 5th Anniversary Collection as one of the top 3 articles of 2009.
2010

National Research Council’s Hidden Cost of Energy Study

Participated (as a researcher and chapter author) on the National Research Council’s Committee on Health, Environmental, and Other External Costs and Benefits of Energy Production and Consumption in the preparation of the Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use 2010 report.
2007

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor at the University of California, Berkeley

Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor awarded by the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate Council for the 2006-2007 academic year.
2001

Stephen Omar Lee Course Project Award at Carnegie Mellon University

Participant in the Carnegie Mellon University's Engineering and Public Policy course project Voting System Transitions: What are the Options for Pennsylvania? which received the Stephen Omer Lee Award as the outstanding project course in 2001.
2000

Stephen Omar Lee Course Project Award at Carnegie Mellon University

Participant in the Carnegie Mellon University's Engineering and Public Policy course project Environmental Impacts of E-commerce - A Case Study of Book Purchasing which received the Stephen Omer Lee Award as the outstanding project course in 2000.