Dr. Girum Solomon Urgessa, Ph.D., P.E., is a Professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering at George Mason University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Addis Ababa University in 2000, followed by a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the same institution in 2006.

Prior to joining George Mason University, Dr. Girum gained professional experience as a Structural Engineer at Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and as a Research Engineer in the Applied Science Division of Weidlinger Associates (now Thornton Tomasetti). His research interests encompass structural engineering, with a focus on progressive collapse analysis, structural optimization, and the application of machine learning in structural design. Dr. Girum has contributed to various publications, including studies on the progressive collapse of reinforced concrete framed buildings and the development of machine learning-based designs for reinforced concrete structures.