Rate My Professor Arturo Montoya

Professor Arturo Montoya holds dual appointments as Professor in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), serving also as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs for Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Management. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering and Physics through a dual joint program at Columbia University and St. Lawrence University in 2007, M.S. in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics with a concentration in Structural Engineering from Columbia University in 2008, M.Phil. in 2010, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in 2012, with a dissertation titled 'A New Methodology to Estimate the Reliability and Safety of Suspension Bridge Cables.' His early career included an internship at Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in 2006 and roles as teaching and research assistant at Columbia University from 2007 to 2012. Montoya joined UTSA in 2012 as Assistant Professor, promoted to Associate Professor in 2018.

Montoya's research specializes in structural engineering, advanced finite element methods including hyper-complex variable ZFEM and multi-complex formulations, fracture mechanics, probabilistic risk assessment, structural health management, energy harvesting from roadways, hydrogen embrittlement, galvanization damage in illumination poles, and nuclear facility safety. He has led major grants such as the $1,320,583 Texas Department of Transportation project on HISEC modules for power generation (2015-2016), $450,000 Nuclear Regulatory Commission award for stress corrosion cracking risk assessment (2017-2020), $602,193 CPS Energy funding for roadway energy harvesting (2015-2016), and UTSA's $500,000 share of the $15 million NASA Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitats Institute (2019-2024). Key publications include 'Thermally-Induced Demands due to Hot Dip Galvanization of High Mast Illumination Poles. Part I: Finite Element Model Development' (Nasouri et al., Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2019) and Part II. Awards include Mindlin Scholar (Columbia University, 2012), Abe M. Zarem Educator Award (AIAA, 2014), ASCE ExCEEd Fellowship (2015), and Assistant-Associate Dean’s Fellow in Graduate Studies (2019). He teaches Advanced Steel Design, Finite Element Method, Mechanics of Solids, and supervises Ph.D. students on fracture, bridge vulnerability, and energy topics.