When Zia Razzaq, University Professor Emeritus, retired after more than 40 years of service to Old Dominion University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, he left behind a wealth of institutional knowledge. He also left a legacy as a popular teacher, scholar and advocate for ODU faculty, staff and students.
Razzaq grew up in Peshawar, Pakistan, a city whose history spans 2,500 years. During his upbringing, the city's lifestyle ranged from very traditional to somewhat modern. “The transportation modes during that period included horse-drawn buggies, as well as cars and buses within the city,” he explained.
Razzaq’s fascination with large structures and how they were built; highway and railroad bridges and buildings and dams across rivers, led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Peshawar in 1966, followed by a master’s degree from the University of Windsor, Canada and a doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri).
Razzaq became a popular and established faculty member at Arizona State University, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the University of Notre Dame, before joining ODU as an associate professor in 1982.
At ODU, he quickly became entrenched in the department.
“Dr. Razzaq developed the Structural Engineering Research Laboratory using NSF grants and donations by NASA Langley Research Center and industry partners and served as its director for 42 years. This laboratory played a pivotal role in graduating 93 master’s and 20 Ph.D. students under his supervision,” said Sandeep Kumar, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Razzaq also introduced over a dozen graduate courses in structural engineering with some unique only to ODU.
Over the years, Razzaq became one of the most popular teachers at the Batten College.
“This is probably the best teacher that I have had in any class,” wrote one reviewer on ratemyprofessors.com. “He knows the material inside and out and is able to convey it in a way to make it understandable. He is helpful and makes you THINK. His class is not an easy A, but it will challenge your fundamental knowledge!”
Razzaq is proud of his students’ achievements. He cites those who became researchers, professional engineers, designers and builders of significant-sized bridges and buildings and aircraft and ship structures, and those who established multi-million-dollar consulting firms.
In 2000, ODU honored Razzaq with the title of University Professor, a lifetime designation acknowledging outstanding teachers.
Razzaq, in addition to teaching, worked to bring about positive change at the University.
In the early 1990s, he published a monthly newspaper, “The Old Dominion Free Press,” to highlight issues faced by the staff and faculty. “The primary issues were inadequate health insurance such as no coverage for breast cancer patients who needed bone marrow transplants,” he explained. Razzaq also wanted to alert faculty to potential changes in the tenure system.
As a researcher, Razzaq’s civil engineering scholarship covers a wide spectrum of subjects.
He worked on soil and rock testing at the Tarbela Dam in Pakistan, storm sewage system design in Canada, automobile side impact research for Chrysler in Detroit, stress and structural research at Monsanto, and underwater shock analysis for Navy submarines at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Razzaq also developed methods to strengthen buildings against terrorist attacks, created vibration control devices for NASA’s space structures and worked on advanced computing methods for aircraft wings. He analyzed fatigue in jet fuselage components, developed and tested materials for Lockheed Martin missiles, studied the impact of hurricanes on utility poles, and analyzed the structural stability of steel buildings, including the World Trade Center towers.
For many years, Razzaq also maintained a strong interest in healthcare earning numerous healthcare licenses and certifications from organizations such as the Virginia Department of Health Professions, the Upledger Institute, the Gerson Institute and the Cayce/Reilly School of Massotherapy.
In retirement, he plans to use this expertise to provide neuromuscular pain therapy, lymphedema physiotherapy and holistic cancer therapy.
In addition to his medical work, Razzaq will continue to serve ODU students and faculty as needed, write papers and books in engineering, healthcare, and world affairs, and, when time permits, practice the piano, violin, rabab, accordion and harmonium.