Before joining SDSU, Akram worked in multiple roles, including as an Assistant Professor in two higher education institutes in Indiana-USA, Purdue University Northwest and Valparaiso University, as an Adjunct Professor and Post-Doctoral Fellow at Queen’s University-Canada where he was also awarded two prestigious Post-Doctoral Fellowships from Mitacs Canada, a one-year Accelerate and a two-year Elevate. He obtained his PhD (with full 4.0 GPA) in Structural Engineering from the University of Kentucky, USA in May 2016. Akram’s doctoral work evaluated the effectiveness of an innovative, patented bridge retrofit system, consisting of small diameter Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Rod Panels (CRPs). He also holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Civil Engineering from University of Babylon in Iraq, the latter granted with distinct honors and first rank among all College of Engineering 500 graduates. Akram’s research has been funded by multiple agencies, such as Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Mitcas Canada, and Canadian Precast Concrete Institute (CPCI). He  is a member of several professional institutes including a voting member at the American Concrete Institute (ACI) sub-committees 440F (FRP Repair) and 440J (FRP Stay-in-place forms) and an associate member with sub-committee 447 (Finite Element Analysis) and provides review services to multiple CE journals such as Engineering Structures, Construction and Building Materials, and Structural Concrete.