Esmaeil Zarei

Title
Associate Professor of Safety Science
Email
Department
Safety Science Department
College
College of Aviation

Areas of Expertise

  • System Safety and Human Factors/Reliability Analysis
  • Risk-based Decision Making Under Uncertainty
  • Risk, Reliability, and Resilience Assessment in Emerging and Complex Sociotechnical Systems
Esmaeil Zarei

Esmaeil Zarei assumed the role of Associate Professor of Safety Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in 2022. Prior to this position, he had been affiliated with the Centre for Risk, Integrity, and Safety Engineering (C-RISE) at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, since January 2020. He served as an Assistant Professor (2017-22) and faculty instructor (2012-14) in the Departments of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering in Iran. Preceding his academic roles, he worked as a Safety and Risk Engineer for three years at the Iranian Petroleum Oil Company. During these periods, Esmaeil held various positions such as Founder and Director of Safety, Occupational Health Labs, and Student Research Center. He also assumed the role of Executive Manager in the Industry Innovations & Partnerships Office. Notably, he received recognition for his efforts in establishing one undergraduate and three graduate programs, including their hardware and software requirements, in Ergonomics, Noise Control, Air Ventilation, and Safety Labs.

Esmaeil demonstrated a fervent interest in creating a meaningful impact through innovative approaches to science and engineering, particularly in Safety, Risk, Resilience Engineering, and Human Factors/Reliability. His primary research focuses on these areas in emerging sectors (e.g., the Hydrogen Economy) and critical industries (e.g., Aviation, Process Industries). At the Robertson Safety Institute (RSI) at ERAU, he conducts research to generate fundamental and conceptual knowledge within his research domains, applying them across a diverse array of emerging and complex sociotechnical systems. With a history spanning four universities, Esmaeil has cultivated active collaborations with industry partners and numerous leading academic institutions worldwide since 2012. Furthermore, he has (co)supervised over 15 Master's and Ph.D. theses and serves as an Editorial Board Member for several highly regarded journals in his research areas at Elsevier. His scholarly contributions have earned him recognition among the top 2% of scientists by Stanford University for three consecutive years since 2021.



  • Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Occupational Health Engineering, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences
  • M. - Master in Occupational Health Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
  • B. - Bachelor in Occupational Health Engineering, Tehran University of Medical Sciences
  • A. - Associate in Occupational Health, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences
  • MSF 686: Emergency Preparedness
  • MSF 691: Graduate Capstone Course
  • MSF 602: Human Factors
  • MSF 603: Occupational Safety
  • MSF 612: Research Methods
  • MSF 609: System Safety
  • MSF 700: Thesis

MSF603 – Occupational Safety

MSF 609 – System Safety

Selected Publications

  • Zarei, E., Khan, F., & Abbassi, R. (2023). How to account artificial intelligence in human factor analysis of complex systems?. Process Safety and Environmental Protection.171, 736-750.
  • Zarei, E., Khan, F., & Abbassi, R. (2023).An advanced approach to the system safety in sociotechnical systems.Safety Science, 158, 105961.
  • Zarei, E., Khan, F., & Abbassi, R. (2022). A dynamic human-factor risk model to analyze safety in sociotechnical systems. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 164, 479-498.
  • Zarei, E., Gholamizadeh, K., Khan, F., & Khakzad, N. (2022). A dynamic domino effect risk analysis model for rail transport of hazardous material. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 74, 104666.
  • Zarei, E., Khan, F., & Abbassi, R. (2021). Importance of human reliability in process operation: A critical analysis. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 211, 107607.
  • Zarei, E., Karimi, A., Habibi, E., Barkhordari, A., & Reniers, G. (2021). Dynamic occupational accidents modeling using dynamic hybrid Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis: An in-depth psychometrics study. Safety science, 136, 105146.
  • Zarei, E., Ramavandi, B., Darabi, A. H., & Omidvar, M. (2021). A framework for resilience assessment in process systems using a fuzzy hybrid MCDM model. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 69, 104375.
  • Zarei, E., Khan, F., & Yazdi, M. (2021). A dynamic risk model to analyze hydrogen infrastructure. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(5), 4626-4643.
  • Zarei, E., Yazdi, M., Abbassi, R., & Khan, F. (2019). A hybrid model for human factor analysis in process accidents: FBN-HFACS. Journal of loss prevention in the process industries, 57, 142-155.
  • Zarei, E., Khakzad, N., Cozzani, V., & Reniers, G. (2019). Safety analysis of process systems using Fuzzy Bayesian Network (FBN). Journal of loss prevention in the process industries, 57, 7-16.
  • Zarei, E., Azadeh, A., Khakzad, N., Aliabadi, M. M., & Mohammadfam, I. (2017). Dynamic safety assessment of natural gas stations using Bayesian network. Journal of hazardous materials, 321, 830-840.
  • Zarei, E., Khakzad, N., Reniers, G., & Akbari, R. (2016). On the relationship between safety climate and occupational burnout in healthcare organizations. Safety science, 89, 1-10.

Editorial Board Member:

Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Elsevier 2022-Present

Journal of Health Scope, Brieflands, 2020 - Present

Journal of Computational and Cognitive Engineering, 2022- Present

Lead Guest Editor:

 1) Sustainability, Special Issue Topic: Risk, Resilience and Reliability Analysis for Sustainable Management Oct 2021- Dec 2023

2) Safety, Special Issue Topic: Safety, Resilience and Reliability Challenges and Engineering Research in Renewable Energies Oct 2022-July 2023

  • Certified Safety Professional (CSP), BCSP (Board of Certified Safety Professionals), 2023
  •  Associated Safety Professional (ASP), BCSP (Board of Certified Safety Professionals), 2023
  • American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Member
  • Graduate Supervisor Institute (10 modules) Memorial University (MUN) and Athabasca University, October 2020-July 2021.
  • Research Fellowship (8 modules), Mashhad University, Jan 2019-July 2019.
  • Teaching Fellowship (7 modules), Mashhad University, Jan 2019-July 2019.
  • 2023, 22, 21 The World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University & Elsevier Study Report.
  • 2020 School of Graduate Studies Scholarship, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN).
  • 2020 Centre for Risk, Integrity and Safety Engineering (C-RISE) Scholarship, MUN.
  • 2019 Performance Award for "Practice-oriented Teaching Excellence", Mashhad University.
  • 2017and 2016 Performance awards for "Outstanding Research”, Ministry of Health Education.
  • 2016 Dean Award for "Excellent Academic Performance” Hamedan University.
  • 2005-2014 Ministry of Health Education Scholarship for all degrees from A.Sc. to Ph.D.