Prof.  Malla’s main research and teaching experiences are in the areas of structural mechanics, dynamics and vibration. His research encompasses structures on earth as well as in space (orbital and lunar).  He has worked on varieties of research topics in the areas of  mechanics, including dynamics of space station and solar panels, studies of water processing packed bed for space station application, lunar habitats, percussive dynamic pentrometer for planetary exploration, fiber optics sensors, mechanics of subgrade soils, bridge expansion joint sealing and monitoring, and small-scale environmetally friendly renewable hydropower harvesting system. Under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Initiation grant award in 1991, he initiated the study of dynamic effects of member failure in trusses. His research on dynamic and thermal effects on orbital structures was funded by the Connecticut Innovation Incorporated during 1993-95. During his 1993 summer fellowship at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center, Cleavland, OH,  he investigated the response of the Short Spacer Truss using a probabilistic approach.  During 1997-2000, the NCHRP-IDEA program of the National Academy of Sciences provided research grant to Dr. Malla to  investigate the use of a special optical fiber for weigh-in-motion system. His research related to the on-orbit dynamics of space station and solar panels, space station water processing granular beds, lunar habitats, and percussive dynamics pentrometer for planetory exploration have received support from federal agencies and industry, including NASA Headquarters, NASA EPSCoR program, Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc., and Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanism Systems Coporation.  His research projects on the mechanics of subgrade soils and bridge expansion joint sealant during 2005-2011 have been funded by the New England Transportation Consortium. His research on small-scale environmentally friendly renewable hydropower harvesting system received funding from eGen LLC. 

Dr. Malla was appointed to the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Connecticut as a Visiting faculty in 1985 and is now a full Professor. He served as the Associate Head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering from July 1998 to May 2006. He also served as the Graduate Programs Director of the Department from January 1998 through June 2006.  He played the key role to establish the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1991, and served on the position of the University of Connecticut Campus Director of the Consortium for the first 9 years (1991-2000.)  He is an active member of American Society of Civil Engineergs (ASCE), American Society of Mechanics Engieers (ASME), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA, Associate Fellow),  American Academy of Mechanics (AAM), and International Design for Extreme Environment Association (IDEEA-USA, founding member). He is the Founding President  of the American Society of Nepalese Engineers (ASNEngr, 2007- present).  Prof. Malla has served on several ASCE technical Committees including committees on Dynamics and Controls (founding chair), Lunar Base Structures, Special Structures (control group), Double Layer Grids, and dynamics of latticed structures. He served as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the ASCE Aerospace Division (2001-2002).  He also serves on the AIAA Structural Dyanmics Technical Committee. He has contributed in organizing more than 40 national and international conferences, has chaired/organized more than 70 technical sessions, and has served as reviewer for several books, research proposals, and national and international journals. He served as the Genearal Chair of  the 9th Biennial ASCE Aerospace Division  International Conferences on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments in 2004 (Earth & Space 2004) as well as the 10th Biennial ASCE Aerospace Division International Conferences on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments (Earth & Space 2006) and the 2nd NASA/ARO/ASCE Workshop on Granular Materials in Lunar and Martian Exploration in  2006. He also seved as the Technical Program Chair, 51^st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference in 2010.. Prof. Malla has more than 130 technical publications, has edited an ASCE special volume entitled “Dynamics and Progressive Failure of Special Structures,” and the proceedings of the ASCE  Earth & Space 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016  conferneces.  In addition, he has served on editorial boards of  more than 5 conference proceedings. He served as an Associate Editor of the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets for six year (January 1996 to December 2001.)  He has served / is serving  on the Editorial Board member of the ASCE Journal of Aerospace Engineering and the International Journal of Space Structures. He  received the honor to serve as the Guest Editor for the April 1998 Special Issue of the Journal of Aerospace Engineering. He has received several other honors, regcognitions and awards including the 2005 Outstanding Professional Service Award of the ASCE Aerospace Division and Official Citation form the State of Connecticut General Assembly for significant voluntary support. 

Born and raised in Chhoprak, Gorkha, Nepal, Prof. Malla received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering (First Class with Distinction) from the Indian Institute of Technology , Kanpur, India in 1979; M.S. in Civil Engineering (with concentration in  Geo & Structural mechanics) from the University of Delaware, Newark, DE, U.S.A. in 1981;  and Ph.D. in Civil Engnieering (with concentration in Structural and Applied Mechanics) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA,U.S.A.  in 1986. 

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. 1986 (Structural Mechanics), Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, U.S.A.
M.S. 1981 (Structural Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering), Department of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Delaware., Newark, DE, U.S.A.
B.S. 1979 (Civil Engineering), First Division with Distinction, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India.

EXPERIENCE:
9/1985–Present          Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut
(09/1985-08/1990 — Visiting faculty; 09/1990-08/1996 — Assistant Professor;  07/1998- 05/2006: Associate Head of Department;
09/1996-08/2016 — Associate Professor; 08/2016 – Present — Professor.)
3/1991-4/2000         University of Connecticut Campus Director, NASA/Conn. Space Grant College  Consortium.
8/1998-12/1998          Hamilton Standard Space Systems International, Inc., Windsor Locks, CT (Sabbatical Leave)
6-7/92&6-8/1993     Summer visiting faculty, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH.
2/1981-1/1983           Structural Engineer, United Engineers & Constructors, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.