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Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for February
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Seismic Performance of Concrete Bridges with Advanced Materials
Thu, Feb 04, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. M. "Saiid" Saiidi, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universtiy of Nevada, Reno, NevadaAbstract:
Advanced materials such as shape memory alloys (SMAs) and fiber-reinforced polymers offer particular characteristics that could substantially improve the performance of civil infrastructure components and systems. A study on the performance of reinforced concrete members utilizing superelastic SMA bars in lieu of steel reinforcement has been in progress at the University of Nevada, Reno in the past nine years. Simple beam-column systems and a 110ft. long, 4-span bridge model made using SMA-reinforcement were tested under slow cyclic load and shake table test to simulate earthquakes. The bridge superstructure was supported on three, two-column piers and each column utilized a different advanced material/detail at its most critical column plastic hinges. The study is part of a extensive study funded by the National Science Foundation, Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Research. The innovative details included shape memory alloys, fibrous concrete, built-in elastomeric pads, and post-tensioning. They were intended to improve post-earthquake serviceability of bridges. The presentation will discuss the evolution of research leading to the 4-span bridge model test and summarize the highlights of the bridge model performance, analytical studies, and the relative performance of different details.
Dr. M. "Saiid" Saiidi (P.E., Fellow ACI, ASCE) is Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. His major research areas are earthquake engineering of bridges and buildings, experimental studies of bridges and components, analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures, and innovative materials in earthquake resistant structures.Dr. Saiidi has served on various important positions such as department Chair, Director of UNR Office of Undergraduate Research, founding chair of ACI Committee 341. He has more than 400 publications to his credit, and has received many awards including the UNR Foundation Professorship Award in 1997, University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003, Regent's 2003 Outstanding Researcher Award, and the Lemelson Innovation Award in 2004.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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InFORMation inNOVAtion...
Wed, Feb 10, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Researches in Design and Computation, Optioneering through Associative Parametric Design,
Building Information Modeling and Platforms for Design Integration and Analytics Speaker: Dr. David J. Gerber, Assistant USC School of Architecture, Consultant for Gehry Technologies, Inc. Abstract: Architectural design by definition is an ill defined problem computationally; it is multi-objective and pluri-potent. The research trajectories presented address the application of technologies and methodologies to architecture, engineering, and construction problems in the building, building systems and urban design arenas. These technologies include associative parametric modeling, building information modeling, simulation and the advent of design analytic platforms. Intrinsic to the research is that of integration and the leveraging of geometrically and semantically rich higher fidelity models and simulations. Collaboration, communication and the need for rapid design iteration and visualized validation is core to the development of what we term optioneering methodologies and technologies. The research looks deeply into practice based problems and the opportunities for innovating solutions for the problems of design efficiency and fit; of complex system performance, organizational and project; and of overall sustainability. We look at the current problems and cutting edge of optioneering platforms and the future research into design computation integrations. While the advent of geometric and semantic models, i.e., Building Information Modeling has brought about a step wise change to the industry's best practices, researches into the problem of early stage design iteration, design model validation and analytics, and into opportunities for integration remain an essential arena for improvement. Bio: Dr. David Jason Gerber is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at USC. He concurrently consults for Gehry Technologies Inc., a leading Building Information Modeling consultancy and technology company where he was a Vice President. Prior to Gehry Technologies Dr. Gerber lead research and development as a Vice President of Innovation for a US startup acquired by an Indian company in 2008 where he developed a platform for synchronous global BIM collaboration. Dr. Gerber has worked as an architect and consultant in the US, Europe and Asia, for the Steinberg Group, Moshe Safdie, Gehry Technologies, and as a project architect for Zaha Hadid. While working for Zaha Hadid Architects, Dr. Gerber worked on a number of the recently built projects including the contemporary art museum in Cincinnati, the Phaeno Science Museum in Wolfsburg Germany, the Hoenheim terminus in Strasbourg and a number of well published un-built projects. He was project architect and project manager for the One North masterplan in Singapore where in conjunction he invented and developed a technology platform for managing design iteration and the invention of an associative parametric urbanism methodology. The platform was a technology to manage and visualize design and engineering cause and effect. Upon delivery of the project which included 5 million square meters of planned gross floor area he pursued his doctoral research at Harvard University. His doctoral research, Parametric Practices: Models for Design Exploration in Architecture, focused on associative parametric design technology and its affect on design, theory, processes, and contemporary practice. Publications of his design work and research have been included in "Young Blood," AD (2001); "Corporate Fields," AA Publications (2005); and in Interactive Cities, Hyx Publications (2006). He published a Harvard University book The Parametric Affect: Computation, Innovation and Models for Design Exploration in Contemporary Architectural Practice (2009). Most recently he authored the feature article for the Journal of Building Information Modeling titled: BIM as a Risk Management Platform Enabling Integrated Practice and Delivery. He has held appointments at MIT's Media Lab as a research fellow, as well as numerous teaching and research fellowships at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and as Harvard University's Frederick Sheldon Fellow. He has been full time faculty at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), a lecturer at the Architectural Association's Design Research Laboratory in London, a lecturer at UCLA and has been a guest speaker and critic at Harvard, MIT Innsbruck University, and the EPFL Switzerland. At SCI-Arc and USC he instructed and instructs courses in the Applied Sciences and studios in design, design computation, AEC technologies, and fabrication, emphasizing associative parametric design strategies and Building Information Modeling as a means of design exploration and realization. He is an invited lecturer at Stanford University's Center for Integrated Facility Engineering and CEE department. At USC Dr. Gerber has taught courses in the CEE department on Building Information Modeling. He has lectured globally on the topics of associative parametric design, design and computation, and speaks to industry associations on the implications of BIM and technology on the AEC industry. Dr. Gerber holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California Berkeley (1996), a Master of Architecture from the Architectural Association DRL in London (2000) Master of Design Studies (2003) and Doctor of Design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2007).
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Environmental Photochemistry of a-Ketocarboxylic Acids
Wed, Feb 17, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Marcelo I. Guzman, Ph.D., Origins Postdoctoral Fellow - Environmental Chemistry Group, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard UniversityAbstract: The reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle has been proposed as a candidate mechanism for carbon fixation and energy storage at the time life originated. An intriguing search is for a chemical pathway to start the rTCA cycle from inorganic precursor compounds. In this seminar, the reaction of CO2 with a-ketocarboxylic acids in order to produce metabolites of the rTCA cycle will be presented. The reactions are promoted by irradiated zinc sulfide (200 to 400 nm light) that serves as a model system for colloidal mineral semiconductors present on early Earth. The results describe a plausible production scheme on early Earth for the compounds of the rTCA cycle (i.e., through a series of non-enzymatic cascading reactions starting from CO2).A second focus of the presentation will be on the direct photochemistry of pyruvic acid, a representative a-ketocarboxylic acids present in tropospheric aerosol. Model organic aerosol matter is produced via photoinduced and thermal reactions. The low volatility products have optical and structural properties reminiscent of environmental aerosol samples. The studies aim to understand the daily cycles of aerosol absorption observed in the field, and that may introduce a key feedback in the Earth's radiative balance.
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 (On Webex. Call for more information)
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Ports 101: How the Port Operates and its Relationship to the...
Wed, Feb 24, 2010 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
... Regional, National and International EconomySpeaker: Dr. Robert G. Kanter, Managing Director of Environmental Affairs and Planning for the Port of Long Beach, California. Abstract:The Port of Long Beach is the second largest Port in North America. Combined with its neighbor, Los Angeles, the San Pedro Bay Port complex is the fifth largest Port complex in the world. The value of commodities passing through the Long Beach Port is in excess of $140 billion. The Port supports over 300 thousand jobs in the greater five County region including Los Angeles. The presentation will cover the governance structure of the Port, land use planning, and operational features, as well as environmental initiatives.Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 ( available on Webex upon request)
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes