Research Interests
Behavior of Structural Systems, with particular emphasis on:
- Earthquake Resistant Design and Dynamic Response of Structures
- Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Steel Bridges
- Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Steel Buildings
- Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings
- Ultimate Behavior of Steel, Metal and Advanced Composite Structures
- Behavior of Guyed-Towers, Cable Structures, Long-Span and Tall Structures.
Research Grants
Following is a brief list of agencies which have provided research grants or specimen
donations for the conduct of the some of the research projects listed above.
- National Sciences Foundation
- National Sciences Foundation (through MCEER)
- Federal Highway Administration (through MCEER)
- New York State
- National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Structural Steel Education Foundation
- Nippon Steel
- WorkSafe Technologies
- CANRON and CANAM MANAC steel fabricators
- Ontario Concrete Block Association and Ontario Brick Layers Union (donation of material
and labour)
- National Research Council of Canada
- Public Works Canada
- Ontario Ministry of Transportation
- University of Ottawa (various sources)
- National Capital Commission (donation of existing steel beam-column semi-rigid
assemblies taken from demolished historical building)
- Morrison Molded Fiberglass (donation of fiberglass structural shapes)
The first two sponsors on that list (NSF and FHWA) are particularly acknowledged for their considerable
and sustained support since 1998 through the following grants:
- Supplemental Award to Conduct Reconnaissance Study of World Trade Center Disaster
- George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Equipment Grant,
Versatile High-Performance Shake-Tables Facility towards Real-Time Seismic Hybrid Testing, and
Large-Scale High Performance Testing Facility towards Real-Time Seismic Hybrid Testing, jointly with
Drs. A. Reinhorn, M. Constantinou, A. Whittaker, and S. Thevanayagam (UB)
- Research Grants providing continuing support for research activities on the seismic
evaluation and retrofit of steel structures, and development of metallic-based passive
energy dissipation strategies
The fourth sponsor on that list (NSERC) is particularly acknowledged for it considerable
and sustained support from 1990-1998 through the following grants:
- Major Installation Grant: Pseudo-dynamic Testing Facility
- Strategic Grant on Seismic Performance of Existing Bridges, jointly with Drs. W.D.L.
Finn (UBC), D. Mitchell (McGill), M. Saatcioglu (U.Ottawa), R. Sexsmith (UBC)
- Research Grants providing continuing support for research activities on the seismic
evaluation and retrofit of existing structures
- NSERC Seed Funding/University-Industry Research
Reconnaissance Visits to Disaster Stricken Areas
On-site observation and study of structural damage for:
- World Trade Center towers and buildings near Ground Zero, New York City, September 11, 2001.
- Taiwan 921 (ChiChi) earthquake of September 21, 1999, Richter Magnitude 7.6.
- Kocaeli (Izmit) Turkey earthquake of August 17, 1999, Richter Magnitude 7.4.
- Hyogoken Nanbu (Kobe, Japan) earthquake of January 17, 1995, Richter Magnitude 7.2.
- Northridge (Los Angeles) earthquake of January 17, 1994, Richter Magnitude 6.6.
- Erzincan, Turkey, earthquake of March 13, 1992, Richter Magnitude 6.8.
- San Francisco/Oakland/Santa Cruz/ Hollister/Los Gatos/Watsonville, Loma Prieta
earthquake of October 17, 1989, Ritcher Magnitude 7.1.
- Mexico City, Mexico, earthquake of September 19, 1985, Ritcher Magnitude 8.1.
- Morgan Hill, California, U.S.A., earthquake, 1984, Richter Magnitude 6.2.
See publication list for the numerous reports of those
activities.
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (1984- )
- Member, Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering (1994- )
- Member, Canadian Society of Civil Engineering (1981- )
- Member, American Society of Civil Engineering (1985- )
- Member, The Masonry Society (1992-1997)
- Registered Professional Engineer, Province of Ontario (1988- )
Committee Participation
Code-writing committees
- Member, Building Seismic Safety
Commission, NEHRP Recommended Provisions Update Committee, Technical
Subcommittee 6 on Steel Structures (2001 - now), Corresponding member (1998 -
2000).
- Corresponding Member, AISC Task
Committee 9, Seismic Design (2001 - now).
- Research Team Member, NCHRP 12-49 Comprehensive Specification for the Seismic Design of Bridges (1998 - 2001).
- Member, CSA-S16.1 Standard, Limit States Design (LSD) of Steel Structures, Seismic Task-Group (1998 -
now),
and Composite Columns Task-Group (1998 - now).
- Member Seismic Committee of Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (1994 -
now).
Technical Review committees
- Member of Peace Bridge Technical Jury Committee (2005)
- Member of Steering Committee,
ATC-58 FEMA-Funded Project to Develop Performance-Based Seismic Design
Guidelines, Applied Technology Council (2002-now).
- Member of Editorial Board, Journal
of Earthquake Engineering (2002-now).
- Member of Editorial Board, Journal
of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibrations (2002-now).
- Member, FHWA Panel on Guidelines
for Seismic Performance Testing of Bridge Piers (2002-now).
- Member, FHWA Seismic Virtual-Team
(2001- now).
- Member of NCHRP Project Panel, NCHRP 12-54 Integral Connections of Modern Steel Bridge Structures (1999-2002)
- Member of International Scientific Committee, Fifth International
Conference on Behaviour of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas, Yokohama,
Japan, 2006 (2004-now).
- Member of International Advisory Committee, 7th International Conference
on Short & Medium Span Bridges, Montreal, Canada, 2006 (2004-now).
- Member of Steering Committee, 5th National Seismic Conference and
Workshop for Bridges and Highways, San Francisco, 2006 (2005-now).
- Member of International Advisory Committee, 1st Canadian Conference on
Effective Design of Structures, Hamilton, Canada, 2005 (2004-now).
- Member of Scientific Committee,
Advances in Experimental Structural Engineering Conference, Nagoya, Japan,
2005 (2003-now).
- Member of International Advisory
Committee, Full-Scale CFT Frame Testing and International Workshop on Steel
and Concrete Composite Construction, Taipei, Taiwan (2003.
- Member of International Advisory Committee, Australian Conference on
Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Perth, Australia, Dec. 2004
(2003-now).
- Member of International Scientific Committee, 4th International
Conference on Behavior of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas, Naples, Italy,
(2001-2003).
- Member of Steering Committee, 7th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (1999-2002)
- Member of Technical Committee, 4th National Seismic Conference and
Workshop for Bridges and Highways, Memphis, Tennessee, Feb. 2004.
- Member of Steering Committee, 3rd National Seismic Conference and Workshop on Bridges and Highways, Portland (2001-2002)
- Member of International Scientific Committee and Organizing Committee, 3rd International Conference
on Behavior of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas, Montréal, Canada (1999-2000)
- Member of Technical Committee, 8th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Vancouver, Canada (1998-99)
- Member of Program Committee, 8th North American Masonry Conference, Austin, Texas (1998-99)
Other committees
- Corresponding Member, American Institute of Steel Construction Blast and
Impact Resistant Design Committee, Research Interest Task Group (BIRDC RITG),
(2004 - now).
- Member, Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee AFF50 - Seismic
Design of Bridges, (2000-now).
- Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Steel Bridge Committee, (1993 - 1999).
- Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Seismic Committee, (1999-now).
- Member Faculty of Admitted University, Consortium of Universities for Research
in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE) (2000 - now).
- Member, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Meetings and Conferences Committee, (1999-now).
- Corresponding Member, Research Committee of the Structural Engineers Association of
Northern California (SEAONC), (1993).
- Associate Member, American Concrete Institute ACI-ASCE Committee 442 (Response of
Concrete Buildings to Lateral Forces) (1992-95).
- International Association of Spatial Structures (IASS), Working Group 4, Guyed Masts and
Towers (1990-95).
Awards
- 2005 J. James Croes Medal of the ASCE (awarded to authors of the paper,
among all journals published by ASCE, that is judged worthy of special
commendation for its merit as a contribution to engineering science).
- Top 100 Grantees/Principal
Investigators Award/Recognition, University
at Buffalo, 2002-now.
- Honorable Mention (2nd place) for Gzowski Medal, for best paper
in the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering in 1996.
- Pratley Award for best paper in bridge engineering in the
Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering in 1996.
- Nominated by University of Ottawa for 1997 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council (NSERC) E.W. R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship.
- First recipient of University of Ottawa Young Researcher Award, 1996, awarded to best
young researcher at the University of Ottawa.
- 1996 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research, awarded to best researcher of
the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Engineering.
- Young Researcher Award 1996, awarded (for first time in 1996) to best young researcher
at the University of Ottawa.
- Gzowski Medal, for best paper in the Canadian Journal of Civil
Engineering in 1994.
- Japanese Society for Promotion of Sciences/Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council Bilateral Exchange Program - funding a 6 month research visit to Japan, 1995 (an
equivalent award by the Japan Sciences Technology Fund had to be declined since both
awards could not be held concurrently).
- CSCE/JSCE Japan Travel Grant, to visit engineering firms and research institutes, 1994.
- Technology Inflow Program Award, Industrial Research Assistance Program, National
Research Council of Canada, 1988.
- Industrial Research Fellowship - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada, 1987-90.
- 1967 Science and Engineering Scholarship - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada, 1983-87.
- Giar Award - Sigma-Xi Scientific Society, 1986.
- W.H. & I.S. Popert Research Fellowship - U.C. Berkeley, 1985 & 1987.
- Prix d'Excellence de l'Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec - Ordre des Ingénieurs du
Québec, 1983.
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses
- Structural Steel Design (CIE-428) (University at Buffalo)
- Structural Steel Design I (CVG-3142) (University of Ottawa)
- Structural Steel Design II (CVG-4143) (University of Ottawa)
- Résistance des Matériaux I (CVG-2540) (University of Ottawa)
Graduate courses
- Metal Structures (CIE-524) (University at Buffalo)
- Plastic Analysis and Design (CIE-521) (University at Buffalo)
- Earthquake Engineering (CVG-5155) (University of Ottawa)
- Advanced Structural Steel Design (CVG-5143) (University of Ottawa)
- Computer Methods for Linear and Non-linear Structural Analysis (CVG-6318) (University of Ottawa)
Miscellaneous Activities
Honestly, one life to live is not enough. So many things to do!
If you can't find me, I am either involved in one of the above activities (research,
consulting, teaching, graduate students supervision, etc.), stuck in meetings, performing
some administrative duty, acting as a referee for a granting agency, reviewing papers for
the benefit of technical journals (such as the American Society of Civil Engineers
Structural Journal, the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, etc.), participating in
public code reviews, giving a talk at a conference (see publication list), working on some
personal project, gone out to lunch, giving short courses/workshops to professional
engineers, acting as a guest speaker, or one of many more other possibilities such as
trying to have a normal family life.
Invited lectures (outside of conferences) have been frequently given on various topics
of general interest in earthquake engineering to various groups, such as:
- New York State Disaster
Preparedness Commission
- National Academy of Sciences,
National Research Council
- Army Corps of Engineers
- California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS)
- American Society of Civil Engineering
- Public Works Canada, Parliamentary Precinct, Emergency Preparedness Canada, National
Research Council, Department of National Defence, Geological Survey of Canada, and other
governmental agencies.
- Structural Steel Educators Foundation
- Canadian Society of Civil Engineers
- Canadian Institute of Steel Construction
- American Concrete Institute
- Building Owners and Managers Association of Ottawa-Carleton.
- Departments of Civil Engineering at various Universities (e.g. Cornell
University, University of Minnesota,
Brooklyn Polytechnic University, Kyoto University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ecole Polytechnique,
Osaka University, Nagoya University, Clarkson, etc. and obviously the State University of New York
at Buffalo and the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for
Graduate Studies in Civil Engineering.
- University at Buffalo Dean’s
Council, UB Council, and UB Foundation Council
The performance of structures as observed during earthquake reconnaissance visits is a
frequently requested topic for those presentations.
Books
TECHNICAL BOOK
FICTION 
Please note that I receive many letters and emails from individuals who would like to participate in
research activities under my supervision, either as graduate students, post-doctoral students, or visiting professors.
Feel free to forward me such information, but note that, due to time constraints and the high volume of
correspondence received, I am unable to acknowledge reception and/or reply to these letters. However, I will definitely contact
you should I find your specific skills and availability appropriate and timely as opportunities arise.
Research Interests
Research Grants
Reconnaissance Visits to
Disaster Stricken Areas
Professional Affiliations