- Visit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- Apply to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- Give to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Search Form
Structural engineering research.
Research in structural engineering at UNL is conducted in various state-of-the-art facilities, including the Structural Engineering High-Bay Facility in Scott Engineering Center (SEC), the Structures & Materials Research Laboratory in the Peter Kiewit Institute (PKI), the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility in Whittier Research Center, the Nondestructive Testing Lab in PKI, the Structural Dynamics & Nondestructive Testing Lab in Whittier Research Center (soon to be SEC), and the Mobile Infrastructure Assessment Lab.
Structural Engineering
Ronald Faller
Daniel Linzell
Andrew Loken
Logan Perry
Chungwook Sim
Joshua Steelman
Christine Wittich
Richard L. Wood
Jinying Zhu
Structural Engineering and Mechanics
UW CEE structural engineers perform innovative research across a wide range of topics using experimental, numerical and analytical techniques. The diverse expertise of the structural engineering research group provides unique opportunities for research. Current research projects are aimed at improving the resiliency of structures against earthquake, tsunami and wind hazards; creating more durable materials; modeling, evaluation and design of reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, steel, timber and composite structures; improving the sustainability of structures and designs for rapidly constructed structures; enhanced structural systems for marine and aerospace environments; and developing computational mechanics tools for numerical modeling of complex physical phenomena, including the structural behavior of turbine blades as they interact with the surrounding fluid media. Faculty are closely engaged with the professional engineering community and their research is consequently implemented in practice.
The structural research laboratories provide capabilities for multi-scale experimental studies of component or system response to complex loading scenarios. Advanced computing capabilities enable the development of state-of-the-art models of seismic structural response, large-scale fluid-structure and soil-structure interactions, and complex computational mechanics, among other topics.
Research topics
- Reinforced and prestressed concrete structures Faculty involved: Paolo Calvi , Marc Eberhard , Dawn Lehman , Laura Lowes , Travis Thonstad
- Concrete engineering using advanced or recycled materials including use of 3D printing Faculty involved: Paolo Calvi , Dawn Lehman , John Stanton , Travis Thornstad
- Steel and composite structures Faculty involved: Jeff Berman , Dawn Lehman , Charles Roeder
- Earthquake engineering Faculty involved: Jeff Berman , Paolo Calvi , Marc Eberhard , Dawn Lehman , Laura Lowes , Charles Roeder , John Stanton , Travis Thonstad
- Tsunami engineering Faculty involved: Marc Eberhard , Dawn Lehman , Michael Motley
- Accelerated bridge construction Faculty involved: Paolo Calvi , Marc Eberhard , Dawn Lehman , Charles Roeder , John Stanton , Travis Thonstad
- Advanced numerical simulation and computational mechanics Faculty involved: Laura Lowes , Peter Mackenzie-Helnwein , Gregory Miller , Michael Motley , Richard Wiebe
- Aerospace structures Faculty involved: Richard Wiebe
Student research
Attaching light rail to a floating bridge.
Researchers: Master’s student Kristina Tsvetanova, alumni Travis Thonstad and Matthew Sisley
Light rail will cross a floating bridge for the first time in the world when construction is completed on Sound Transit’s East Link Extension Project in 2023. The engineering feat is possible thanks to a team of researchers, including master’s student Kristina Tsvetanova (shown here), and former students Travis Thonstad and Matthew Sisley, who are collaborating with consultants to test various features of the system, which has never before been implemented. Since not a single hole is allowed on the bridge deck, engineers developed a solution to connect light rail tracks to the bridge without the use of traditional methods such as bolts. Tsvetanova is leading the team conducting tests on the final prototype, which consists of a complex “sandwich” of different materials to connect the rails to the bridge deck.
Sustainable Earthquake Resilient Buildings
Researchers: Sarah Wichman, master’s student
Building high-rises that are both earthquake resilient and sustainable is the goal of a team of researchers from across the country, including master’s student Sarah Wichman. The researchers paired a new type of sustainable building material with a rocking wall system, which allows walls to rock back and forth during an earthquake. The rocking wall concept, now quite widely copied throughout the industry, was originally developed at the UW in the 1990s. During a large-scale test of the system, Wichman oversaw the installation and testing of the rocking walls. The researchers found no significant damage to a two-story prototype after 14 earthquake simulations. The research may one day inform the next generation of buildings constructed in earthquake zones.
Excellence in teaching
The Structural Engineering faculty members hold teaching to be an important part of their work, and have a long record of excellence in teaching. Two faculty hold University Distinguished Teaching Awards, another has won the Departmental Teaching Award more frequently than anyone else, and two more have recently achieved “perfect” teaching ratings from their classes.
Laboratories
The following laboratories feature equipment that structural engineers utilize to conduct research:
- Large-scale Structural Research Laboratory
- Structural Creep Laboratory
- Structural Vibrations Laboratory
- X-ray Computed Tomography Laboratory
- Construction Materials Laboratory
Centers headquarter research on specific themes and act as hubs connecting faculty and students with resources to support research, education and outreach activities. Researchers are affiliated with the following centers:
- NHERI RAPID Post-Disaster Rapid Response Research Facility (led by UW CEE)
- Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (led by UW CEE)
- FHWA Accelerated Bridge Construction Center (led by Florida International University)
Degree programs
- Structural Engineering & Mechanics Master’s Program
- Structural Engineering & Mechanics Ph.D. Program
Latest news
Research highlights.
CEE teams collaborate with Seattle and Tacoma partners to tackle toxic runoff and enhance bridge safety.
A timber triumph: Seismically resilient and sustainable
CEE researchers including Professor Jeffrey Berman and Ph.D. student Sarah Wichman test a sustainable and seismically resilient 10-story mass timber building designed to withstand Seattle earthquakes.
Capstone collaborations
Learn about a capstone project undertaken by CEE students to design an evacuation structure for lahar and tsunami events in the City of Fife.
Op-ed: Prepare wisely for earthquakes
Co-authors and professors Jeffrey Berman and Marc Eberhard point out that Seattle area faults are not unlike those in Turkey — and thousands of older buildings are still vulnerable.
- Tools & Services
- Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering
- Civil and Construction Engineering
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering
- Nuclear Science and Engineering
- Biological & Ecological Engineering
- Alumni & Partners
Structural Research
The structural engineering faculty members in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering have an interest in structural analysis and seismic related issues. Faculty specialize in design and experimental studies, structural mechanics, dynamics, computer application, numerical modeling, laboratory testing, and probabilistic methods applied to engineering problems (risk and reliability).
In recent years the teams research projects have been supported by the National Science Foundation, Oregon Department of Transportation, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Naval Research. Collaborative work has been developed with researchers at Lehigh University, Cornell University, the Transportation Ministry (Japan), and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Researchers also belong to the Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering and are affiliated with with the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.
Structural Engineering Research Laboratory (Strong Floor)
Many structural engineering research projects take advantage of Oregon State University's large scale structural strong floor. This facility is the second largest structural testing floor on the West Coast and allows researchers to simulate earthquakes and forces up to one million pounds and frames up to two stories high. The floor is steel-reinforced concrete five feet thick, with massive bolts and anchors to which materials can be attached and their strength tested. The facility has recently been used for studies of bridge cracking that have been undertaken on behalf of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Of the states 1800 bridges constructed in the 1950's, 500 have been identified as cracked. Replacement and repair costs could cost several billion dollars. Oregon State researchers are developing modeling tools and data banks to forecast how the cracked bridges will perform over time, develop ways to assess bridge reliability, and identify repair options.
- Learn more about the strong floor
Wood Structures Lab
Much of the experimental research is conducted at the Gene D. Knudson Wood Engineering Laboratory in the Department of Wood Science and Engineering in Richardson Hall on the Oregon State campus. A 3000 square-foot high-bay facility with 12-foot high L-shaped reaction wall and 60x40 foot reaction floor to accommodate dynamic testing of large wood components and structural systems. It is equipped with servo-hydraulic test systems as well as specialized fixtures.
Many graduate students have been and are involved in dual-major master's or doctoral degree programs in the two programs, and complete one thesis or dissertation on wood structures or wood mechanics as their joint research effort.
Andre R. Barbosa, Ph.D., P.E. (Portugal)
1-541-737-7291
Erica Fischer
541-737-0093
Christopher Higgins
541-737-8869
(541) 737-1552
Kenny Martin
(541) 737-2057
Thomas Miller
(541) 737-3322
Michael Scott
(541) 737-6996
Farahnaz Soleimani
1-541-737-7168
Solomon Yim
1-541-737-6894
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Civil Engineering Studies: Structural Research Series
Add child collection, edit properties, change collection membership, change unit membership.
I don't have an Illinois NetID
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Aiming at disclosing a general research landscape of structural engineering in the twenty-first century, this study applies the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), a topic modeling approach, to analyze 51,346 article abstracts from 23 prestigious journals in structural engineering with a publication period from 2000 to 2020.
One of the oldest and most respected periodicals in the field, the Journal of Structural Engineering has a history of reporting on fundamental knowledge that advances the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in structural engineering. Authors discuss the art and science of structural modeling and design; develop, apply and interpret the results of novel analytical, computational and ...
Structural analysis, design, and dynamics | Explore the latest full-text research PDFs, articles, conference papers, preprints and more on STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING. Find methods information, sources ...
Structural engineering focuses on the design and analysis of physical systems to safely withstand natural and man-made forces. Structural engineers often work together collaboratively with other engineering disciplines to design large civil infrastructure, such as buildings, roadways, bridges, water treatment facilities, dams, and many others.
The structural research laboratories provide capabilities for multi-scale experimental studies of component or system response to complex loading scenarios. Advanced computing capabilities enable the development of state-of-the-art models of seismic structural response, large-scale fluid-structure and soil-structure interactions, and complex ...
Proceedings of the Research Frontiers Sessions of the 2007 Structures Congress, held in Long Beach, California, May 16-19, 2007. Sponsored by the Structural Engineering Institute of the ASCE. ... including tall buildings; collapse simulation and experimental studies for reinforced concrete buildings; large-scale testing using E-Defense and NEES ...
Advances in Structural Engineering was established in 1997 and has become one of the major peer-reviewed journals in the field of structural engineering. To better fulfil the mission of the journal, we have recently decided to launch two new features for the journal: (a) invited review papers providing an in-depth exposition of a topic of significant current interest; (b) short papers ...
Explore the field of structural research at Oregon State University's College of Engineering. Discover the latest advancements, projects, and research initiatives related to structural engineering and materials. ... The facility has recently been used for studies of bridge cracking that have been undertaken on behalf of the Oregon Department of ...
The combined mass of new and old frames can attract higher seismic loads as a disadvantage to efficiency. Reducing structural system mass is an indirect approach in structural system-based retrofitting. The mass of the structural system directly affects the angular frequency value.
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password using the forgot-password link below.