Structural Engineering
What gives an engineer confidence to project and build something as large and graceful as the Golden Gate Bridge (the creation of late Purdue professor Charles A. Ellis) knowing that it has to withstand the demands of gravity, wind, and earthquakes?
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California
Why did Gaudi think of the Sagrada Familia “upside-down” before he started building it?
The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain (inverted model on the left, actual structure on the right)
Who decides how much reinforcing steel goes into a reinforced concrete column supporting 100 floors in a skyscraper? And how do they make that decision?
How far apart can we place the supports of steel girders in our bridges?
If these questions spark your interest, if you would like to test to failure structural models in one of the largest laboratories in the country, then structural engineering is the right career choice for you. Join Purdue’s School Civil Engineering and enroll in structural engineering courses to leave a mark that will benefit and inspire many, and last the test of time as the Golden Gate has.
Spotlights
March 21, 2023
Bechtel Corp. recently presented its Innovation of the Year award to Bowen Laboratory at Purdue University for its contributions to a large-scale government project. The award recognizes proven innovations that have delivered unprecedented results within the company’s execution model.
March 1, 2023
Ayhan Irfanoglu spent his early childhood in the Turkish town of İskenderun, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and an hour’s drive from Antakya, the biblical city of Antioch. Returning to his home country following the series of massive earthquakes on Feb. 6 that have killed over 50,000 people, Irfanoglu says the devastation is overwhelming. But the Purdue University professor remains steadfast in his mission as a civil and structural engineer.
February 14, 2023
Ayhan Irfanoglu, Professor and Associate Head of the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, will be surveying the impact of the recent earthquake in Turkey this week with an advance reconnaissance team dispatched jointly by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association (GEER).
February 10, 2023
Several CE structures faculty members comment on the recent devastation caused by a massive earthquake that struck parts of Turkey and Syria on Monday, including Professor and Associate Head Ayhan Irfanoglu, a native of Turkey, who will join in a student-led humanitarian effort taking place this afternoon from 3:30-6:30pm in WALC 1132.
February 8, 2023
CE alumnus Ron Klemencic, Chairman and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, will present the next Dennis & Leslie Drag Distinguished Lecture, titled "Research to Realization," on Thursday, February 16th, 2023 at 4:30pm in ARMS B061.
January 4, 2023
Robert J. Frosch, professor of civil engineering, will become vice provost for academic facilities, a newly created position, effective January 9th. In the position, Frosch will work closely with all academic units and the Office of Administrative Operations to advance facilities for faculty and student success.
September 15, 2022
The Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. Applicants who have a strong interest and expertise in the structural engineering area of hardened infrastructure are of particular interest.
September 1, 2022
CE alumnus Ron Klemencic and Professor Amit Varma have worked together to design and test a concrete-filled, composite steel-plate shear wall core system for high-rise construction – dubbed SpeedCore – with the benefit of speeding construction by as much as 43% over a traditional cast-in-place reinforced-concrete core design
August 26, 2022
The 21st Annual Paul Zia Distinguished Lecture, “Design and Construction of the Rainier Square Redevelopment Project,” will be presented on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Presenters include Ron Klemencic (BSCE 1985), PE, SE, Hon AIA, chairman and CEO, Magnusson Klemencic Associates and Dr. Amit Varma, Ph.D., Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering and director of the Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research.
June 28, 2022
A group of CE grad students advised by Associate Professor Mohammad Jahanshahi placed among the top of team entrants at the 2nd International Competition for Structural Health Monitoring. Tarutal Ghosh Mondal, Abhishek Subedi, Wen Tang, and Rih-Teng Wu placed third in the Project 1 category, while Mondal, Tang and Wu took second place in the Project 2 category.
June 21, 2022
Shirley Dyke, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering, delivered keynote lectures at both the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference on June 1st and the 8th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring on June 6th.
June 13, 2022
CE graduate student Yu-Ting Huang received the second place award in the best student paper competition by the ASCE Structural Health Monitoring and Control Committee at the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Conference 2022.
April 28, 2022
Robert J. Frosch is senior associate dean of the College of Engineering, executive director of strategic initiatives in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research & Partnerships and professor of civil engineering.
April 27, 2022
With interest rising worldwide in new technologies that are reliable and carbon-free, Purdue and Duke Energy intend to study power produced through Small Modular Reactors, a move that may be unprecedented for a college campus and a potential fit for Purdue's energy needs.
April 19, 2022
Shirley Dyke, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2022 George W. Housner Structural Control & Monitoring Medal, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
April 7, 2022
Mohammad Jahanshahi's research involves developing artificial intelligence algorithms for damage detection on smart structures.
January 18, 2022
The vulnerability of existing civil infrastructure to natural hazards presents one of the greatest risks to life, safety and property that the world faces today. It also impacts the resiliency and sustainability of communities.
December 7, 2021
Can computer modeling and simulation be used to predict and mitigate infrastructure failure? CE‘s Arun Prakash pairs these tools with “digital twins” that constantly update the structure’s condition to detect structural damage and evaluate performance.
December 7, 2021
Via Medium, CE‘s Robert J. Frosch discusses infrastructure failures and the need for regular forensic investigations to help prevent such tragedies as the June 2021 Surfside condominium collapse.
August 26, 2021
Amit H. Varma, Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Bowen Laboratory of Large-Scale CE Research at Purdue University's Lyles School of Civil Engineering, and his former student Zhichao Lai, Professor at Fuzhou University in China, have received the 2021 Alfred Noble Prize awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers for their paper, "High Strength Rectangular CFT Members: Database, Modeling, and Design of Short Columns."
