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| UCSD Structural Engineering |
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Upcoming Events |
Structural Engineering Class of 2009
UCSD's Structural Engineering Department offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees. Our programs and curricula provide education and training through a holistic approach to structural engineering, by emphasizing and building on the commonality in materials, mechanics, and analysis considerations across the disciplines of civil, aerospace, and marine engineering. The program features strong components in laboratory experimentation, basic theory, information technology, and engineering design.
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 Students at COSMOS 2007 |
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News
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Three SE Students Participate in International Earthquake Program
SE Lecturer Lelli Van Den Einde is mentoring three SE undergraduate students as part of the Pacific Rim Applications & Grid Middleware Assembly (PRAGMA) and Pacific Rim Undergraduate Studies (PRIME)programs. Lori Jue and Sabina Piras will be in Taiwan for ten weeks doing research with K.C. Tsai at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) in Taipei. A third student, Jefferson Hang, is headed to New Zealand to work with Prof. Jason Ingham and his colleagues at the University of Auckland's Department of Civil Engineering. To read more about PRIME and PRAGMA, visit http://prime.ucsd.edu/.
Pictured: Top: Jefferson Hang, Sabina Piras and Lori Jue.
Bottom: Dr. Van Den Einde with Jefferson Hang
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Professor Todd Awarded 2009 Benjamin F. Meaker Visiting Professorship
Professor Michael Todd was recently announced as one of the 2009 Benjamin F.. Meaker Visiting Professors by the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) Institute of Advanced Studies (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/ias/fellows/bms09.html). Prof. Todd will work this summer with collaborators in the University of Bristol's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and with his SE graduate student Eric Flynn, on optimizing ultrasonic interrogation strategies for defect detection on complex geometry aerospace structural components. The Meaker Fellowship is awarded to up to ten faculty applicants worldwide each year, drawn from all disciplines in engineering, science, social science, humanities, and the arts, to develop and build research relationships with University of Bristol researchers. Congratulations to Prof. Todd on winning this prestigious award!
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SE Researchers Tested World's First Composite Landing Gear Braces
For the first time, SE researchers have performed tests on landing gear components for the aerospace industry. Hyonny Kim, SE associate professor, and Gianmario Benzoni, SE research scientist and project manager for the Seismic Response Modification Device, are co-PI's on this project. The researchers performed six months of rigorous Federal Aviation Administration tests on the first-ever composite landing gear braces, which will be used for the new Boeing 787 aircraft. To read the full story, click here.
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SE Researcher Named P.I. on Collaborative Effort with DOE and UK
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced numerous accomplishments coming out of a multi-year collaboration in the area of advanced materials research between the United States and the United Kingdom. Dr. Bimal Kad (SE Researcher), along with researchers from the DOE Office of Fossil Energy, the United Kingdom's Department of Energy and Climate Change, and other representatives from academia and industry have been collaborating over the past five years in an attempt to develop a better understanding of advanced materials, a key prerequisite to achieving the targets of any future energy policy. "The success of the US-UK collaboration demonstrates the power of international cooperation in energy research and development," said Dr. Victor K. Der, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. "Sharing data, facilities, and experiences has accelerated the development of high-temperature materials solutions, paving the way for advanced coal power generation." Dr. Kad, the Principle Investigator (PI) for UCSD, is collaborating on this project in the area of Advanced Materials: Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened Alloys. To read more about this collaborative effort, click here.
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SE Student to Compete in Idaho Ford Ironman This Summer
Derrick Watkins, SE Ph.D. student and a "Hilti Fellow," will be competing in the Idaho Ford Ironman on June 21, 2009. Simply competing at this level is an outstanding accomplishment, requiring months of focused training. The "Ironman" events consists of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on a bike, and culminates with a full marathon. SE wishes Derrick best wishes on his latest challenge!
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Two SE Students Awarded "Honorable Mention" from National Science Foundation
SE senior Colin Haynes and graduate student researcher Robert Phillips were recently awarded "Honorable Mention" for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program Awards. Honorable Mention recipients are provided enhanced access to cyberinfrastructure resources, including supercomputing time, through the TeraGrid network. Congratulations to both Haynes and Phillips on this achievement!
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Professor Conte and Co-Workers Awarded 2009 ASCE Moisseiff Award
During the 2009 Structures Congress in Austin, Texas, Professor Conte together with Dr. Michele Barbato (Ph.D. Graduate from UCSD, 2007, and now Assistant Professor at Louisiana Sate University) and Dr. Alessandro Zona (Postgraduate Researcher at UCSD in 2003-2004 and now Assistant Professor at the University of Camerino, Ascoli Piceno, Italy) were awarded the 2009 ASCE Moisseiff Award for their paper “Nonlinear Seismic Response Analysis of Steel-Concrete Composite Frames,” published in the June 2008 issue of the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering. This paper was particularly noted by the award committee as an important contribution to the knowledge of the dynamic response of composite steel-concrete structures. The Moisseiff Award may be presented to the author(s) of an important paper published by ASCE dealing with the broad field of structural engineering including applied mechanics, theoretical analysis, or constructive improvement of engineering structures of any structural material. The award was established in 1947 in recognition of the accomplishments of Leon S. Moisseiff, M. ASCE, a notable contributor to the science and art of structural engineering. Congratulations to Drs. Conte, Barbato and Zona!
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SE Chapter Wins Prestigious Award
The Center for Student Involvement recently awarded the Society of Civil and Structural Engineers (SCSE) as its Outstanding Student Organization of the Year" for 2008-2009. The award is given "to the registered student organization that displays outstanding effort in all areas, in relation to its purpose, based on the following criteria: contributions to the University, contributions to the community, and development of its members." This award is a testament to the hard work that all of SCSE members have put into the organization throughout the past year in order to make it the top student organization at UCSD! The Structural Engineering Department congratulates the organization on this impressive honor.
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Professor Patrick J. Fox to Join SE Faculty
Dr. Patrick J. Fox was recently appointed Professor to the Department of Structural Engineering. Professor Fox will be a faculty member affiliated with Muir College. Dr. Fox joins UC San Diego from Ohio State University, where he served as Professor in the Civil & Environmental Engineering & Geodetic Science since 2003. Previous to Ohio State, Prof. Fox was on the faculties of UCLA and Purdue University. To read more, click here.
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Chad Foerster Awarded 2009 National Defense Fellowship
Chad Forester, SE graduate student, was recently named as a recipient for the 2009 National Defense Science and Graduate Fellowship. Forester will receive a three-year fellowship which covers full tuition and required fees in addition to a yearly stipend; this fellowship is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Forester's faculty advisor is Professor John Kosmatka. Congratulations, Chad!
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SE Students Participate in 5th Annual Junkyard Derby
From old bicycle parts to shopping carts to gold mannequin busts and cardboard pizza boxes, UC San Diego students put their skills to the test during the annual Junkyard Derby. The sixth annual Junkyard Derby, held May 8, drew 44 teams who designed, built and then raced cars made of junk. Paulina Casneros, a third year structural engineering student, tested out her team’s car before the big race. The vehicle was made up of mostly welded bike parts. “We just grabbed a lot of parts and worked with whatever we had,” said Casneros, who raced the car for her team. “We cut everything and welded it together. … I can’t wait to race it downhill and see how everything we put together works,” added Casneros before the race. To read the full story, click here.
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SE Student Selected for UC Graduate Research Day
Ian Prowell, SE graduate student, was recently selected as one of two students to represent UC San Diego at the first annual UC Graduate Research Day at the state capital on May 27, 2009. Prowell’s poster is entitled "A Seismic Study of Wind Turbines for Renewable Energy." Prowell's faculty advisor is Professor Ahmed Elgamal. Dean Kim Barrett (Graduate Studies) commented "because of the high quality of the work of those nominated, choosing only two was a very difficult task!" Congratulations to Ian for this prestigious accomplishment!
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US News and World Report™ Ups UC San Diego's
Department of Structural Engineering in National Rankings
It was recently reported by US News and World Report that UC San Diego's Department of Structural Engineering program (within the specialty of "Civil Engineering") rose in rankings from #16 (in 2008) to #15 (2009) of Graduate Schools in the United States.
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Steel Bridge Team putting together the bridge in competition.
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Structural Engineers Association of San Diego Scholarship Awarded
The Structural Engineers Association of San Diego (SEAOSD) recently announced this year’s scholarship will be awarded to Mr. Colin Haynes, the current Chapter President of SCSE. SEAOSD's Student Awards Night will be held Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Congratulations, Colin!
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Structural Engineering Students Pin Hopes on 300-Pound Concrete
Canoe Named 'Dow Jones'
A team of students designed and built the 25-foot, handmade, 300-pound concrete canoe as part of the annual collegiate conference and competition organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers. To read the full story, click here.
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SE Professor Student's Launch Cockroaches and Cameras Into Space
This past fall quarter, SE Professor John Kosmatka and Keiko Nomura co-taught MAE-02 (Introduction to Aerospace Engineering). The course has typically featured team-based aircraft design of build and fly projects. The class has grown so large (113 students) that this year the professors added a “near-space” project for twenty-five students. The students designed and built payload boxes placed on a weather balloon and launched into near space (85,000 feet). Experiments include evaluation of solar cell efficiency at altitude, pictures, and the survival of astronauts (cockroaches) to cold, vacuum, and radiation. The project was a tremendous success for the students. To read the full story, click here. For the pdf presentation, click here  (3.6MB).
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7/10/09 - 
