News
New Paper on Structural and Nonstructural Seismic Upgrade Strategies
March 27, 2022Dr. Paul Steneker's paper on a framework for quickly evaluating the viability of different seismic upgrade options, with integrated identification of non-structural upgrades, has now been published. It is available Open Access from Earthquake Spectra at https://doi.org/10.1177/87552930211065771.
Paper Published in Journal of Structural Engineering
February 7, 2022Congratulations to Dr. Ahmed Yassin on the publication of his paper describing the impressive tests he performed on controlled rocking masonry walls without post-tensioning! The paper is available in the ASCE's Journal of Structural Engineering at https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0003307.
Drs. Wiebe and Koboevic Receive HA Krentz Award from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction
January 21, 2022Dr. Wiebe and Dr. Sanda Koboevic of Polytechnique Montreal have jointly been awarded the HA Krentz Award from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). Each year, this award is given for the research grant proposal with special merit and interest to the Canadian structural steel industry. This research grant and award are being used in part to support PhD candidate Hamid Madani's research on developing more economical foundation design provisions for steel braced frames in Canada. Further information is available here: https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/civil/news/lydell-wiebe-presented-ha-krentz-award-canadian-institute-steel-construction and https://www.cisc-icca.ca/congrats-to-the-2021-cisc-h-a-krentz-award-recipients-sanda-koboevic-lydell-wiebe
Anirban Kundu Enrolls in PhD Program
January 1, 2022Anirban Kundu, who first came to McMaster as a MITACS Globalink Research Intern (https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/globalink-research-internship) while an undergraduate student, and then returned to McMaster in 2021 as an MASc student, has now transferred to the PhD program effective January 1, 2022. Anirban is co-supervised with Dr. Georgios Balomenos (https://sites.google.com/view/georgiosbalomenos), studying the seismic risk of steel designed according to Canadian standards for Conventional Construction.
Hamid Madani is now a PhD Candidate
December 2, 2021Congratulations to Hamid Madani on successfully completing his PhD Comprehensive Examination!
Ahmed Yassin Defends PhD
September 27, 2021Congratulate to Ahmed Yassin for successfully defending his PhD thesis, "Development of Controlled Rocking Masonry Walls!" This thesis includes both experimental and numerical work on controlled rocking masonry walls, and the defence committee described it using words like "outstanding" and "forward-looking."
Sam and Kelly Left our Research Group
September 5, 2021Thanks to Sam Richardson and Kelly de Chastelain Finnigan for all their work this summer! Kelly and Sam were a huge help in the Applied Dynamics Laboratory to support the testing of controlled rocking masonry walls, while also developing this website, a classroom demo frame, and a load calculation spreadsheet. Good luck as you move on to Level III of your studies at McMaster!
Matt Ficara Completed his MASc
September 5, 2021Congratulations to Matt Ficara for completing his MASc on controlled rocking mass timber walls! Matt is now working as an Engineer-in-Training for Tetra Tech Canada.
Paper Published on Artificial Neural Network for Nuclear Power Plant Behaviour
June 21, 2021Nuclear Engineering and Technology has published Dr. Mohamed El-Sefy's work on developing a new approach for predicting the dynamic behaviour of nuclear power plants by using an artificial neural network. This work was completed as part of the NSERC-CREATE program on Canadian Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Resilience Under Systemic Risk. The paper can be downloaded for free at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2021.05.003.
Paper on Critical Connections Published in Engineering Structures
June 6, 2021Dr. Paul Steneker's research on identifying and selecting critical connections for steel moment resisting frames has now been published in Engineering Structures! This paper looks at how to locate the connections that have the greatest influence on seismic response, and based on this knowledge, how to maximize the benefit of selectively applying emerging connection details that offer enhanced performance. Until July 23, the paper can be downloaded for free at: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1dArdW4G4TeNd
Congratulations To Matt East For Winning the M.A. Hatzinikolas Award
May 20, 2021Matt East received the M.A. Hatzinikolas Award at the CMS for the best paper by a graduate student related to innovation and construction. His paper was on Evaluating Damage of a Controlled Rocking Masonry Wall with Supplemental Energy Dissipation.
A News Story About the Canadian Masonry Symposium
May 20, 2021This weekend was the latest annual Canadian Masonry Symposium. Multiple members of the research group presented with many others attending. We would like to congratulate everyone who gave a lecture for their incredible work and thank the CMS for putting together a great event!
Two Undergraduate Students Join the Wiebe Research Group for the Summer
May 3, 2021Welcome to Kelly de Chastelain Finnigan and Sam Richardson! Both have just completed their second year at McMaster University studying civil engineering.
