Lehigh University

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ROSS B. COROTIS

Denver Business Challenge Professor of Engineering,
University of Colorado at Boulder

Natural Hazard Risk: Public Perceptions & Political Perversities
(click to view video)

Friday, February 17th, 2012 – 4:10 pm

Location: Sinclair Lab Auditorium, Lehigh University, 7 Asa Drive, Bethlehem, PA

Overview:

Public Perceptions & Political Perversities: Probabilistic analysis and engineering modeling clearly demonstrates the positive payback associated with structural design incorporating robustness against natural hazards. This is clear for new construction, but also for retrofit in many situations. Yet throughout the world, including in the United States, policy makers continue to undervalue considerations of natural hazards in their long-term planning, both at the community level and the individual structural level. This shortcoming lies with the engineers and risk professionals; not in their analyses and capabilities, but in their unwillingness to incorporate public perceptions of risk and political process rationality, and thence in their inability to communicate and convince decision makers to spend limited, precious funds now so as to perhaps avoid costly expenses at some far off, undetermined time in the future. The lecture will address strategies that are appropriate to address this natural dichotomy.

MORE DETAILS available on Corotis' presentation. (PDF)

 

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SHARON L. WOOD

Robert L. Parker, Sr. Professor in Engineering and Chair, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Opportunities and Challenges for Infrastructure Monitoring
(click to view video)

Friday, March 23rd, 2012 – 4:10 pm

Location: Sinclair Lab Auditorium, Lehigh University, 7 Asa Drive, Bethlehem, PA

Overview:

Technical advances over the past decade have led to the development of comprehensive, structuralhealth monitoring systems. Yet visual inspection is still used as the primary method for evaluating the condition of infrastructure systems in the US. Examples of using measured bridge response to augment visual inspections will be presented, along with the challenges of implementing these technologies.

MORE DETAILS availalable on Wood's presentation. (PDF)

 

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TED V. GALAMBOS

Professor Emeritus, Structural Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

The Safety of Bridges
(click to view video)

Friday, April 20th, 2012 – 4:10 pm

Location: Sinclair Lab Auditorium, Lehigh University, 7 Asa Drive, Bethlehem, PA

Overview:

The nation’s interest in the safety of bridges was suddenly reignited by the catastrophic collapse of the I35W Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007. This presentation will focus on the general causes of bridge failures and on how they can be prevented. Most accidents happen during construction, but less frequently collapses also occurred after many years of service. The most terrible events are when a bridge after many years suddenly disintegrates. Examples of both construction and long service failures will be presented. Examples of construction failures to be considered are the Quebec Bridge in Canada and the Yarra River Crossing in Australia. The Firth of Tay Bridge in Scotland, the Point Pleasant Bridge over the Ohio River, and the Minneapolis Bridge disasters will illustrate events on bridges that were in service. Similarities and differences of these sudden failures will be discussed. Lessons learned and recommendations for preventive actions will then be presented. The main conclusion of the talk will be that the seeds of destruction were sowed already at the initial planning stages of design. Sudden and complete bridge failures are very rare events, fortunately, and the engineering profession has the means to make the probability of failure even smaller.

MORE DETAILS available on Galambos' presentation. (PDF)

 

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2012 Fazlur R. Khan Distinguished Lecture Series Announcement Flyer (PDF)