Reidar Bjørhovde: World-Wide developments in structural Steel Research

Over the past number of years the speaker has conducted an extensive data collection and evaluation of steel structures research projects in all areas of the world. The presentation will focus on subject matter as well as trends, discerning major directions for steel construction insofar as materials, members, systems and analysis techniques are concerned. Fabrication and construction issues are also addressed, inasmuch as the research efforts tie together theories of analysis and design. Design philosophy developments are particularly important, especially for appropriate limit states treatment, performance demands and extreme loading conditions. All of these subjects feed directly into the design codes that are under continuous development In that respect the design results are remarkably similar in all geographical regions, save for certain unique characteristics that are usually dictated by engineering preferences and environmental needs.

Reidar Bjørhovde is President of The Bjorhovde Group, a consulting firm located in Tucson, Arizona, U S A. Educated at NTH (sivilingeniør 1964; Dr.-ing. 1968) and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (Ph.D. 1972), he was a professor at the University of Alberta, the University of Arizona and the University of Pittsburgh for many years. He is Editor of the Elsevier Journal of Constructional Steel Research and the Research Editor of the AISC Engineering Journal. He has conducted extensive consulting, teaching and research work, including landmark studies on the stability and reliability of steel columns and frames, structural steel connections, steel materials and composite structures. The author of more than 250 archival publications, he has received many awards, including the prestigious Higgins Award of AISC and very recently the Lynn S. Beedle Award of the Structural Stability Research Council. He is a Fellow of ASCE and a Registered Professional Engineer in the United States and Canada. He is a member of the American steel design code committees of AISC and AISI and of the Canadian steel design code committee CSA S16

Published June 13, 2014 10:58 AM - Last modified June 13, 2014 10:58 AM