Structural Engineering

Dashing the dream of ideal ‘invisibility’ cloaks for stress waves

Roman arenas have survived in many earthquake-prone regions. Did the Romans inadvertently build seismic wave cloaks when they designed colosseums? Some researchers believe they did due to the arenas' resemblance to modern experimental elastodynamic cloaking devices. (Photo: Paolo Costa Baldi via Wikimedia Commons)

Whether Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, which perfectly steers light waves around objects to make them invisible, will ever become reality remains to be seen, but perfecting a more crucial cloak is impossible, a new study says. It would have perfectly steered stress waves in the ground, like those emanating from a blast, around objects like buildings to make them “untouchable.”

Friday, June 7, 2019

New tool will give large concrete structures what amounts to an ultrasound, finding tiny cracks before they grow

A researcher measures the width of a crack in a reinforced concrete column after testing the strength of the column. A new project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency will develop a field-deployable tool to detect cracks far smaller than this — and inside rather than outside — thick reinforced concrete structures. (Photo: Chris Kiser)

Imagine giving large concrete structures something similar to an ultrasound and getting images so detailed you can see cracks just a tenth of a millimeter long. That level of detail just isn’t possible now. Yet such capability could revolutionize how engineers assess the health of thick reinforced concrete infrastructure like dams and power plants and bridges.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Community is what matters to Giuliana Stovall, in life and in career

Guiliana Stovall sits on a bench with her roller derby roller skates. Stovall, a long-time roller derby player, knew she would continue to skate when she came to Georgia Tech. And since Tech had no outlet, she founded Yellow Jacket Roller Derby. (Photo Courtesy: Giuliana Stovall)

Giuliana Stovall is pretty sure she knows one of every 64 students at Georgia Tech.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

New origami can morph from one pattern to another, unlocking possibilities for new structures and materials

A new type of origami can morph from one pattern into a different one, or even a hybrid of two patterns, instantly altering many of its structural characteristics. (Photo: Allison Carter)

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a new type of origami that can morph from one pattern into a different one, or even a hybrid of two patterns, instantly altering many of its structural characteristics.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Stewart, Watkins and a baker’s dozen alumnae make list of influential women in Georgia engineering

Top 100 Influential Women in Georgia graphic from Engineering Georgia magazine, including headshots of many of the women on the list.

Georgia Tech civil and environmental engineers are well represented on Engineering Georgia’s second annual list of the 100 most influential women in Georgia. Faculty members Lauren Stewart and Kari Watkins made the list, along with 13 other women who studied in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Kurtis receives Concrete Institute’s Anderson Medal for excellence, creativity, leadership in concrete

Professor and Associate Dean Kimberly Kurtis (Photo: Christopher Moore)

Kimberly Kurtis didn’t know cement and concrete would become such an important part of her working life until she was a junior in college.

Friday, February 15, 2019

Building a better foundation: Iris Tien accepts the challenge

Assistant Professer Iris Tien sits at her desk in her Georgia Tech office. (Photo: Allison Carter)

For Iris Tien every road, bridge, or building is a potential research project.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Shocking experiences keep Nylen going back for more

Ph.D. student and Sandia National Labs intern Rebecca Nylen kneels next to blasted steel cylinders, some of her handy work as a computational shock physicist. (Photo: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories)

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Rebecca Nylen had a terrible start to her summer internship.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Steel construction group honors White with lifetime achievement award

Professor Don White, who has received a lifetime achievement award from the American Institute of Steel Construction.

The American Institute of Steel Construction has honored Donald White with a lifetime achievement award for his work advancing the use of structural steel.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

ASCE picks Saini for Ammann Research Fellowship

Ph.D. student Ajay Saini, one of the American Society of Civil Engineers' O.H. Ammann Research Fellows in Structural Engineering for this year. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)

Ph.D. student Ajay Saini has earned the support of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work on structural reliability and resilience.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

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School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
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Phone: 404-894-2201
Fax: 404-894-2278