Welcome to the online home of the Fahnestock Research Group within CEE at Illinois. Led by Prof. Larry Fahnestock, and collaborating with colleagues at Illinois and other universities, the group conducts research broadly related to behavior, design and performance of large-scale structural systems. We employ laboratory and field testing in conjunction with analytical and numerical models to illuminate critical aspects of behavior that inform advances in system configurations and design methods, ultimately leading to superior performance that contributes to infrastructure resiliency and sustainability. Research topics span across buildings and bridges, moderate and high seismic design, low and high ductility response, service and extreme load conditions. Current projects are sponsored by the National Science Foundation, American Institute of Steel Construction, Illinois Center for Transportation and Illinois Tollway. This site provides a brief overview of the group activities, so please inquire for more details about anything posted here.
AISC Scholarships
Alumni Spotlight – Riddle at ESi
Joe Riddle (MS, 2014) joined ESi in 2014 and has been a Senior Consultant since 2018. His work includes investigation, evaluation, and repair of distressed structures across a wide range of building types – residential, commercial, and industrial. During his graduate studies at Illinois, Joe was involved in field monitoring of two integral abutment bridges on the Illinois Tollway, and the results from that project provided the foundation for the current project funded by the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT): Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Load Distribution in Steel Bridge Superstructures
(ICT R27-194).
Illinois Structural Engineering Conference
Registration is now open for the 2023 Illinois Structural Engineering Conference! Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 23, 2023 and join us at the I Hotel And Conference Center in Champaign for a great program.
AISC Internships – Summer 2023
An AISC internship offers a behind-the-scenes look at the present and future state of structural steel design. AISC is now accepting applications from students enrolled in structural, architectural, or civil engineering programs for a full-time paid summer internship at AISC’s headquarters in downtown Chicago for 2023. AISC interns support both the AISC Engineering and Research Department and the Education Department in developing technical resources for structural steel design and education.
Qualified applicants:
- Will be enrolled in at least the third year of their curriculum.
- Will have completed at least one course in structural steel design.
- Plan to continue with their education full-time in fall 2023.
Interested students should submit their resumes, including their cumulative GPA and a list of related coursework, by February 24, 2023, to hr@aisc.org with “AISC Summer Internship” in the subject line. Any related inquiries can be sent to the same address.
Shi on Winning Hackathon Team
Congratulations to Shitao Shi and his teammates for winning the 2022 NHERI Hackathon in July 2022! The teams were judged on innovation, creativity, presentation and use of DesignSafe and SimCenter tools. Shitao is a Ph.D. student studying seismic stability design of steel frames as part of a project sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
https://simcenter.designsafe-ci.org/news/2022/december/nheri-hackathon-2022/
New ASCE Journal Papers Published
Congratulations to Aradhana Agarwal and Sunny Zhou for recently publishing ASCE journal papers on their Ph.D. research! Aradhana is studying seismic stability of multi-tiered braced frames (supported by AISC) and Sunny is studying service performance of composite steel I-girder bridges (supported by ICT).
Agarwal, A. and Fahnestock, L.A. “Comparative Seismic Response Evaluation of Steel Multi-Story and Multi-Tiered Ordinary Concentrically Braced Frames,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0003443
Zhou, S., Fahnestock, L.A. and LaFave, J.M. “Development of Skewed Steel I-Girder Bridge Field Monitoring Strategy through Agency Survey and Numerical Simulation,” Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000740
Miller Wins CEE Staff Award
Congratulations to Marissa Miller, CEE Office Manager, for winning a CEE Staff Award for Excellence! Ever since she joined CEE in spring of 2018, Marissa has provided outstanding support to the Structures Group. Thanks Marissa!
Fahnestock Appointed NSEL Director
Schissler Joins Group
Welcome to new MS candidate Lauren Schissler, who is joining the research team for the project Strength and Serviceability of Damaged Steel Girders (sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation)! This project is a collaborative effort including Professors Elbanna, Fahnestock and LaFave and graduate students Ahmed Ibrahim and Sanjana Ahershinge. In May, Lauren graduated with a BS in CE from Illinois and was awarded a first-place Ira O. Baker Prize and a Lewis Graduate Fellowship for study in the field of structural engineering.
Fahnestock Named Siess Faculty Scholar
Larry Fahnestock has been awarded a CEE faculty scholar appointment. The Siess Faculty Scholar position is funded by the Chester P. and Helen K. Siess Endowed Fund in Civil Engineering, which honors the legacy of former CEE faculty member and Head, Chester P. Siess (MS 1939, PhD 1948).