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 and Illinois Center for Transportation. This site provides a brief overview of the group activities, so please inquire for more details about anything posted here.
New Paper on E-Defense Testing
A new open-access data paper is now available on full-scale building tests conducted at the E-Defense shake table in Miki, Japan.
Qie, Y., Astudillo, B., Duncan, J., Tao, Z., Okazaki, T., Fahnestock, L., Sause, R. Ricles, J., Simpson, B., Kurata, M., Kawamata, Y. and Hattori, K. “Data Paper: E-Defense shake-table tests on a steel moment-resisting frame supplemented with spines and force-limiting connections,” Japan Architectural Review. https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.70036
This data paper corresponds to the open-access data set published in the NSF NHERI DesignSafe-CI repository.
Fahnestock, L., Y. Qie, B. Astudillo, J. Duncan, Z. Tao, T. Okazaki, R. Sause, J. Ricles, B. Simpson, M. Kurata, Y. Kawamata, K. Hattori. 2025. “E-Defense shake-table test data,” in Collaborative Research: Frame-Spine System with Force-Limiting Connections for Low-Damage Seismic Resilient Buildings. DesignSafe-CI. https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-e159-v458
Rajaee Joins Group
Welcome to Mohammadreza Rajaee, as he joins the Ph.D. program in structural engineering, co-advised by Mohamad Alipour and Larry Fahnestock. Mohammadreza recently completed a M.S. in Structural Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and his thesis research focused on Crashworthiness Analysis of Luminaire Poles. He has received a Jacob Karol Estate Fellowship from CEE at Illinois and he is a graduate research assistant on the project Estimation of the Load Rating of Existing Highway Bridges Based on Bridge Weigh-in-Motion Data, which is sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation.
Dorado Publishes Journal Paper
Congratulations to Ricardo Dorado for his new journal paper “Field-data-driven assessment of an in-service skewed integral abutment bridge assisted by deep learning,” which is published in Bridge Structures as part of a special collection associated with the upcoming New York City Bridge Conference. This paper documents a portion of Ricardo’s doctoral research, which is co-advised by Larry Fahnestock and Jim LaFave and funded by the Illinois Center for Transportation.
Agarwal Desposits Dissertation
Congratulations to Aradhana Agarwal for depositing her Ph.D. dissertation, Seismic Design and Performance of Multitiered Ordinary Concentrically Braced Frames! Best wishes to Aradhana in her post-Illinois pursuits, which already have begun as Associate II in the Washington, D.C. office of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates!
AISC Educator Workshop
Early-career instructors of steel structures are encouraged to apply for the AISC workshop “Teaching Steel Design: Fundamentals of Behavior in a System Context.” This interactive event, held July 15-17 in Chicago, will provide information on course planning, AISC resources, textbooks, techniques for teaching behavior, maximizing student engagement, and teaching stability concepts.
https://www.aisc.org/education/university-programs/engineering-educator-workshop
New Approach Slab Paper
Congratulations to Gaoyu Liu for publication of a new paper from his Ph.D. research on integral abutment bridge approach slabs!
Liu, G., LaFave, J. and Fahnestock, L. “Parametric Assessment of Integral Abutment Bridge Approach Slab Structural Behavior When Subjected to Live Load and Thermal Effects,” Journal of Bridge Engineering, ASCE, 2025, 30 (6): 04025032.
Fisher Scholarship
James Fisher is is a graduate of CEE at Illinois (MS 1965, PhD 1968) who had a long and impactful career in structural engineering, with particular focus on steel structures. The Steel Joist Institute has created a scholarship to honor Dr. Fisher, and students (BS or MS) with interest in steel structures are encouraged to apply.
Shi Presents at NHERI Computational Symposium
Congratulations to Shitao Shi for presenting a lightning talk, “Innovative Research Workflow for Seismic Design Provisions Development,” at the NHERI Computational Symposium! This talk highlighted a computational framework that Shitao has developed to support his Ph.D. research on seismic stability, which is partially funded by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Science Foundation.
Shitao Shi at the NHERI Computational Symposium.
Agarwal Defends Dissertation
Congratulations to Aradhana Agarwal for defending her Ph.D. dissertation! Aradhana’s doctoral research, Seismic Design and Performance of Multitiered Ordinary Concentrically Braced Frames, was supervised by Larry Fahnestock and partially funded by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Aradhana Agarwal with doctoral committee (Frank Lombardo, Larry Fahnestock and Jim LaFave; Ahmed Elbanna not pictured) after defense.