Welcome to new MS candidate Alec Spano, who is a Research Assistant on the project Seismic Damping Effects on Bridges (sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation), which is being led by Professors LaFave and Fahnestock. Alec recently graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in CE and Alec was awarded a Karol Graduate Fellowship for study in the field of structural engineering at Illinois. Congratulations!
Category Archives: Award
Fahnestock Named Outstanding Reviewer
Larry Fahnestock has been selected as an ASCE 2023 Outstanding Reviewer for the Journal of Structural Engineering. As one of the oldest and most respected periodicals in the field, the Journal of Structural Engineering has a history of reporting on fundamental knowledge that advances the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in structural engineering.
ASCE JBE Editor’s Choice
Congratulations to Gaoyu Liu and Sunny Zhou for this recognition of contributions from their Ph.D. research!
Shi Receives AISC Travel Grant
Congratulations to Shitao Shi for receiving a Student Travel Grant from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) to attend the November Task Committee and Committee on Specifications meetings in Chicago! This program connects students with AISC Staff mentors and provides the opportunity to meet some of the leading engineers and researchers in the industry and to see firsthand how AISC’s specifications and standards are made. Shitao’s Ph.D. research on seismic stability assessment and design of steel buildings is partially funded by AISC.
Schissler Wins AISC Scholarship
Congratulations to Lauren Schissler for receiving an AISC/Associated Steel Erectors of Chicago Scholarship for the 2023-2024 academic year! Lauren is an M.S. candidate and Lewis Graduate Fellow working on a collaborative research project with Professors Elbanna, Fahnestock and LaFave. The project, Strength and Serviceability of Damaged Steel Girders, is sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation.
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/
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!
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).
Zhou Selected as Mavis Fellow
Congratulations to Siang (Sunny) Zhou for being selected as one of the Mavis Future Faculty Fellows (MF3) for the 2022-2023 academic year! Sunny is co-advised by Prof. Larry Fahnestock and Prof. James LaFave, and she is studying superstructure response and load distribution in skewed steel girder bridges under thermal and traffic loading as part of a project sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation.
The MF3 program is designed to prepare Ph.D. students for becoming the next generation of engineering professors through instruction and mentorship in teaching, research and service. This program is made possible by a generous bequest of Frederic T. and Edith F. Mavis. Prof. Mavis received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. During his career, he was a Civil Engineering faculty member at several universities and Dean of Engineering at the University of Maryland from 1957 until 1967.