Category Archives: Conference

Vintimilla Joins Group

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Welcome to Xavier Vintimilla, as he begins the Ph.D. program in structural engineering advised by Prof. Larry Fahnestock! Xavier received a M.S. in Civil Engineering at Illinois in May 2026, and at the recent 13th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering (13NCEE) he presented his M.S. research conducted with Prof. Bill Spencer. Xavier completed undergraduate studies at the University of Cuenca, and he subsequently worked in structural engineering consulting for a year before coming to Illinois as a Fulbright Scholar.

Xavier Vintimilla presenting at 13NCEE.

Dorado at NYC Bridge Conference

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Congratulations to Ricardo Dorado for presenting a portion of his doctoral research – “Field-data-driven assessment of an in-service skewed integral abutment bridge assisted by deep learning” – at the 2025 New York City Bridge Conference! The accompanying paper is published in the journal Bridge Structures as part of a special collection associated with the conference. Ricardo’s research is part of the project “Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Load Distribution in Steel Bridge Superstructure,” which is funded by the Illinois Center for Transportation.

Dorado Publishes Journal Paper

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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.

https://doi.org/10.1177/15732487251350850

AISC Educator Workshop

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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

Shi Presents at NHERI Computational Symposium

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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.

Shi Receives AISC Travel Grant

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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.