Thank you for visiting my website! I hope these notes, examples, and algorithms will increase your understanding of how structures perform. I also hope they will stimulate your curiosity. Whether we consider buildings, bridges, or other load-bearing structures we still struggle to answer important questions about their performance. Will the structure be repairable after an earthquake, and how much will it cost? Are there ways we can make construction more sustainable, consuming less energy and water, causing less environmental damage? And how long will it take to restore the functionality of structures and communities after an earthquake? While I focus on mechanics and reliability in my courses CIVL 332, CIVL 435, and CIVL 518 this online textbook aims to take the next step, addressing emerging fields of structural engineering.

You will notice that some of these webpages and notes are incomplete. The aforementioned fields are indeed the subject of ongoing research. If you are interested in helping me advance our state of knowledge in those areas then I am always looking for bright and motivated MASc and PhD students to join my research group. In case it helps, here is my advice to current and prospective structures students at UBC. In my research group I work closely with every student, including frequent one-on-one meetings and weekly research seminars. In addition to publications, one result of our work is the computer program Rt. We continue to extend that software platform under the name Rts. In fact, we have adopted the view that computer simulations will play an important role in the future of structural engineering. So you will find that programming skills are useful. Also note that Graduate Research Assistant positions are limited and highly competitive. Students who pursue and receive funding through outside scholarships greatly increase their chance of admission.

If you would like to join my research team then please review the department’s Graduate Admissions and Graduate Program webpages and send an email to terje@civil.ubc.ca with the subject “Prospective Student for the Research Group of Professor Haukaas.” Please include a brief paragraph about the research needs and applications that YOU see in the fields that you are interested in. Attach your CV as a PDF document. Thanks again for visiting my website and have fun studying structures! Follow me on Twitter to get daily updates and do not forget to engage in extracurricular activities; experience the world and be a leader! Here are some of my own hobbies.

Vancouver, December 2019
Professor Terje Haukaas