Thank you for visiting my website. I hope these notes, examples, and algorithms will boost your interest in how structures are replicated on the computer. The growth in computational power has created a vision among structural engineers that the behaviour of structures, subjected to earthquakes and other hazards, can be simulated on the computer. The mechanics and finite elements behind such simulations are central topics on this website. It is also recognized that many uncertainties enter into the results. Therefore, probabilistic methods and reliability analysis are included here. Given the presence of uncertainties, it is helpful to know how sensitive the results are to changes in the input parameters and model assumptions. For that reason, sensitivity analysis is another topic addressed on this website.

In my core undergraduate course CIVL 332 I cover a of range of structural analysis methods, including the stiffness method. That method is the foundation for the finite element method, which serves as a thread through my undergraduate elective course CIVL 435. That course also includes torsion, P-delta effects, and buckling. In the graduate course CIVL 509, I cover nonlinear finite element analysis, a topic essential to earthquake engineers. Uncertainties, probabilistic methods, and reliability analysis are addressed in my other graduate course, CIVL 518.

If you are interested in helping me advance the state-of-the-art in structural engineering, I am always looking for bright and motivated MASc and PhD students to join my research group. I work closely with every student, with frequent meetings and research seminars. In addition to publications, one result of our work is the computer program Rt. We continue to extend it under the name Rts, and many of the algorithms in Rts are posted on this website as Python code. Funded MASc and PhD 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 I suggest you start by reviewing the departmental Graduate Admissions and Graduate Program guidelines. It may also be helpful to read my advice to current and prospective structures students at UBC. Thereafter, please send an email to terje@civil.ubc.ca with the subject “Prospective Student for the Research Group of Professor Haukaas” with your CV attached as a PDF document. Please include a brief paragraph about your research interests and the knowledge gaps that you see in those fields.

Thanks for visiting my website and have fun analyzing structures!

Vancouver, May 29, 2020
Professor Terje Haukaas