UIC hosts 10th International Structural Engineering and Construction Conference
More than 130 people from around the world descended on Chicago for the 10th International Structural Engineering and Construction (ISEC-10) Conference held from May 20 to May 25 at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and hosted by its Department of Civil and Materials Engineering.
UIC Associate Professor Didem Ozevin served as the chair and Hossein Ataei of UIC and Mehdi Modares of the Illinois Institute of Technology served as co-chairs for the conference, which was themed “Interdependence between Structural Engineering and Construction Management” and marked the 20th anniversary of ISEC society. Previous conferences were held in Sydney, Honolulu, Zurich, Las Vegas, Melbourne, Rome; Shunan, Japan, and Valencia, Spain.
The goal is to bring together state-of-the-art research and their applications in the fields of structural engineering and construction management. This was achieved with 122 presentations from 33 countries, which included presentations from Ozevin, Ataei, and a keynote address from UIC Professor of Practice Christopher Burke, who is the owner of Christopher B. Burke Engineering.
“ISEC-10 provided a unique platform to scholars, researchers, and practitioners across all continents and countries to present and disseminate the latest innovative ideas, research results, and findings during the conference as well as within the conference proceedings,” said Ozevin.
The conference proceedings include 204 manuscripts from 38 countries that represent cutting-edge research studies including green infrastructure, alternative concrete materials with unique properties, innovative housing and project management practices, methods to increase the durability of structural systems, rehabilitation and retrofitting methods, new technologies in construction management, and next generation manufacturing systems for construction. The studies included various materials and systems used in infrastructure: concrete, steel, composites, wood, and masonry.
“Considering the fact that infrastructure in the world is invariably in poor health, the conference is expected to have a significant impact on the innovative solutions to address challenges of the domestic and global aging infrastructure as well as futuristic smart and resilient designs,” she said.
“Technical deliberation during the conference were of high standards,” said Ravi K. Sharma, professor and head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the College of Technology and Engineering in India.
The ISEC Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to benefiting the professional engineering community in the areas of civil, structural, and construction engineering through educational conferences, seminars, and literature. It is served by a network of advisors and regional representatives.
The conferences are set up to enhance communication and understanding between structural, system, and construction engineers, for successful design and construction of engineering projects at an international level. Interdisciplinary integration and international cooperation are encouraged. They promote innovative and integrative approaches in life cycle systems thinking in civil and building engineering that include constructability, specifications, design, bidding, and construction. It provides an international forum for the discussion of topics important to developing new knowledge in construction and structural engineering.