Structural designers have relied on web-tapered I-sections – sections on a structure of which web depth (or width) is varied throughout – since the 1950’s. Still widely used in metal structures today for their efficient stability, Ph.D. student Yoon Duk Kim is working with industry organizations to standardize them.

Professor Doyoyo leads a group that is conducting groundbreaking and highly innovative research on different types of micro-assembled structures, including “lattice materials”. This research on lattice materials is having a significant impact on various industries that are investigating the use of lightweight “small-scale” structures for future engineering systems and modernized civil infrastructures.

Jamie Padgett entered the PhD program in the Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials Group in 2003, and works under the advisement of Prof. DesRoches. The central focus of her dissertation research is on “Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Retrofitted Bridges” to support risk mitigation efforts for transportation networks.

Arash Yavari joined the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in January of 2005. Dr. Yavari received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (applied mechanics option) with a minor in mathematics from California Institute of Technology, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the George Washington University and a B.S. in civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Laurie Garrow recently received an Honorable Mention in the Eric Pas Dissertation Prize competition sponsored by the International Association of Travel Behavior Research (IATBR).  The Pas Prize, announced at the 2006 meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), was the largest on record, with 17 dissertations nominated in four languages (English, French, German and Spanish) from eight countries.

Jaehong Kim received a B.S. degree in Chemical Technology in 1995 from the Department of Chemical Technology (currently the School of Chemical Engineering) in Seoul National University in Korea. He received an M.S. degree in the same department in 1997. Before coming to the United States, he worked for one year at the Institute of Environmental Safety in Seoul National University as an assistant researcher. Then he obtained his Ph.D. degree at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2002.

Dr. Kimberly Kurtis is the 2005 recipient of The Walter P. Moore, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award which recognizes new faculty members for excellence and innovation in the teaching of concrete design, materials, or construction. The award honors the late Walter P. Moore, Jr., ACI Fellow, former ACI Board member, and a structural engineer and educator in Texas. The award recipient shall have taught an undergraduate level course related to concrete structural design, concrete materials, or concrete construction; total time served in all faculty positions shall not exceed seven calendar years; the individual shall be an ACI member; evidence of technical competence, high character, and integrity; and other evidence of merit, which, in the judgment of the award committee, shall have advanced ACI's and awards purposes.

Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio received the 2005 Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) award in the field of engineering at the Ph.D. level. The Executive Science and Technology Council of SAIC made six awards for outstanding technical papers in the fields of engineering, physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, computer sciences, and science and technology policy.

Dr. Glenn Rix, Associate Professor in Geosystems Engineering was the recipient of the of the Georgia Engineer’s Week, Engineer of the Year in Education Award. The award recognizes outstanding teaching and education accomplishments in engineering within the State of Georgia. During his 15-year career at Georgia Tech, Dr. Rix has taught more than 1,600 Undergraduate and Graduate students and frequently offers continuing education courses for engineering practitioners.

Charles Kennan Crane was the recipient of the 2005 Georgia Engineer’s Week, Engineering Student of the Year Award. This award recognizes outstanding undergraduate engineering students in the State of Georgia. Kennan is a senior in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus on Structural Engineering.

Jim Spain joined the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology at the beginning of 2005. Dr. Spain received his PhD in microbiology from The University of Texas and a BS in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington.  He studied the biodegradation of pesticides in the marine environment for five years as a post doctoral fellow and research scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Marine Environmental Research Laboratory.

Buildings meet the fundamental human need for shelter and are essential to the economic infrastructure of a community. The safety levels that are inherent in building structural design represent a value judgment on the part of code-writers (and, by inference the engineering profession and the citizenry) on the question, “How safe is safe enough?”

Dr. Löffler was trained as a microbiologist/biochemist in Germany. Following postgraduate work as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow in the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University, he joined Georgia Tech's Environmental Engineering group in 1999.

Dr. Löffler's team conducts research in environmental microbiology exploring naturally occurring bacteria that affect human life in intangible ways. Of particular interest are bacteria that detoxify contaminants in soils, sediments and drinking water, influence the fluxes of greenhouse gases, and drive relevant biogeochemical processes in a variety of ecosystems.