Structural Engineering Research | Portland State University

Research

Structural Engineering

At PSU, we are doing exciting research in bridge engineering, sensing and monitoring, earthquake engineering and sustainable structures. CEE faculty have organized their research around the infrastructure Testing and Applied Research (iSTAR) Laboratory, where faculty and students focus on the effects of extreme loads on our infrastructure, the utilization of innovative materials, and the non-destructive testing and monitoring of structural system before, during, and after a disaster.

2019 Maseeh College Researcher of the Year: Peter Dusicka

Dr. Dusicka's research on earthquake engineering, based in the infraStructure Testing and Applied Research (iSTAR) Lab, promotes seismic resiliency and return to occupancy within our infrastructure.

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Structural Engineering Research Faculty

Faculty contact information is listed in our Faculty & Staff Directory.

Faculty	Title	Research Areas
Peter Dusicka	Professor & Department Chair	Earthquake resistance and retrofit of bridges, seismic assessment of high voltage infrastructure, strength assessment of green building systems, design strategies for rapid occupancy following extreme events.
Franz Rad	Emeritus Professor	Earthquake vulnerability of buildings in urban areas and seismic retrofit.
Thomas Schumacher	Professor & Associate Chair of the Graduate Programs	Novel sensing methodologies for non-destructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure, i.e. acoustic emission and ultrasonic monitoring, carbon nanotube-based composites, and video-based monitoring.
David Yang	Assistant Professor	Risk management and resilience assessment under disaster and climate change, decision-making under uncertainty, and life-cycle management of civil infrastructure.

Structural Engineering Research Facilities

Laboratory	Location	Primary Contact	Additional Contact	Description
Concrete & Structural Research Laboratory	TBA	Evan Kristof, Mary Ann Triska		Used in conjunction with the iSTAR Lab for testing of structural laboratory specimens; primarily graduate student research centering on materials, including the containment of various equipment used to mix, pour, and test concrete.
Infrastructure Materials Lab	EB 370	Mary Ann Triska	Evan Kristof	TBA
Infrastructure Testing and Applied Research (iSTAR) Laboratory	SRTC B2-42	Peter Dusicka	Thomas Schumacher, Franz Rad	The iSTAR Lab's mission is to enhance the knowledge of the engineering community by providing information about structures and structural elements; to that end, this lab is a hub for undergraduate, graduate, and faculty structural engineering research. Lab capabilities include static, dynamic and cyclic testing, and the availability of analytical analysis utilizing computer generated models and customized computer programming.
Non-destructive Testing (NDT) Laboratory	SRTC B2-32	Thomas Schumacher	Peter Dusicka, Franz Rad	Non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring, sensors and instrumentation, and structural evaluation. Includes a bank of dedicated PCs for graduate students.