A total of 180 participants from 75 organizations from several countries including Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand attended the Theory and Practice of Performance-based Design: The Future of Earthquake Engineering on 7 August 2014 at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Thailand.

 

The seminar, organized by Computers and Structures, Inc. (CSI), United States in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), through the Asian Center for Engineering Computations and Software (ACECOMS) and AIT Consulting (AITC), focused on the theory and techniques of performance-based design (PBD) in simple terms and analogies that are familiar to structural engineering practitioners.

 

Keynote speaker Ashraf Habibullah, President and CEO of CSI commended the participants for being part of structural engineering profession which he described as a “business of saving lives.” He believes structural engineers save millions of lives every time the wind blows or an earthquake occurs and it is imperative for structural engineers to know the future of earthquake engineering.

 

Ashraf delivered a four-part lecture covering topics such as nonlinear theory, nonlinear modeling, nonlinear analysis techniques, and nonlinear applications in structural engineering. He also explained the difference between code-based design and PBD, and the benefits of using PBD particularly to buildings and “special” infrastructures such as tall buildings, schools, hospitals, roads, and bridges.

 

Renowned earthquake expert Prof. Pennung Warnitchai from AIT’s School of Engineering and Technology opened the seminar with a presentation on the latest structural engineering research being conducted at AIT concerning earthquakes and wind. Prof. Pennung discussed topics including regional seismicity, multi-hazard monitoring, wind tests, and focused on seismic risk in Bangkok.

 

The event was attended by AIT’s Vice President for Academic Affairs Prof. Sivanappan Kumar who delivered the welcome remarks on behalf of the AIT President; Assoc. Prof. Anek Siripanichgorn, Chairperson, Civil Engineering Committee, Engineering Institute of Thailand as chief guest; Dr. Nazim Latif, Commercial Counselor and representative of the Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand as guest of honor; Syed Hasanain Muzami, Executive Vice President, CSI, USA; and Marilyn Wilkes, Senior Vice President, CSI, USA.

 

The participants had an opportunity to interact and seek expert advice from Ashraf, Prof. Pennung, and Dr. Naveed during coffee breaks and the Question-and-Answer (Q&A) portion at the end of the lecture. The event ended with a raffle draw where CSI gave away iPad minis, Katy Perry DVDs, books, and many others.

 

Videos of the presentations by Ashraf Habibullah and Prof. Pennung Warnitchai are available at the following links:

 

Ashraf Habibullah:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVjfkNRH6tRcbmekAu7oLh18jDDWvh7Ig

 

Prof. Pennung Warnitchai:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVjfkNRH6tRcZKOJBJk4Z_0jeOu7-yU7K 

 

To download the presentations, please go to:

http://solutions.ait.asia/CSIEventPresentation.aspx 

 

For photos, please go to the AIT Consulting Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.677906215609912.1073741831.144199142313958&type=3