"The structural laboratories at UB's CSEE are among the best in the nation, equipped to handle a multitude of experiments in structural and earthquake engineering. It's a tremendous advantage for students to have access to such facilities."
According to Dr. Amjad Aref, one of the fundamental problems of traditional building materials is their inherent propensity for various forms of structural deterioration. Because of this, older structures become ever more susceptible to earthquake damage. But Dr. Aref and his colleagues in UB's CSEE are working to correct this by developing cost-effective ways to employ the use of the same advanced composite materials used in aerospace and marine applications for building structures. "These materials are strong, lightweight, and corrosion resistant," says Dr. Aref. "We are developing the technology to use them for both new construction and seismic retrofitting of older structures."
Dr. Aref says that this type of forward thinking is what structural engineering is all about. "At UB, we are constantly developing new methods and introducing novel materials to solve real-life engineering problems. That requires imagination and creativity, and those are the qualities that I stress in my teaching."
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Amjad Aref