2011 FRK Series to explore cutting-edge tech for resilient buildings and cities

Extreme engineering, disaster-resilient communities, and more

Three world-renowned engineering leaders are set to visit Lehigh throughout the spring semester of 2011 as part of the Fazlur R. Khan Distinguished Lecture Series. The Series is open to the Lehigh community and general public -- a chance to learn about state-of-the-art developments in the art, science, and engineering of structural development.
The first lecture in the series features David Scott on Friday, Feb. 18 at 4:30p.m. in the Sinclair Lab Auditorium. Scott, an expert in advanced tools for unusual, yet cost-effective and performance-based buildings that won’t fail under extreme stress, is giving a talk entitled Extreme Engineering. The lecture will be preceded by a reception beginning at 4:10 p.m.
Scott's lecture will explore building designs that can withstand extreme events such as earthquakes or fires, and discuss recent advances in design and construction technologies.
Scott is a leader of the New York office of Arup, International, a global engineering design firm. He is also a past chairman of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Projects throughout his career include the Hong Kong Bank Headquarters Building, the Hong Kong Bank Headquarters, the Biological Sciences Building at Hong Kong University, the International Airport Terminal Building in Hong Kong and the 300m Cheung Kong Center. His designs have come to life in many buildings and towers across China, Korea, Philippines, Taiwanand Indonesia.
In March, Masayoshi Nakashima will lead the next lecture in the FRK Distinguished Lecture Series, titled Safeguarding Quality of Life: the Role of Large-Scale Testing. This lecture will take place on Friday, March 25, at 4:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium, and is also preceded by a reception at 4:10 p.m.
Nakashima earned his Ph.D. from Lehigh in 1981, and is a noted expert in earthquake engineering. He will introduce and discuss new, revolutionary tests that explore the durability of a building during an earthquake as well as a variety of problems related to ongoing safety and quality of life. Nakashima is a professor at Kyoto University in Japan, a member of the Japanese E-Defense National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, and editor of the International Journal of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics.
The final lecture of the series, entitled Building Disaster Resilient Communities, will be given by Chris D. Poland on Friday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium, with a reception preceding at 4:10 p.m.
As Chairman and CEO of Degenkolb Engineers in San Francisco, Poland seeks to increase the resilience of buildings and cities when disasters strike. Poland will discuss how he and colleagues have begun to develop new safety codes and strategies to support and improve the disaster response plans of cities, as well as innovative designs for rebuilding and recovery.
The Fazlur R. Khan Distinguished Lecture Series is organized by Dan M. Frangopol, the first holder of Lehigh's Fazlur Rahman Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture. The lecture series is sponsored by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Art and Architecture Department of the College of Arts and Sciences.
For further details on the speakers or the FRK Chair, please visit the FRK Web site.