CIEN E4121: Advanced Analysis and Design of Structures

Course Overview

Advanced analysis and design methodologies have the ability to provide higher efficiency in the use of building materials, often leading to improved quality, economy and safety in the design of structures. Such techniques have already been incorporated in building code requirements (AISC, ACI) for the design of steel and concrete structures, and are becoming the norm in engineering practice.

This advanced graduate course builds on the structural analysis and design principles you mastered during your undergraduate studies. It will develop your computational skills and bridge the gap between material behavior and structural performance, allowing higher efficiency in the production of an economical and sustainable infrastructure. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to computational tools such as Mathcad and MATLAB.

Course Instructor

Tom Panayotidi

Lecturer in the Discipline of Structural Engineering and Mechanics

Tom T. Panayotidi is a registered professional engineer in the states of New York and New Jersey, with over 30 years of practical experience in the design of structures and foundations for static and dynamic (machinery/seismic) conditions. As a Principal Engineer for Burns and Roe, Inc. and for Power Engineers, Inc., he has been involved in the design of several USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) projects and numerous power generating stations across the United States, Central America and Asia. As a Principal Structural Engineer for General Electric-Hitachi (GEH), he has been actively involved in the structural design of the new generation nuclear power plant BWRX-300 SMR (Small Modular Reactor), using advanced computational techniques that incorporate the post-elastic behavior of building materials under cyclic-seismic loads and large temperature gradients. 

Panayotidi received his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering (1981), MS (1983) and Doctor of Engineering Science (1986) degrees in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University. He is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Before joining Columbia University in 2013, he has taught several mechanics based design courses as an adjunct professor at local universities, including Structural Dynamics, Design of Foundations, Advanced Steel Design, Advanced Concrete Design, Design of Prestressed Concrete, Theory of Plates and Shells, and others.