Benjamin Schafer

Last updated
Benjamin Schafer
NationalityAmerican
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
  • Structural Engineering
Institutions Johns Hopkins University

Benjamin W. Schafer is an American structural engineer, renowned for his extensive research contributions in structural stability, mechanics, and the design of thin-walled structures. [1] Currently he is the Willard and Lillian Hackerman Professor of Civil and Systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Schafer has made strides in advancing the understanding and application of structural engineering principles. [2] He received awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, including the Norman Medal and the Huber Research Prize. [3]

Contents

Education and career

Schafer graduated with a BSE in civil engineering from the University of Iowa in 1993. He then went on to Cornell University to get an MS and a Ph.D. in structural engineering in 1994 and 1997, respectively. [4] Throughout his career, he has assumed roles within the academic and technical communities, including chair positions in Structural Stability Research Council and the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute. [5]

He is the founding directorship of the Ralph S. O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins University. [6]

Research

Schafer's research has been focused on enabling engineers to design resilient civil structures using minimal material. [7]

Schafer's research aims to design and test earthquake-ready buildings primarily constructed from cold-formed steel, which has become increasingly popular in structural engineering projects. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil engineering</span> Engineering discipline focused on physical infrastructure

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyscraper</span> Tall habitable building

A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft) or 150 meters (490 ft) in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Historically, the term first referred to buildings with between 10 and 20 stories when these types of buildings began to be constructed in the 1880s. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structural engineering</span> Sub-discipline of civil engineering dealing with the creation of man made structures

Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and calculate the stability, strength, rigidity and earthquake-susceptibility of built structures for buildings and nonbuilding structures. The structural designs are integrated with those of other designers such as architects and building services engineer and often supervise the construction of projects by contractors on site. They can also be involved in the design of machinery, medical equipment, and vehicles where structural integrity affects functioning and safety. See glossary of structural engineering.

Limit State Design (LSD), also known as Load And Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), refers to a design method used in structural engineering. A limit state is a condition of a structure beyond which it no longer fulfills the relevant design criteria. The condition may refer to a degree of loading or other actions on the structure, while the criteria refer to structural integrity, fitness for use, durability or other design requirements. A structure designed by LSD is proportioned to sustain all actions likely to occur during its design life, and to remain fit for use, with an appropriate level of reliability for each limit state. Building codes based on LSD implicitly define the appropriate levels of reliability by their prescriptions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation (engineering)</span> Lowest and supporting layer of a structure

In engineering, a foundation is the element of a structure which connects it to the ground or more rarely, water, transferring loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep. Foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in the design of foundation elements of structures.

Earthbag construction is an inexpensive building method using mostly local soil to create structures which are both strong and can be quickly built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seismic retrofit</span> Modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity

Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers, the need of seismic retrofitting is well acknowledged. Prior to the introduction of modern seismic codes in the late 1960s for developed countries and late 1970s for many other parts of the world, many structures were designed without adequate detailing and reinforcement for seismic protection. In view of the imminent problem, various research work has been carried out. State-of-the-art technical guidelines for seismic assessment, retrofit and rehabilitation have been published around the world – such as the ASCE-SEI 41 and the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE)'s guidelines. These codes must be regularly updated; the 1994 Northridge earthquake brought to light the brittleness of welded steel frames, for example.

This page is a list of construction topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fazlur Rahman Khan</span> Bangladeshi architect (1929–1982)

Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect, who initiated important structural systems for skyscrapers. Considered the "father of tubular designs" for high-rises, Khan was also a pioneer in computer-aided design (CAD). He was the designer of the Sears Tower, since renamed Willis Tower, the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998, and the 100-story John Hancock Center.

Earthquake engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind. Its overall goal is to make such structures more resistant to earthquakes. An earthquake engineer aims to construct structures that will not be damaged in minor shaking and will avoid serious damage or collapse in a major earthquake. A properly engineered structure does not necessarily have to be extremely strong or expensive. It has to be properly designed to withstand the seismic effects while sustaining an acceptable level of damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel plate shear wall</span>

A steel plate shear wall (SPSW) consists of steel infill plates bounded by boundary elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of structural engineering</span>

The history of structural engineering dates back to at least 2700 BC when the step pyramid for Pharaoh Djoser was built by Imhotep, the first architect in history known by name. Pyramids were the most common major structures built by ancient civilizations because it is a structural form which is inherently stable and can be almost infinitely scaled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earthquake-resistant structures</span> Structures designed to protect buildings from earthquakes

Earthquake-resistant or aseismic structures are designed to protect buildings to some or greater extent from earthquakes. While no structure can be entirely impervious to earthquake damage, the goal of earthquake engineering is to erect structures that fare better during seismic activity than their conventional counterparts. According to building codes, earthquake-resistant structures are intended to withstand the largest earthquake of a certain probability that is likely to occur at their location. This means the loss of life should be minimized by preventing collapse of the buildings for rare earthquakes while the loss of the functionality should be limited for more frequent ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold-formed steel</span> Steel products shaped by cold-working processes

Cold-formed steel (CFS) is the common term for steel products shaped by cold-working processes carried out near room temperature, such as rolling, pressing, stamping, bending, etc. Stock bars and sheets of cold-rolled steel (CRS) are commonly used in all areas of manufacturing. The terms are opposed to hot-formed steel and hot-rolled steel.

Studcast concrete, also called "pre-framed concrete", combines relatively thin concrete layers with cold formed steel framing to create hybrid panels; the result is a panelized system usable for cladding, curtain walls, shaft walls, and load-bearing exterior and interior walls. Studcast panels install in the same manner as prefabricated steel stud panels. The technology is applicable for both factory prefabrication and site-cast (tilt-up) wall construction on almost all types of buildings, including multifamily housing, schools, industrial, commercial and institutional structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bamboo construction</span> Utilization of bamboo for construction

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This glossary of structural engineering terms pertains specifically to structural engineering and its sub-disciplines. Please see glossary of engineering for a broad overview of the major concepts of engineering.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantinos Tsavdaridis</span> Professor at the University of Leeds

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References

  1. Steel, Build (22 September 2016). "Research Results in Significant Advances in Cold-Formed Steel Design for Thin-Walled Structures". BuildSteel.org.
  2. "Benjamin Schafer Honored with AISI Leadership Award for Contributions to Steel Research". SGH.
  3. 1 2 Locke, Andy (20 June 2023). "AISI Publishes New Cold-Formed Steel Research Report". Build Using Steel.
  4. "Benjamin W. Schafer". Johns Hopkins - Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute.
  5. "So long CFSRC, it was a good run – Thin-walled Structures Group". www.ce.jhu.edu.
  6. Eisenberg, Stephen (6 November 2023). "Offshore Wind Project Headwinds Threaten Biden's Clean Energy Goals". Johns Hopkins - Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute.
  7. Warshanna, Salma (24 August 2012). "Cold-Formed Steel Rebuilds Earthquake-Resistant Architecture". livescience.com.