Note this meeting has been changed to a virtual meeting only.

Amit Varma, PhD, Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Bowen Laboratory of Large-Scale CE Research at Purdue University's Lyles School of Civil Engineering.

Biography

Varma received his BS in Civil Engineering from IIT-Bombay ('94), MS from Univ. of Oklahoma ('96), and PhD from Lehigh University ('01). He has been an academic for 20 years and at Purdue University for 16 years. 

Varma’s research products are the basis of (and directly cited in) several AISC specifications (AISC 360, AISC 341, AISC N690) for the design of steel-concrete composite structures for building structures and safety-related nuclear facilities. He has previously received the AISC Milek Faculty Fellowship Award (2004), AISC Special Achievement Award (2017, 2020), and the ASCE Shortridge Hardesty Award (2019). 

Varma is the Chair of AISI/AISC Task Committee 8 on Fire Design, and member of Task Committee 5 on Composite Design. He is also a member of the AISC Committee of Specifications and ASCE/SEI 7 Standard Committee.

Varma lives in West Lafayette, Ind., with his mother, wife, and two daughters.

Abstract

The merits of steel-concrete composite construction have been recognized and leveraged for decades, but they have never been harnessed quite so efficiently as the new SpeedCore system, which consists of composite plate shear walls and composite coupling beams. This system can be used, when needed, in lieu of traditional reinforced concrete core walls/shear walls in commercial, industrial, or nuclear construction. The primary advantages of this composite system stem from the efficient modularization and prefabrication of steel modules, and elimination of rebar cages, formwork, and falsework, resulting in an expedited construction schedule and thus overall increased project economy.

In this year's T.R. Higgins Lecture, Purdue University's Amit Varma will summarize the results of extensive research conducted over more than 12 years, culminating in the development of design specifications, provisions, and guidelines for composite walls and systems for various applications. He'll highlight experimental behavior, numerical modeling, and design of composite walls and the SpeedCore system for wind loading, seismic loading, and fire loading conditions. For wind loading, the presentation will focus on stiffness and strength. For seismic loading, the presentation will focus on the capacity design method and performance evaluation. For fire loading, the presentation will cover both the fire resistance rating (in hours) and strength at elevated temperature.

Example Schedule

Note: No Cancellations received after 5:00 PM on October 10, 2021.