Remembering 9-11, 10 years later

(c) KimCarpenter NJ, Wikipedia

In this case, from a civil engineering perspective. Go to the American Society of Civil Engineers' tribute website at http://www.asce.org/ASCE-Remembers-9-11/. Listen to "podcasts" showcasing interviews with engineers involved in the investigation of the World Trade Center towers' collapse and reconstruction of the memorial, as well as get handy access to links to resources on related activities of the past 10 years. Watch the slideshow regarding the 1st year of searching for answers to 'Why?'

Malaya: Interview of RWDI Rep on Wind Engineering

Yes. Wind engineering is still mostly unknown in the Philippines. There is practically no one Filipino in the Philippines who is actually into wind engineering.

Consider this one thing that wind engineering is for: to minimize and possibly prevent typhoon-induced damages.

Very relevant to us in the Philippines, right?

Engadget: Detroit DIYer cooks up stronger, lighter steel, shames scientists

Read this (rather old) article on Engadget. What's your first impression, fellow civil/structural engineer?

Here's the thing. In structural design, we want the steel to be ductile, not brittle. In the steel we know of and have been using, usually stronger means more brittle. That's more dangerous to use in design.

So that is one question left unanswered by this discovery. Is it steel we can actually use in civil/structural design in place of the current types of steel we commonly use? i.e. does it have sufficient ductility? Granted, it's not to say it doesn't have any use at all.

Ars Technica: Irene's path illustrates the challenges of hurricane forecasting

Read this article on Ars Technica. It's yet another piece on why I think we Filipinos are expecting too much from PAGASA. Here, the troubles of the US equivalent are illustrated vis-a-vis the most recent hurricane to threaten highly populated New York and other east coast cities. The key point is that there are things we can predict about typhoons and there are things we can't. I think what's happening is since we can predict some things, there's an expectation that everything about it can be predicted. It's like, since we know a basketball game is going to end up with scores above 100, the expectation is we can predict exactly what the score will be. 111-109? 103-102? Big NO.

Read up, ladies and gentlemen. Before ye speak ill. :-D