Metrology is not the same as meteorology #didyouknow

I know that the word "meteorology" is difficult to pronounce and sometimes even spell. But some, whether unintentional or otherwise, pronounce it like "metrology," or its descriptive form "meteorological" as "metrological." It might be all right, because not so many people know about metrology, and even some spell checkers think it is a misspelling. But in fact, this is how it is defined:

A tragic event due to faulty construction?

Check out the video on this link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1817415148842. (Thanks to my friend VIR for sharing the link.) The tragedy is not even due to an earthquake, other natural disasters, nor even a terrorist attack.

My friend ponders, is it the designer's or the contractor's fault?

"High-rise" and "tall" buildings, and the 10 worst collapses in history

Image from Wikipedia

What makes medical practice better? The fact that doctors have made a ton of fatal mistakes that has cost lives. And they learned from those mistakes. That's pretty much how it is for civil engineers, and particularly in this case, for structural engineers. If you think doctors and engineers know everything and can't make mistakes, you're thinking wrong. Doctors and engineers and other professionals are researching, discovering, and learning new things everyday.

Anyway, check out this list on bestonlineengineeringdegree.com of the 10 worst high-rise building collapses in history. If in case the link stops working, you can try this Google-cached copy of the webpage:

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.

"A journey around the edge of wind engineering"

This is a report on ‘A journey around the edge of wind engineering,’ an Intensive Course lecture by Prof. Chris Baker, that I submitted as part of the requirements in my PhD study.

PhD in Wind Engineering

Last April 16, 2010 I came back to Tokyo Polytechnic University in Atsugi, Japan, but this time as a PhD candidate particularly in the field of (structural) wind engineering.  I hope to share with you all some of the things I learned and some of my work.  Actually my post on May 3, 2010 is an example of school work (a class report specifically) that I prepared while here.