FIU Magazine Bridge Story 16913

Originally Published in FIU Magazine Spring 2017

Building better bridges An FIU professor is leading the nation’s efforts to make infrastructure safer

By Alexandra Pecharich | Photo by Doug Garland ’10

Building better bridges An FIU professor is leading the nation’s efforts to make infrastructure safer

By Alexandra Pecharich | Photo by Doug Garland ’10

F

IU has designated five university

to his credit, the chair of the Department of

program in 2006. Azizinamini was the

programs as “preeminent,” a recognition

Civil and Environmental Engineering boasts

principal investigator leading an initiative

of high-caliber, collaborative work that

a long history of impacting his field, first by

that resulted in his developing the definitive

generates unique learning opportunities,

working in industry and then spending two

government guide for enhancing the service

pioneering research and meaningful

highly productive decades at the University of

life of bridges through design, construction

engagement with the external community

Nebraska, Lincoln, before landing at FIU

and maintenance.

while expanding the university’s financial

in 2011.

base. This is the first in a series of articles that explores these programs in greater depth.

Nebraska’s state bridge engineer Mark

His expertise: building bridges fast.

Traynowicz praises the past work between his

“The best way I can describe him is

professional staff and Azizinamini as key to

as an innovator,” says Monica Starnes, a

“[elevating] Nebraska as one of the leaders in

When Atorod Azizinamini stood in the White

senior program officer at the Transportation

bridge design and bridge engineering in the

House in 2015 to be honored as a “Champion

Research Board of the National Academies

country. With his help, through research, he

of Change,” he formally accepted a title that

of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She

put us on the map.”

many agree has described him for years.

worked with Azizinamini when Congress

With four patents and more than 200 articles

established a $232 million highway research

Azizinamini shows no sign of slowing down in his drive to make impactful changes that

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benefit society — nor can the nation afford to

Then in 2013, the U.S. Department of

mobility and work zone fatalities (resulting

Transportation put out a call to universities in

from more than 67,500 related crashes in

More than 25 percent of the country’s

a move to build increased collaboration with

2013 alone), not to mention financial losses to

600,000-plus bridges are older than the

the Federal Highway Administration and the

local businesses and commuter frustration.

50 years for which they were optimally

American Association of State Highway and

designed. Data from the 2016 National

Transportation Officials.

let him.

Bridge Inventory indicates that nearly

“We heard that the secretary of

56,000 bridges are “structurally deficient”

transportation wanted new ideas, new

— deemed safe for travel but in need of

innovations, something that can solve the

renovation or replacement — and another

problems and the challenges we have with

74,000-plus are “functionally obsolete”

the transportation system,” Azizinamini

— inadequate for current traffic demands

says. He prepared a winning $4.5 million

or unable to accommodate oversized or

proposal (and earned the federal designation

emergency vehicles.

“University Transportation Center”) around “accelerated bridge construction.” ABC, as

Full speed ahead

it’s known, uses cutting-edge techniques

“If you didn’t have alternative technology, that would be something,” he says, “but we have the solutions.”

New ways of doing business Those solutions include alternatives to what has been, until recently, standard construction practice. Instead of closing down a major artery for months at a time to demolish an existing bridge and erect a new one in its place, state departments of

Azizinamini arrived at FIU with the goal

that minimize onsite construction to produce

transportation are increasingly looking at

of establishing a federally funded center to

environmentally friendly bridges that are safer

ABC. Options include constructing an entire

make aging infrastructure safer. The university

and longer lasting than those built under

bridge off-site and transporting it whole to its

quickly provided $50,000 in seed money to

traditional methods.

designated location for installation; building

jumpstart the effort. Fellow faculty, industry

Azizinamini understands well the negative

a bridge alongside an existing one and then,

professionals and a growing number of

impacts associated with traditional bridge

following demolition of the older structure,

graduate students signed on.

construction: traffic delays, decreased

sliding in the new one; and a modular Continues

Continued

Dr. Azizinamini has done,” Traynowicz says, “is really put together a team of experts. He reached out to people across the country that are the best at what they do. I’m always impressed by that,” he says, referencing those who contribute as presenters as well as the professional staff who help run the center. “It’s just the way that he can get people together.

You don’t have to be the one smartest person in the world or have all the answers, but when you can bring people together like that, you can get all the answers.”

Azizinamini also gathers together federal highway administrators, state engineers, contractors, representatives of fabricating companies and academics in his role as

The folded plate steel girder system

chair of the Accelerated Bridge Construction approach that combines factory fabrication

says of research that doesn’t leave the halls

Conference, which is cosponsored by no

with minimal construction on site.

of academia. “I think why things worked so

fewer than 30 state DOTs and several federal

well [in Nebraska] is because the university

agencies. The next conference takes place

and even drives, the use of ABC nationwide

came up with these great, new, innovative

in December and will host more than 600

as well as addresses myriad issues related

ideas and we were able to implement them

attendees who participate in workshops,

to contemporary bridge making in general.

on real projects.”

listen to technical presentations and visit

The research coming out of FIU supports,

Re-funded in 2016 (with $7.5 million over

In addition to working with the state of

five years), the center continues to serve

Nebraska on several bridges, Azizinamini

as the lead institution of a consortium that

actively shared with officials and engineers the

includes four other universities (Iowa State

knowledge he and colleagues had gathered.

University, the University of Nevada-Reno,

“He went so far as to train us in what’s

more than 50 exhibitors in downtown Miami.

A profitable patent His long experience has given Azizinamini unique insight into areas of need within the

the University of Oklahoma and the University

going on in research not only at the university

field. Work he began at the University of

of Washington), each of which Azizinamini

but across the country,” Traynowicz says.

Nebraska has led to his own inventions.

invited to participate based on a particular

“We knew what we were doing, but he had

area of strength.

the latest advances and some of the most

officials gravitated almost exclusively to

current techniques.”

the use of concrete for spans of 100 feet or

At FIU, researchers are working on dozens of projects, among them studies to develop

Today Azizinamini uses a bigger bullhorn

Noting that for decades state transportation

less — a size range into which the majority

prefabricated concrete bridge railings; to

to reach a larger audience. He hosts monthly

of bridges fall — he started looking for a

establish best practices and guidelines for

webinars that attract as many as 4,000

potential alternative. “That gave me a little

demolition; to evaluate the feasibility of using

participants at a time, including folks in both

bit of a challenge,” says Azizinamini. “The

sensor technology to monitor corrosion;

the public and private sectors. In many cases,

motivation was to come up with something

and to develop a sensing system to monitor

whole departments huddle together to hear

that costs less to society, is more efficient,

soil erosion around abutments and piers

state engineers and project managers share

more economical, lasts longer.”

subjected to storm surge and sea level rise.

their experiences on specific projects. (The

From research to practice From his years of working with Azizinamini

By 2009 he had something — a folded

titles of recent presentations include, among

plate steel girder system — that industry

others, “West Virginia’s Basnettville Bridge

publications have predicted will revolutionize

Lateral Slide,” “Ontario’s Rapid Installation

the short-span bridge market.

in Nebraska, state bridge engineer Traynowicz

of Single-Span Bridges” and “PennDOT

The genius lies in bending a single steel

understands the value of getting such research

Replacement of Route 581 Bridge during

plate into a trapezoid-shaped girder (several

out to those who can best run with it.

Weekend.”) For those listening in, the chance

girders comprise the support on which a

to ask technical questions of the presenters,

deck, or the driving surface, rests), thereby

whether live or after the fact, is priceless.

eliminating the conventional use of multiple

“You can come up with these great ideas, but if you can’t get them built in the real world, they don’t really go anywhere,” he

“One of the biggest things that

plates that have to be joined by welding

(the welded seam being a potential source of

step of changing programs midstream,

bridge weakness). The system uses less steel

she scoured academic journals and trade

than do traditional steel girders, making it less

publications for inspiration. One name cropped

expensive, and the innovative open-bottom

up more often than others: Atorod Azizinamini.

construction allows for easy maintenance

She sent him her research papers and made a

inspections, another cost savings. The girders

visit to Miami. The strength of her commitment

are fabricated in a plant and delivered to

and the quality of her work earned her a spot

the bridge site, where they are conjoined in

on his team, and she has been getting her

preparation for the pouring of a concrete deck

hands dirty ever since. (She studies deck

or the laying of precast concrete panels.

and slab connections.) Jahromi revels in the

CDR Maguire, a Miami-based engineering

comprehensive nature of her education under

firm owned and run by FIU alumnus Carlos

Azizinamini, who has an unparalleled grasp

Duart ’94, MS ’99, markets and distributes the

of how industry works. Upon graduation, she

steel plate girder system.

hopes to find a job with a private firm.

“The contractors absolutely love it,” says

“Some people think that civil engineering is

Duart, whose company will have overseen

only working with software and PCs, that they

production of 10 bridges using the system by

cannot go into the field, they cannot go [talk]

the end of 2017. “What they love about our

to the project manager,” she says, thrilled that

bridges is that in three hours they have the

her mentor believes otherwise. “He teaches

segments already in place.”

us how we can work as a civil engineer in the

The unique design is key.

“What Dr. Azizinamini has been able to do

field, in industry.”

And critical to making that leap: access to

is basically standardize bridge design, which

Azizinamini’s cutting-edge structural lab, where

of course reduces the cost,” Duart explains.

Jahromi and her fellow students can take

“It’s 99 percent pretty much standard, which

experimental concepts from the drawing board

is what’s really ideal and innovative about this

to another level.

particular product.”

“You don’t just work on the computer,” she

Duart expects to see the folded plate girder

stresses of the practical training she is getting.

system used to build 500 bridges by the close

“Whatever I can model on the PC, we can later

of 2022 and anticipates cornering 20 percent

see it in the lab using real materials [such as]

of the short-span market — or erecting 10,000

real concrete, real foam board, real rebar. We

bridges — within the next decade. FIU holds

can construct [bridge] elements in our lab to

a patent on the system developed specifically

see how they work in reality.”

for bridges longer than 60 feet, and Duart says

That full-spectrum, hands-on experience

that will translate into a financial boost for the

gives graduating students a real advantage, a

university in the tens of millions of dollars.

number of whom have scooped up high-level positions at top engineering firms, some even

Workforce of the future While spearheading research and getting it to those in the field, Azizinamini is at the same time preparing the next generation of

choosing among multiple offers. And wouldbe graduate students continue to apply at an increasing rate.

That growing interest from young people

professionals. Currently eight Ph.D. candidates

bodes well at a time when Azizinamini is

work in his busy lab.

accelerating the pace of the center’s work,

Azadeh Jaberi Jahromi is one of them.

and the current U.S. administration considers

She spent a year as a Ph.D. student in the

directing greater funding to update the nation’s

civil engineering department at a university

infrastructure.

out west before recognizing that her lifelong

“It has become part of my DNA,” the

interest in bridges made that program a poor

changemaker says of the boundless cache of

match for her career goals.

ideas he plans to trot out. “I just have to do

Determined to take the risky and unorthodox

something continuously new.” n

Recognizing Excellence In late 2016 university leaders identified five standout research programs that they designated as “preeminent.”

Another four with high potential are waiting in the wings.

PREEMINENT Bridge Engineering Program A national leader in research related to accelerated bridge construction, an approach that minimizes bridge downtime Center for Children and Families A nationally regarded center revolutionizing treatments for childhood mental illness Extreme Events Institute A globally involved center for research, education and training in natural hazards and disaster risk reduction and management Institute for Water and Environment A collaborative of FIU’s top centers and programs focused on issues related to water and environmental threats around the world STEM Transformation Institute A multidisciplinary cooperative committed to improving educational practices that lead to more and better prepared professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics EMERGING PREEMINENT Brain, Behavior and the Environment Program Health Inequalities and Disparities Program Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center Tropical Biodiversity, Sustainable Agriculture and Conservation Program

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