Structural Engineering

Structural engineers combine science and art to design and build our world's infrastructure to safely resist natural and man-made forces. Buildings, bridges, stadiums, off-shore and other civil facilities define the traditional core focus of structural engineers. Structural engineering can also extend to the design of large, complex systems including power plants, pipelines, aerospace vehicles and ships-submarines.

Degrees Offered

Learn More About the Structural Engineering Program

From the earliest days of the department, the contributions of the structural engineering faculty were pivotal to establishing the reputation of CEE at Illinois. Today, the structural engineering faculty include world-class experts in the areas of design, behavior, analysis and mechanics. Students in CEE's Structural Engineering program benefit from a vibrant research environment, which enriches the curriculum and provides them with opportunities to participate in research with significant societal impact.

The Newmark Structural Engineering Laboratory is a hub of activity, with large-scale experimental testing research being conducted to develop new, resilient structural systems and innovate new approaches for rehabilitating the aging infrastructure. This experimental work is complemented by world-class research on a wide range of topics in computational mechanics and numerical simulation of structures.

The structural engineering faculty also lead several centers of excellence, including the Midwest Structural Sciences Center, which is developing advanced simulation procedures for the next generation of flight vehicles; the Mid-America Earthquake Center, which has developed new approaches for consequence-based risk management; and the MUST-SIM Facility. This facility is one of the large-scale testing equipment sites of the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation, an initiative of the National Science Foundation that is revolutionizing earthquake engineering through experimentation, model-based simulation, and collaborative research.

Research interests of the Structural Engineering faculty include:

earthquake engineering and seismic risk management
steel, concrete, masonry, timber, and composite buildings and bridges
innovative structural systems and structural rehabilitation
smart materials in structures
structural dynamics and control
structural health monitoring
regional loss assessment
risk and reliability
computational solid and fluid mechanics
fluid-structure interaction
additive manufacturing and 3D printing

Visit the Structural Engineering Website: http://structures.cee.illinois.edu/

Annual Conference

The Structural Engineering group holds an annual conference for structural engineering professionals to discuss exciting new developments in the field, gain timely job-related information, network with colleagues, and renew their sense of professional purpose. Click here to visit the conference website.