Top honours for professors

Press, 23 December 1988, Page 9

Top honours for professors

Two civil engineering professors at the Canterbury University have received international honours for their work in the field of reinforced concrete.

Professor Tom Paulay was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Professor Robert Park won the premier award of the American Concrete Institute for research into the behaviour of bridge columns under severe earthquake loading. Professor Paulay was presented with his degree in Zurich at a ceremony attended by the President of Switzerland, Ministers of the Federal Government and vice-chancellors of the universities in Switzerland.

Since arriving at Canterbury University in 1961, he has conducted pioneering research into the design of reinforced concrete structural walls in buildings for earth-

quake resistance. He has received several New Zealand and overseas awards for his technical papers and in 1986 was awarded an 0.8. E. Professor Park will receive the American Concrete Institute award in February, at the spring convention of the institute in Atlanta, Georgia. This award is made annually for a paper published by the institute describing a notable achievement in structural engineering and detailing how it can be used. This is the fourth time in the last eight years that it has come to the Department of Civil Engineering at Canterbury University. The paper, titled “Strength and Ductility of Concrete Bridge Columns under Seismic Loading,” reviews the results of investigation of the behaviour of bridge columns subjected to severe earthquake loading. The investigation was done at the university during the last 10 years.