Associate Professor, Structures
Education
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
M.S., Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
M.A., Applied Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
B.A., Mathematics, Kansas State University
Academic Experience
1. Associate Professor Structures Program, School of Architecture, UIUC; 2003-present
2. Chair, Structures Program, School of Architecture, 2003-2007
3. Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, UIUC; 1998-2003
4. Instructor, Architectural Engineering Department, Pennsylvania State University; 1987-1998
Visiting Positions
1. Visiting Scholar, University Teknologi Malaysia, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, July 2007
2. Visiting Scholar, University Teknologi Malaysia, College of Science and Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 2009
Publications
Books in Progress
1. Structural Steel Design: An Integrated Approach (eight chapters developed)
2. Integrated design and construction of tall buildings for the Tall Buildings technical committee of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (Prof. Kyoung Sun Moon of Yale University, co-author)
Partial List of Refereed Publications
1. Aminmansour, A. and Kyoung Sun Moon, “Integrated Design and Construction of Tall Buildings,” Journal of Architectural Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), submitted
2. Aminmansour, A., “State-of-the-Art in the American Steel Design Specifications and Aids,” Malaysian Journal of Civil Engineering.
3. Aminmansour, A., “Optimum Flexural Design of Steel Members Utilizing Moment Gradient and Cb,” Engineering Journal, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), schedule for 1st quarter, 2009
4. Aminmansour, A., “Integrated Design and Construction of Large Building Projects,” Architecture & Construction, pp. 26-27 and 116-117, Issue No. 13, Summer 2007
5. Aminmansour, A., “New Method of Design for Combined Tension and Bending,” Engineering Journal, Special Edition, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), pp. 247-256, 4th quarter, 2006
6. Aminmansour, A., “Efficient Use of the Latest Methods of Designing Steel Members Subjected to Combined Loading,” special thematic edition on Steel of STRUCTURE, a joint publication of National Council of Structural Engineers Association (NCSEA), Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE) and Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), pp. 23-25, February 2006.
7. Aminmansour, A., "Steel Beam-Column Design: A New Fast and Practical Approach," Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction Journal, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 93-97 May 2004
8. Aminmansour, A., "High-rise with Cable Net Facade for the 21st Century!," Special Feature, CTBUH Review, electronic journal of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), pp. 65-68, February 2001
9. Aminmansour, A., "A New Approach to Design of Steel Beam-Columns," Engineering Journal, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), pp. 41-72, 2nd quarter, 2000
10. Aminmansour, A., “Software Piracy, You Can’t Afford It,” Civil Engineering, special issue dedicated to computer technology, American Society of Civil Engineers, page 6, June 1996
11. Aminmansour, A., “Utilizing The Best of Today’s Technologies to Better Educate Engineers of Tomorrow,” Journal of Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Special issue organized by the National Science Foundation (NSF), pp. 79-84, June 1996
Research
1. Development of aids for design of structural steel members
2. Integrated design and construction of tall buildings
Presentations and Lectures
Partial List of Invited Presentations
1. “Considerations for Design and Construction of Tall Buildings,” 2009 North American Steel Construction Conference by the American Institute of Steel Construction, Phoenix, Arizona, April 1-4, 2009. Special “Top Prof” session.
2. “New Trends in Building Design and Construction (Education and Practice),” College of Science and Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 6, 2009
3. “Modern Structural Materials & Systems,” Faculties of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, January 7, 2009
4. “Integrated Design and Construction of Tall Buildings,” two presentations given; one to Civil Engineering students and one to Architecture students, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, January 13, 2009
5. “Current Practice in Design and Construction of Large/Tall Buildings: An Integrated Approach,” Structural Engineering Program, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, September 4, 2007
6. “Integrated Design and Construction of Tall Buildings,” Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, July 11, 2007
7. “State-of-the-art in Design of Steel Members Subjected to Combined Loading,” Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, June 25, 2007 (see http://www.newsweek.com/id/151684)
8. “Latest Methods and Resources in AISC Manual and Specifications,” special workshop, Third National Congress in Civil Engineering, Tabriz, Iran, May 2, 2007
9. “The Art of Engineering Super Tall Buildings: An Integrated Approach,” conference opening session keynote lecture, Third National Congress in Civil Engineering sponsored by Sharif University (see http://www.newsweek.com/id/151684), Tabriz, Iran, May 1-3, 2007
10. “Design of Structural Steel Members Subjected to Combined Loads,” Structural Engineering Seminar Series, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UIUC, April 10, 2006. Speakers at this series are prominent practitioners and researchers from around the country.
11. “Latest Developments in Structural Steel Design,” Presentation to the Civil Engineering Department faculty and students, Sharif University, Tehran, Iran, July 11, 2005. An article in the Newsweek magazine (http://www.newsweek.com/id/151684 ) calls this university as “one of the world's best undergraduate colleges”.
12. “Handling Difficult Classroom Situations” session at the UIUC Graduate Teaching Academy, August of 2004, January of 2005, August 2005, January 2006, August 2006, January 2007, August 2007, January 2008, August 2008
13. “The International Teaching Experience” session at the UIUC Graduate Teaching Academy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, August of 2003, January of 2004, August of 2004, January of 2005, August 2007, January 2008, August 2008
Refereed Conference Presentations and Publications (in addition to invited presentations)
1. Aminmansour, A., “Current Practices in Design and Construction of Tall Buildings,” Proceedings of The Eleventh East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering & Construction (EASEC-11), 8 pages (electronic proceedings), Taipei, Taiwan, November 19-21, 2008
2. Aminmansour, A., “Integrated Design, Construction and Operation: A Must for the Modern Building,” Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Modern Design, Construction and Maintenance of Structures, Hanoi, Vietnam, pp. 321-327, December 10 -11, 2007
3. Aminmansour, A., “Integrated Planning, Design, Construction of Large Building Projects - - Key to Success,” Proceedings of the Sources of Architectural Form: Theory and Practice Conference, University of Kuwait, Kuwait, pp. 73-80, March 10-13, 2007. Aminmansour, A., “Integration: Key to Successful Planning, Design, Construction and Operations of Large Building Projects,” Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium Architectural Interchanges in Asia, Daegu, South Korea, pp. 230-233, October 25-28, 2006
4. Aminmansour, A., “Latest Developments in American Steel Design Specifications and Aids,” Proceedings of the Sixth Asia Pacific Structural Engineering & Construction Conference (ASPEC) 2006, electronic document, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 2006
5. Aminmansour, A., “Practical Design of Steel Beam-Columns: Utilizing the Latest Developments,” Proceedings of the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) Convention, pp. 213-219, Santa Barbara, CA, September 2002
6. Aminmansour, A., and Will Shepphird, “Innovative Curtain Wall System Requires Integration of Architecture and Structural Design,” Proceedings of the 2001 ACSA Technology Conference, Austin, Texas, July 2001
7. Aminmansour, A., “A New Method for More Efficient and Faster Design of Steel Beam-Columns,” Proceedings of the Eighth East-Asia Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC-8), Singapore, December 2001
8. Aminmansour, A., “Optimum Load and Resistance Factor Design of Steel Beam-Columns,” Proceedings of the Fourth Asia Pacific Structural Engineering & Construction Conference (ASPEC) 2000, pp. 473-480, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 2000
9. Aminmansour, A., “A Multimedia Software to Better Teach Structural Steel Design,” Proceedings, International Conference on The Teaching of Architecture for Multidisciplinary Practice, Plymouth, United Kingdom, February 1999
10. Aminmansour, A., “Utilizing IT in Engineering Education and Practice,” Proceedings of the International Computing Congress, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Boston, MA, October 1998
11. Aminmansour, A., “Developing A Multimedia Courseware in Structural Engineering,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, November 1997
12. Aminmansour, A. “Development of An Interactive Multimedia Courseware in Structural Steel Design,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 1996
13. Aminmansour, A. “Using Multimedia Technology to Bring a Touch of the ‘Real World’ to the Classroom,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), pp. 298-301, San Diego, CA, October, 1996
14. Aminmansour, A., “Utilizing Information Technologies to Better Educate Engineers of Tomorrow,” Proceedings of the Third Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Anaheim, CA, June 1996
15. Aminmansour, A. “Development of An Interactive Multimedia Courseware In Engineering,” Proceedings of the World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Association for The Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Graz, Austria, June 1995
16. Aminmansour, A., “Multimedia Technology and The Steel Industry,” Modern Steel Construction, American Institute of Steel Construction, February 1995
17. Aminmansour, A., “Development of An Interactive Multimedia Book In Engineering,” Proceedings of the Interactive Multimedia '94 Conference, Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT), pp. 70-72, Washington, D.C., August 1994
18. Aminmansour, A., “SteelDEM; An Interactive Multimedia Intelligent Tutor and Teaching Aid for Structural Steel Design,” Proceedings of the First Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1458-1464, Washington, D.C., June 1994
19. Aminmansour, A., “Multimedia Technology and Structural Steel Design,” Proceedings of the Structures Congress, American Society of Civil Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia, April 1994
20. Aminmansour, A., “Interactive Multimedia Technology and Engineering Education: A Case Study,” Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference, pp. 301-304, Washington, D.C., November 1993
21. Aminmansour, A., “Utilizing Interactive Multimedia Technology in Engineering Education,” Proceedings of the EDUCOM '93 Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 1993
22. Aminmansour, A., “Structural Steel Design Education Using the Latest in Computer Technology,” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education National Conference, Champaign, IL, June 1993
23. Aminmansour, A. “Multimedia Technology: A Revolutionary Tool to Enhance Teaching and Learning of Structural Steel Design,” Proceedings of the World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Orlando, FL, pp. 11-16, June 1993
24. Aminmansour, A., “Utilizing Interactive Multimedia Technology in Structural Steel Design Education,” Proceedings of the 10th National Conference on Microcomputers in Civil Engineering, pp. 8-11, Lake Buena Vista, FL, November 1992
25. Scanlon, A., A. Aminmansour, A. Nanni, and M. Faruqui, “Direct Impact Testing of Reinforced Concrete Structures,” Proceedings of Structures Under Shock and Impact (SUSI) Conference, Porthsmouth, England, November, 1992
26. Aminmansour, A. and A. Scanlon, “Impact Resistance of Reinforced Concrete Structures,” committee Proceedings of the Spring Convention of the American Concrete Institute, Washington, D.C., March 1992
27. Scanlon, A., R. McClure, and A. Aminmansour, “Full-Scale Impact Tests on Cast-In-Place Concrete Bridge Barriers,” Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Short and Medium Span Bridges, Toronto, Canada, August 1990
28. Scanlon, A. et al., “Performance Characteristics of Cast-In-Place Bridge Barriers,” Final Report, research project no. 87-21, submitted to The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Harrisburg, PA, February 1990, 217 pages
29. Aminmansour, A., “Enhancing Engineering Education in the Classroom,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 1989
30. Aminmansour, A., “A Teaching Assistant's Perspectives,” Proceedings of the First National Conference on Employment and Education of Teaching Assistants, Columbus, Ohio, pp. 25-27, November 1986 (conference keynote speech)
Conference Presentations and Publications Refereed by Abstract
Ali, Mir M. and Abbas Aminmansour, “Preliminary Design of a Special Monumental Structure,” Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2009 Structures Congress, Austin, Texas, May 1, 2009
Professional Memberships
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
• Member of the Manuals Committee
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) / Structural Engineering Institute (SEI)
• Member, Committee on Compression and Flexural Members
• Member, Committee on Methods of design
• Member, Committee on Tall Buildings
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)
Professional and University Service
1. Member, Campus Budget Oversight Committee (CBOC), 2005-present
2. Chair, Senate Committee on Educational Policy, 2004-present
3. Member, Senate Executive Committee, 2004-present
4. Member, Steering Committee for University Domain Change (uiuc.edu to illinois.edu), 2007-present
5. Member, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs’ Committee for Review of Student Academic Integrity Policy Review, 2008-09
6. Member, Chancellor’s First Amendment Activities Task Group, 2008-09
7. Vice-Chair, Senate Executive Committee (SEC), 2007-08
8. Chair, Senate Committee for (routine) Review of Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UIUC, 2007-08
9. Member, UIUC Senate, 2000-2002, 2002-2004, 2006-2008
10. Member, University of Illinois IT Priorities Committee (Student Functional Group), 2004-present
11. Member, Banner Campus Cross Functional Committee, 2005-present
12. Chair, UIUC Senate Task Group for Study of Multi-institutional Degrees, 2006-07
13. Member, Provost’s Instructional Space Advisory Group, 2006-2007
14. Chair, New Buildings Subgroup, Provost’s Instructional Space Advisory Group, 2006-07
15. Member, FAA Dean Search Committee, 2006
16. Member, University of Illinois Global Campus, Academic Affairs Subcommittee, 2005-2006
17. Chair, FAA College Ad Hoc Grievance Committee, 2005
18. Chair, School of Architecture faculty search committee, 2004-05
19. Chair, Task Group for Review of Academic Calendar Guidelines, 2004-2005
20. Chair, College of Fine and Applied Arts Instructional Computing Policy Committee, 2000-2005
21. Member, University of Illinois-Integrate Project Faculty Advisory Committee, 2002-2005
22. Member, Chancellor’s Cybersecurity Committee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-2005
23. Member, Director Search Committee, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-04
24. Chair, Architecture Council (formerly Curriculum Committee and Graduate Committee), School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-2004
25. Member, Senate Information Technologies Committee, 2002-2004
26. Member, Campus Web Strategy Committee, 2002-2003
27. Member, Senate Committee on Student Discipline, 2000-2002
28. Member, Structures Faculty Search Committee, School of Architecture, 2001-2002
29. Member, Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, 2001-2002
Other Activities
1. Invited Member, International Technical Committee, 7th Asia Pacific Structural Engineering & Construction Conference (APSEC 2009), August 4–6, 2009, Awana Porto Malai, Langkawi, Malaysia
2. Organizer of two sessions titled Integrated Design of Tall Buildings: Recent Trends and Perspectives with five internationally known speakers, 2009 Structures Congress by the Structures Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, April 30-May 2nd, 2009, Austin, TX (Prof. Kyoung Sun Moon, co-organizer)
3. External Examiner for Accreditation by The Board of Engineers Malaysia of the Civil Engineering masters degree, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, July 2007
4. Judge, Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program, Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI), May 2006
5. Invited Member, International Advisory Committee, 2006 Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6. Chair and organizer of the 2004 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Technology Conference, with theme “Enclaves in Technology,” Miami, FL, March 2004
7. Member, International Advisory Committee, 5th Asia Pacific Structural Engineering and Construction Conference, APSEC 2003
8. Member, Advisory Committee, Steel Technology Center, Technical University of Malaysia, 2000-2002
9. Jury member and/or structural consultant for architectural design studios
Awards and Honors
1. In his book, Unified Design of Steel Structures, 2008, Dr. Louis F. Geschwindner, AISC then-Vice President of Engineering and Research refers to tables developed based on my research and referenced in items 5 and 9 below as follows: “Perhaps the most useful tables in the Manual are those in Part 6, Design of Members Subject to Combined Loading.”
2. Invited by world-renowned artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, as consultant (in partnership with Professor Mir M. Ali) for development of concept structural designs for their Mastaba monument design (http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/mast.shtml). Three other teams invited one each from United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan, 2007-08. The Mastaba is large enough to house the largest pyramid in Egypt Inside it
3. Judge, Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program (national competition), Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI), May 2006
4. Research results on a new method of designing structural steel members subjected to combined tension and bending were adopted by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and included in Part (chapter) Six in the 13th edition of the AISC-LRFD Manual of Steel Construction, 2005
5. Fellow, CIC (Big Ten plus University of Chicago) Academic Leadership Program, 2005-06
6. Structural steel consultant for two of Professor Osman Ataman’s design studios which produced the first and second prize winners in two national competitions sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), 2003-04 and 2004-05
7. Honorable Mention, Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching – Faculty, UIUC, 2003-04
8. On the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by Their Students at the University of Illinois thirteen times.
9. Research results on a new method of designing steel beam-columns was adopted by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and included in a new Part (chapter) in the 3rd edition of the AISC-LRFD Manual of Steel Construction, 2001
10. Excellence in Teaching Award, voted by the students, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, three times
11. Outstanding Faculty Award, Student Society of Architectural Engineers, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, awarded upon my departure from Penn State in May 1998. No such award given in many years. Plaque includes a quote from Falvia Weedn which reads, “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay awhile, leave their footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever, the same.”
12. Fellow, The Leonhard Center for Innovation and Enhancement of Engineering Education, College of Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 1992-1996
13. Work featured on the cover of special issue of Concrete International with theme “Computers in Concrete,” American Concrete Institute, December 1994
14. Outstanding Teacher, College of Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 1992-1993
15. Special Recognition Award for Leadership from the University President and Dean of the Graduate School, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 1990
Additional Information
Abbas Aminmansour 