About

Bassem O. Andrawes is a Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the Director of the US DOT-funded Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center (TRANS-IPIC). Prof. Andrawes is a licensed professional engineer and an elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He received his B.Sc., MS, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Ain Shams University, Iowa State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively. Before joining the University of Illinois in 2006, he worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California Irvine and as a Design Engineer at Englekirk Partners Consulting Structural Engineers in California. With over 28 years of experience, his expertise spans earthquake engineering, infrastructure resilience, and durability, with pioneering work in the application of shape memory alloys (SMAs) in civil infrastructure. His research interests include earthquake and bridge engineering, structural retrofitting, and the analysis of advanced materials under extreme dynamic loads. He teaches courses on reinforced and prestressed concrete structures and highway bridge design.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Materials science
• Composite material
• Engineering
• Structural engineering
• Artificial Intelligence
• Construction engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Civil engineering
• Architectural engineering

Selected publications

• Shape memory alloys for structural engineering: An editorial overview of research and future potentials

  Engineering Structures · 2022 · 33 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Structural engineering
  DOI

• Innovative local prestressing system for concrete crossties using shape memory alloys

  Engineering Structures · 2021 · 29 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Structural engineering
  • Materials science
  DOI

• Local strengthening and repair of concrete bridge girders using shape memory alloy precast prestressing plate

  Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures · 2020 · 21 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Structural engineering
  • Materials science
  • Engineering

  Whether due to accidents, natural hazards, or harsh environmental conditions, concrete structures and bridges, in particular, experience local damages throughout their service life. Based on their severity, these damages can compromise the integrity of the structure. External prestressing is often used as an effective strengthening or repair technique for vulnerable or damaged structures, respectively. However, applying external prestressing in local regions of the structure with limited space can be problematic and not feasible for conventional prestressing techniques. This study investigates an innovative method for applying external prestressing in local regions of bridge girders using externally mounted precast prestressing plate reinforced with shape memory alloy wires. A thin mortar plate with embedded curved shape memory alloy wire was experimentally tested to validate the proposed prestressing concept. Afterward, finite element analysis was performed on a concrete bridge girder to numerically investigate the performance of shape memory alloy precast prestressing plate in enhancing the shear and flexural behavior of the girder. Experimental and numerical results evidently demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the innovative method in strengthening and repairing concrete structures through external local prestressing.

  DOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Innovative Confinement Technology for Strong Main Shock-Aftershock Damage Mitigation

  NSF · $400k · 2011–2017

Frequent coauthors

• Moochul Shin

  Western New England University

  20 shared

• Reginald DesRoches

  Rice University

  20 shared

• J. Riley Edwards

  Utah State University

  13 shared

• Donghyuk Jung

  Korea University

  9 shared

• Qiwen Chen

  Sun Yat-sen University

  9 shared

• Adeel Zafar

  Riphah International University

  8 shared

• Hang Zhao

  China Iron and Steel Research Institute Group

  7 shared

• Kun-Ho Eugene Kim

  University of Waterloo

  6 shared

Labs

• Transportation Infrastructure Precast Innovation Center (TRANS-IPIC)PI

Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  2000

• M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1996

• B.S., Mechanical Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1994

Awards & honors

• College Awards Policies and Bylaws
• Collegewide News Media Mentions
• Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
• Grainger Engineering for Social Justice
• Grainger Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative

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• Jeffrey S. Mooreh-130
• Shuming Nieh-128