CEE Establishes Bridge Center by Diane Kukich The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has established a Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering at the University of Delaware. Intended as a resource for highway and railroad bridge owners and engineers, the center will conduct multidisciplinary research that will add to the knowledge base needed to maintain and renew the world's bridge infrastructure. It will also serve as a source of engineering personnel for bridge owners. The new bridge center is founded on the national visibility the University of Delaware has already attained in the application of advanced composites to bridge construction and rehabilitation, combined with existing leadership in traditional areas of bridge design and evaluation. "We realized that to become a true leader in this area, we needed to expand the initiative beyond a primarily research activity to encompass a stronger educational mission," says Prof. Michael J. Chajes, one of the faculty members instrumental in establishing the center. "We also recognized that we needed to broaden our focus beyond purely structural engineering issues and become multidisciplinary in nature." "We have a strong history of working with DelDOT and other bridge owners and consulting firms to solve bridge-infrastructure-related problems," says Prof. Dennis R. Mertz, who will serve as the center's first director. "One of our most notable collaborations was the installation of an all-composite bridge deck on Business Route 896 in Glasgow, Delaware, late in 1998." Designed, fabricated, erected, and tested by a partnership involving DelDOT, FHWA, industry, and the UD research team, the bridge is one of the first state-owned all-composite bridges in the nation. It was selected as the 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers Delaware Section Project of the Year Award. "This project serves as a model for the type of collaborative multidisciplinary research that will be conducted within the new bridge center," says Center for Composite Materials Director John W. Gillespie Jr., who holds joint faculty appointments in civil engineering and materials science. Along with several other composites-related bridge projects, the 896 bridge also helps to define the research agenda of the new center. The primary focus will be on the application of high-performance materials--including high-performance steel, high-performance concrete, and advanced composites--to bridge infrastructure. Center-affiliated researchers have successfully demonstrated rehabilitation and strengthening of a steel bridge using advanced composites, rapid replacement of a concrete deck with a composite deck, and installation of a composite slab on steel girders. Faculty for the bridge center will be drawn from the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical Engineering; the College of Marine Studies; and the College of Arts and Science. More than 20 UD faculty have already participated in collaborative research in this area or have expressed an interest in future participation. "Basically, the center will be open to anyone who wants to participate," says Mertz. "In addition, to create a regional and national presence, we plan to invite faculty from programs throughout the country to become members." With one of the primary goals of the center being to educate a new generation of bridge engineers, undergraduate and graduate students will participate in center research, and the activities of the center will be integrated into both undergraduate and graduate coursework. "The success of the center will depend on interaction with government agencies such as state and federal DOTs, and industry to help direct research and educational activities," says Chajes. "We plan to establish a partnership program and will work closely with this group to identify research needs and to transfer technology through research reports, short courses, and symposia and conferences." Partners may be involved through financial contributions and membership fees, participation in joint research projects, sharing of research equipment, and donation of equipment and materials. "The center will provide a strong academic program for undergraduate and graduate students in the various areas comprising bridge engineering," says Mertz. "The center's graduates will have a strong background in bridge engineering and will be well positioned to become leaders in the field. We envision strong interaction between the partner firms and the students associated with the center, leading to employment opportunities for the students." "Exchanges of personnel between the partners and the center will facilitate the transfer of ideas," he continues. "Faculty internships at the firms, adjunct positions for visitors from industry to the center, and student internships at the partner firms will foster an appreciation of the real engineering problems within the field." "We have defined a numbers of goals for the bridge center," says Mertz, "but what it all comes down to is providing two basic resources to the bridge engineering community--people and knowledge."