IGNITE Video #1 – Social Media Launch: Dr. Muntasir Billah, Department of Civil Engineering, Thunder Bay: "Infrastructure Condition Assessment and Management During the Covid-19 Pandemic Using Artificial Intelligence."
About the IGNITE Series
The Office of Innovation, Partnership & Economic Development (IPED) proudly presents its annual event, IGNITE, which showcases research excellence through short videos. In an effort to celebrate the ongoing research that is taking place on both campuses, we are very excited to share these videos with our communities, industry partners, and funders.
The videos will launch throughout R&I Week (every day at 1:00pm) on a number of social media platforms. Like and share these videos for a chance to win daily prizes!
These videos have been created in an effort to celebrate the ongoing research that is taking place on both campuses, and we are very excited to share these videos with our communities, industry partners, and funders.
Monday, March 7, 2022 @ 1:00pm
Dr. Muntasir Billah, Civil Engineering
Infrastructure Condition Assessment and Management During the Covid-19 Pandemic Using Artificial Intelligence
The outburst of COVID-19 has had dire societal and economic impacts across the globe. This pandemic and its consequent effects will likely present a range of challenges to the infrastructure industry and could become a major societal threat in Canada. There is a growing concern about remote-work design quality for new projects, closed sites with unfinished structures, and revised ongoing-work methods or changed supervision practices that could affect infrastructure safety. In addition, aged and deteriorated infrastructure requires periodical inspection and maintenance, which is a major concern for infrastructure managers. Infrastructure failures can be catastrophic, both in terms of human life and economic loss, rendering the task of managing this important asset a complex endeavor that demands immediate attention.
This research project pulls together a spectrum of expertise that can competently resolve this multifaceted challenge and develop an innovative solution for condition assessment and management of our existing infrastructure. Dr. Billah brings his experience of structural design and condition assessment to work with local partners who have industrial experience in project management, condition assessment, code compliance review, structural failure investigation, forensic audits, and hazard assessments.
Industry Partner: TBT Engineering
Funding Agency: NSERC
Lakehead University Faculty Bio
Dr. Billah’s research is focused towards improving our understanding of the behaviour of civil infrastructures under various extreme load conditions. The research question that he wants to address is How do we prepare our infrastructures for a sustainable future under unprecedented resource scarcity and climate change? His research program aims at exploring the next generation of smart and resilient infrastructure, with a focus on the interfaces of advanced structural systems, smart materials, artificial intelligence, and extreme natural and man-made hazards. He conducts interdisciplinary research based on the central theme of Resilient and Innovative Infrastructure Systems. He has authored and co-authored 37 journal papers and 50 conference proceedings. He is the secretary of the Engineering Mechanics and Materials (EMM) division of CSCE, member of ACI Committee 341, Earthquake-Resistant Concrete Bridges, and American Society of Civil Engineers.
He is particularly interested in following research areas:
Resilient Infrastructure: Structural design for extreme event, Multihazard performance assessment and design, Risk and vulnerability assessment
Artificial Intelligence in Structural Engineering: Innovation in structural design using AI, Data driven structural design, Failure mode prediction, Identification of performance limit states
Smart Structures: Smart materials and structural application, Adaptive structural system, Smart infrastructure monitoring
Infrastructure Protection: Performance-based design, Climate resilient design, Retrofit of deficient infrastructure
