SYNOPSIS

The first statutory code of practice for the seismic design of building structures in Malaysia (EC8) was released in 2017 and there will a new revision of EC8 in Europe. The IEM seismic study group, initiated by the late Ir MC Hee, has been working consistently to support the structural engineering community in Malaysia to design seismic-resistant building structures. A few core members in the study group (Prof Nelson Lam, Prof Hing-Ho Tsang, Associate Prof Daniel Looi, Ir EP Lim and Mr Prashidha Khatiwada) expanded the resources to include the development of an online platform www.quakeadvice.org. QuakeAdvice consists of free resources such as lectures, news, publications and most importantly free JavaScript programs compliant to official codes of practice (Malaysia EC8, Singapore EC8 and Australia AS1140.4) for structural engineers working in low-to-moderate seismicity regions.

The half-day event will discuss the most recent development for QuakeAdvice, which includes:

1. Rapid Dynamic Analysis Engine -for the seismic design of a building (or tower type structure); input is by scanning the floor plan and typing into some boxes in an interactive manner; takes only 10-15 mins to complete; and access is for free on www.quakeadvice.org.

2. Site Specific Seismic Design -is an alternative to code stipulated site amplification factors (based on analysis of borelogs); the procedure is so well facilitated by a software on www.quakeadvice.org. that will make a lot more designers take this option.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

1. Prof Nelson Lam

Nelson Lam is Professor and leader of the Structures and Buildings Discipline in the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at The University of Melbourne. He has 42 years of experience in structural engineering, and has been working in the specialized field of earthquake engineering, impact dynamics and structural dynamics. He is member of the Structural College Board of Engineers Australia, member of standing committee for future revisions to the Australian standard for seismic actions, member of the Seismic and Dynamic Events Panel commissioned by the London Headquarter of Institution of Structural Engineers, and international expert advising the geotechnical engineering office of the government of Hong Kong SAR over the design of barriers for protection against landslides and rockfalls. His achievement in research in the field of impact engineering culminated in the publication of the authored monograph by CRC Press (Taylor &Francis) titled “collision actions on structures” in 2022. His other accomplishments in the field of earthquake engineering was recognized by the award of the Chapman Medal (1999) and Warren Medal (2006) by Engineers Australia; the Best Paper Award (2004-2007) by the ISET Journal of Earthquake Technology; and Chapman Medal for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time in 2010, 2019 and 2022.

He is Chief Editor of the Australian Journal of Structural Engineering, and is member of the editorial board for the journal of Earthquakes and Structures (KAIST). He is recipient of Award for Teaching Excellence by Engineers Australia in 2012 and Academic Staff Teaching Award by Melbourne School of Engineering in 2013. His early career as structural engineer was with Scott Wilson International throughout the 1980’s and attained British chartered engineer status during that period. He was awarded the degree of BSc in civil engineering with first class honours at the University of Leeds, England in 1981, MSc degree in concrete structures at Imperial College of Science & Technology, London in 1982 and PhD in earthquake engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1993.


2. Associate Prof. Dr Daniel Looi

Dr. Daniel Looi is Associate Professor and Programme Development Leader for Sunway University's inaugural Civil Engineering programme in Malaysia. He was Associate Professor at Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak, from 2018-2024. In his earlier career, Daniel worked as a structural engineer in a multinational company, specialised in structural analysis and design computation for buildings and plants. He holds degrees from the University of Hong Kong and University of Malaya and is a Chartered Professional Engineer (Structural) with Engineers Australia. Specializing in structural earthquake engineering, he contributed to Malaysia's National Annex to Eurocode 8 for seismic design and chaired the Malaysian Eurocode 2 Part 4 for concrete fastenings. Daniel is an Associate Editor for HKIE Transactions and serves on the editorial boards of Scientific Reports and Earthquake Engineering and Resilience. He has published research papers and books in seismic engineering, concrete mechanics, modular building and fastening technology. His research in concrete structures was recognised by the HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Researcher/Engineer 2015


NOTE: Limited to 120 seats only