SPECIAL SKILLS

·    Leader and supervisor for several large international projects

·    Design and verification of structures subjected to static and dynamic loads (e.g. seism, wind, waves) using advanced numerical and experimental techniques

·    Codes and Standards: IBC, ACI – Special Provisions for Seismic Design, ASTM, AASHTO, Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual, National Building Code of Canada

·    Enhancement and application of advanced finite element programs (ABAQUS, DYNAFLOW, SAP2000, ANSYS)

·    Software development (MATLAB, Java, C, Fortran) on Windows and Unix platforms

·    Development of analysis tools for estimating loading hazards and material uncertainties for risk assessment and management

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Project Manager

·    Design and verification of buried pipelines – a series of four projects for the Pipeline Research Committee International, Minerals Management Service and several pipeline and oil & gas companies. Performed large scale and centrifuge experiments, as well as nonlinear finite element analyses to provide guidelines and mitigative measures for natural gas and hydrocarbon pipelines subjected to extreme loads and deformations. Enhanced existing soil models for assessing pipeline response to rapid (seismic) and slow ground movement. Improved understanding of trench configuration effects on pipeline response. Implemented a cost-effective computational tool for the design and verification of buried pipelines. Upgraded current standards for static and seismic analysis of buried pipelines.

·    Extraction of oil well casings (Baker Hughes) – Developed ted methodology for structural and characteristic frequency analysis of well casing subjected to pull-out and vibratory forces. Provided optimal strategy for extracting oil well casings with minimum losses and maximum energy savings. Implemented real-time process assistant for field extraction optimization.

·    Tuttle Creek Dam (US Army Corps of Engineers) – Performed nonlinear dynamic analyses for verification and retrofit of an embankment dam in a seismic prone area. Assessed failure risk for various earthquake scenarios. Provided cost-effective retrofit measures for avoiding major structural damage. Currently part of the six-member Advisory Panel for Tuttle Creek Dam Safety Assurance Program Foundation Modification Contract.

·    Risk analysis – Lighthouse, Bell Island (Canadian Coast Guard) – Emergency response analysis regarding safety of a lighthouse and adjacent keeper’s house located on a rock cliff in Newfoundland, Canada subjected to advanced erosive activity by ocean waves.

·    Oil wellhead protection for Grand Banks – Canada (Terra Nova Alliance) Wellheads for offshore hydrocarbon exploitation are normally protected against iceberg impact by large seafloor excavations called glory holes. Those are not feasible for very stiff soils. Designed above-seafloor protection structures as alternatives to glory holes. Assessed risk of iceberg impact, investigated feasibility of proposed structures to dynamic ice loads, and provided most economical type of protection within acceptable risk limits.

·    Stand-up time of submarine trenches (Coflexip Stena Offshore) – performed analyses to estimate the failure mechanisms of open submarine trenches in soft clays. Provided optimal trenching strategy and trench profiles for various geological conditions.

·    Assessment of a novel oil-recovery method (confidential) – analyzed technical documentation and laboratory experimental results to assess feasibility of a novel oil-sand recovery method designed for very dense Athabaska oil sands. Performed coupled solid-fluid finite element analyses of an oil reservoir to establish necessary technical requirements for oil sand production, determine expected oil recovery rates and assess environmental impact. 

Other Representative Projects

·    Sango Bay Township, Labrador (Fracflow Consultants) – designed the field investigation program and calculated bearing capacity and settlements for foundation design of various buildings (School, Community Center, Power Plant, Police Station). Performed vibration analysis and estimated liquefaction risk for the Power Plant area.

·    Risk assessment for seabed facilities (BP-Amoco, Exxon-Mobil, Marathon Oil, Petro-Canada) – analyzed uncertainty associated with risk estimation for seabed structures on the Canadian Shelf by quantifying the effects of limited environmental data and imperfect analytical models. Prioritized the sources of uncertainty and identified the areas where more investigations would bring up the greatest reduction in structural risk from ice loads.

·    Infrastructure of Cook’s Harbour Wharf (Fracflow Consultants) – Design of a crib-type wharf resting on rockfill mattress on soft seabed; optimization of seabed excavations based on bearing capacity assessment and given tolerances for settlements.

·    Ikatara Bridge (Kajima Corporation) – performed nonlinear dynamic analyses of a large span cable stayed bridge in highly seismic zone. Quantified the effects of seismic wave propagation and loss of coherence leading to differential support ground motion and provided constructive countermeasures.

·    Mitigation of earthquake damage – Vancouver, BC (BC Hydro, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) – developed and calibrated a numerical model based on laboratory soil tests and centrifuge experimental results. Performed nonlinear dynamic analyses for coupled solid-fluid systems, identified possible failure mechanisms, and devised cost-effective mitigative measures against seismically induced soil liquefaction.

·    Omai Gold Mine – Disaster assessment report (United Nations) – consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency for forensic investigation into the causes of a tailings dam failure leading to an environmental disaster. Analyzed the filling schedule and monitoring program and assessed the effects of poor drainage leading to unacceptable interstitial pressures and piping.

·    Dumbarton Bridge replacement (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) – seismic verification of piers 1W and 27 located in areas with bay mud soil having high liquefaction potential. Performed nonlinear dynamic finite element analyses of pile groups and adjacent soil, providing seismic assessment and structural stresses and deformations for various earthquake scenarios.

·    Assessment and mitigation of losses from natural hazards (Associated Electric and Gas Utilities Insurance) – in charge with soil characterization, assessment of structural damage due to earthquakes and upgrading current guidelines for strong ground motion attenuation

·    Fragility curves for soil-structure systems (National Science Foundation) – fragility curves express the probability of exceeding a certain degree of damage as a function of earthquake intensity. They can be used directly by practicing engineers without having to perform any complex computations and they form the basis for all risk analysis / loss estimation / risk reduction calculations of civil infrastructure systems performed by emergency management agencies and insurance companies. Developed fragility curves for several types of structures subjected to a range of seismic motions with various spectral characteristics. Identified weaknesses in current structural systems and devised rational retrofit measures.

·    Analysis of financial time series (OTA Financial Group) – Developed stochastic analysis software for identifying market inconsistencies and predicting stock price volatility based on cross-section analysis of non-stationary cross-correlated time series.

REGISTRATIONS

Registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

•     2007 – present: Consulting Engineer, URS Corporation, Washington Division

•    1997 – 2007: Senior Research Engineer and (from 2002) Consultant, Center for Ocean Resource Engineering (C-CORE), and Associate Professor (50% time), Memorial University – St. John’s, NL, Canada

•     2002 and 2006 – 2007: Visiting Associate Professor, Princeton University – Princeton, NJ

•     2004 – 2005 – Visiting Research Scholar, Columbia University, New York, NY

•     1991 – 1997: Research Staff / Research Assistant / Research Associate, Princeton University

•     1984 –1990: Assistant Professor, Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania

•     1977 – 1984: Field Engineer / Project Manager, Hydroelectric Studies and Design, Co., Bucharest, Romania

EDUCATION

·     Ph.D., Civil Engineering and Operations Research, Princeton University, 1995

·     M.A., Civil Engineering and Operations Research, Princeton University, 1994

·     B.S., Civil Engineering, Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania, 1977

PUBLICATIONS (posted at: http://cee.princeton.edu/~radu/res/publ/): 8 books / chapters in books; over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings; over 50 technical reports

TEACHING

·     Soil mechanics; Structural dynamics and earthquake engineering; Design of reinforced concrete structures (Princeton University)

·     Soil mechanics; Foundation Engineering; Special topics in geotechnical engineering; Mechanics (Memorial University)

·     Hydraulic structures (Memorial University, Technical University of Civil Engineering)

·     Finite element methods, Rock mechanics, Harbors (Technical University of Civil Engineering)

MEMBERSHIPS

·     American Society of Civil Engineers (Probabilistic Methods Committee)

·     International Society for Structural Safety and Reliability – Member the Computational Stochastic Mechanics Committee (SC1)

·     Canadian Geotechnical Society (Computing Committee)

·     Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering

·  International Society for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics

AWARDS

·     Fellowship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

·     Kajima Fellowship

·     Princeton University Fellowship and Service Award

·     Fulbright Scholarship