Associate Dean (Research)
Newly minted Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Dean (Research), Amir Fam, has had a great 2016 so far.
“I was given the opportunity to serve as Associate Dean,” he says with a joyful smile.
“I was elected member of the college in the Royal Society of Canada and I also became the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. I feel completely honoured. It’s just wonderful. It’s a blessing.”
Fam joined the faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen’s in 2002. Since then, he continues to distinguish himself and the university with a torrent of leading research in structural engineering. He and his team study and develop new materials used to retrofit aging bridges and buildings and ensure the longevity of new ones. It’s technology that can extend the operational life of infrastructure thereby saving taxpayers untold millions in replacement costs.
In 2016, for example, with the help of a sizeable grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Fam is building a piece of research equipment in Ellis Hall to test the endurance of structural bridge elements under moving loads. With it, his team will be able to simulate the effects of a lifetime’s worth of heavy vehicle traffic over a structural member in a relatively short time.