Bruneau earns lifetime achievement from American Institute of Steel Construction

By Peter Murphy

According to AISC, Bruneau’s award recognizes his “major contributions to advancing the seismic design of steel structures for more than 30 years.”

Bruneau joined UB in 1998 and has served in a number of different capacities at the University. He served as both director (2003-2005) and deputy director (1998-2003) of UB’s MCEER, and was appointed director of UB’s Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) earlier this year. He was a co-author on the proposal that expanded the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) at UB, and was named Director of the lab earlier this year.

“Michel earns another well-deserved acknowledgement for his impact on the profession,” says Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering professor and chair Joseph Atkinson, “we are fortunate to work with Michel and appreciate his continued contributions to structural and earthquake engineering."

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have made a difference in AISC’s and structural steel industry’s success,” according to AISC. The award recognizes “those who have provided outstanding service over a sustained period of years to AISC and the structural steel design/construction/academic community.”

Over the course of his career, Bruneau has reached levels of distinction with various national and international organizations. He is a fellow of both the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and has helped developed design specifications for bridges and buildings as a committee member with the AISC and Canadian Standards Association.

Bruneau’s research spans different topics associated with structural and earthquake engineering. His work on ductile plate shear walls has generated new knowledge and multiple design recommendations, while also contributing more broadly to the development and large-scale experimental validation of other design concepts to enhance the resilience of structures against extreme events. His research on ductile bridge diaphragms, tubular eccentrically braced frames, structural fuses and controlled-rocking piers have made major impacts on the resilience of structures.

Bruneau’s also conducts research on the evaluation and retrofit of existing steel bridges and buildings, and on the development of new design concepts to provide satisfactory seismic resistance, blast resistance or both simultaneously as multi-hazard resistant concepts.

He is lead author of “Ductile Design of Steel Structures,” which is widely used by structural engineers worldwide and considered an important reference for the seismic design of steel structures. In addition to his academic publications, he has authored three novels.