Constantinou Named Director of UB Engineering Lab

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Michael C. Constantinou, Ph.D., professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering at the University at Buffalo, has been named director of the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL) at UB.

The laboratory, located in Ketter Hall on the UB North (Amherst) Campus, is the primary facility for earthquake-engineering research for the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. It houses the large seismic simulator, or shake table, that has been operating extensively since 1983 to simulate the effects of earthquakes on structures.

The facility has been instrumental in the development of new technologies, such as active control, seismic energy dissipation and seismic isolation systems, and in the investigation of the effects of earthquakes on structures such as bridges, buildings and equipment. It also is used by graduate and undergraduate students to investigate the behavior of materials and structural systems and to build models for yearly regional and national competitions.

A world renowned authority in theoretical and experimental research of seismic base isolation and seismic damping systems for the protection of buildings, bridges and equipment, Constantinou is a consultant on the analysis and design of structural and industrial systems, including the design of motion control systems for machines and equipment.

He is the author or co-author of more than 200 publications. He received a Presidential Investigator Award in 1988, a Best Paper Award at the Third World Congress on Joints and Bearings in 1991 and was co-recipient of the 1994 General Services Administration Award for Engineering, Technology and Innovation.

A UB faculty member since 1987, Constantinou holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Patras in Greece, and master's and doctoral degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He lives in West Amherst.