Amit Varma, Purdue civil engineering professor, recognized with American Institute of Steel Construction lifetime achievement award
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Amit Varma, Karl H. Kettelhut Professor of Civil Engineering in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering and executive director of the Purdue Applied Research Institute Infrastructure & Innovation Lab (PIIL), has received the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Lifetime Achievement Award. Varma was recognized for his research and contributions in steel-concrete composition, fire design and nuclear structures.
As a faculty researcher with 25 years of experience, Varma’s collaborations with industry and government partners have resulted in major construction projects receiving approvals from regulators and reviewers. His research has also contributed to national and international codes and standards, such as those for structures in wind-governed non-seismic zones, structures in high seismic zones and fire-resistant designs.
“Amit has been contributing to AISC since we awarded him our first Milek Fellowship in 2004,” said AISC President Charlie Carter. “That started a long trail of accomplishments as he has become a world-renowned researcher in steel, composite design and design for earthquakes, wind and fire. AISC is proud to recognize Amit for his outstanding accomplishments.”
Varma earned his PhD in civil engineering, with an emphasis on structures, from Lehigh University in 2001. He then began his career at Michigan State University before joining Purdue as an assistant professor in 2004. When he was a student, he became particularly fascinated by how codes and specifications are written as well as the ability to combine some of the most common construction materials, such as steel and concrete, in unique, innovative ways.
“Steel-plate composites are truly the best of both worlds,” Varma said. “You’re efficiently combining the lightweight, strength and ductility of steel with the mass, stiffness, damping and fire resistance of concrete.”
In addition to this combination’s ability to maximize performance, steel-concrete composites lend themselves well to modularity, meaning that the steel portions can be fabricated in a factory, assembled at the construction site and then filled with concrete. This process ultimately reduces costs and expedites construction schedules.
Modularity also makes it easier to solve challenges in various sectors of the construction industry, as the same system can be modified to fit the constraints and performance objectives of different structure types. Furthermore, the ubiquity of steel and concrete helps to overcome issues related to the supply chain and availability.
“Despite regional preferences and limitations, steel and concrete materials are generally available everywhere in the world,” Varma said. “When it comes to steel-concrete composites, creativity and innovation are at the heart of the solution while at the same time working with familiar materials, which allows the construction industry to move forward with reduced risk and increased confidence.”
Varma’s research and expertise in steel-concrete composites has contributed to the review and approval for construction of a variety of prominent structures across the country, such as a nuclear power plant in Georgia, a skyscraper in Seattle and a high-rise in San Jose, California. It has also led to the publication of design provisions for composite members and building systems in non-seismic and seismic regions and structural performance-based fire design provisions for steel structures in the U.S. All these codes and standards govern the design and construction of steel and composite structures in the United States and beyond.
“Every day, we strive to do impactful, valuable work,” Varma said. “The central theme of our research is to make sure that the solutions we create are useful, needed and valued by our end user, customer or client.”
Varma used this philosophy to establish PIIL as a trusted partner across the defense and energy sectors, with clients that are looking for robust and resilient structures that can be constructed efficiently and economically. PIIL leverages large-scale experiments, validated numerical methods and verified design methodologies to help various sectors of the built infrastructure industry to innovate efficiently and at scale.
“It is truly an ‘infrastructure innovation lab’ where we come up with innovative solutions and systems that are the most efficient and cost-effective for the application and site,” Varma said. “We conduct experimental verification and numerical validation and develop design provisions that can be implemented at scale by our sponsors and their engineering practitioners.”
In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, Varma has received several other AISC awards during his career. In 2017 and 2020, he received special achievement awards for his role in developing, designing and licensing next-generation nuclear power plants and developing the SpeedCore concrete-filled composite plate shear wall system. He received the prestigious AISC T. R. Higgins Lectureship Award in 2021-22 and presented the lecture “SpeedCore and Steel-Concrete Composite Construction: The Best of Both Worlds.”
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Writer/Media contact: Lindsey Macdonald, macdonl@purdue.edu