Forty years of engineering structures, mechanics and construction research at the University of Waterloo

Abstract

Initial planning for the formation of the Solid Mechanics Division (SMD) at the University of Waterloo began in 1966, and it was implemented into a formal entity following the award of a National Research Council of Canada Development Grant in 1968. Upon the departure and retirement of many of its initial members over the next thirty years, SMD was reconstituted in the mid-1990s as the Structures Mechanics & Construction Division (SMCD) to reflect the changing research interests of its more recent and new members. The collective research work of both SMD and SMCD has resulted in many publications and valuable contributions to the progress of engineering structures, mechanics and construction. This paper presents a 40-year historical perspective through to 2006 of this activity at the University of Waterloo. © 2006 Springer.