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Faculty

Professor
Dr. Carlos Ventura
Bio

Dr. Carlos Ventura is currently the Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) at UBC and has more than 30 years of experience as a structural engineer.  Dr. Ventura's areas of research are in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering. He has been conducting research on the dynamic behavior and analysis of structural systems subjected to extreme dynamic loads, including severe ground shaking for more than twenty years. His research work includes experimental studies in the field and in the laboratory of structural systems and components.   Research developments have included development and implementation of performance-based design methods for seismic retrofit of low rise school buildings, novel techniques for regional estimation of damage to structures during earthquakes, detailed studies on nonlinear dynamic analysis of structures and methods to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of large Civil Engineering structures.  His current research is focused on the development of performance-based guidelines for seismic retrofit of schools, on methods to evaluate the interaction between critical infrastructure vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards, and on structural health monitoring of building, bridges and dams. Dr. Ventura has written over 400 technical papers and reports related to the seismic behaviour of structures, and has received numerous awards for his research accomplishments, including the Lieutenant Governor's Award of Excellence (2013), the Innovation Award of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering (2010) and the APEGBC Meritorious Achievement Award (2006).  He is a member of several national and international professional societies and advisory committees.  He is a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and Fellow of Engineers Canada.  He is also a member of several building and bridge code committees. In addition to his academic activities, Dr. Ventura is a recognized international consultant on structural vibrations and safety of large Civil Engineering structures. 

Research Area / Group
Structural & Earthquake Engineering
Research Interests

Earthquake engineering, structural dynamics, full scale vibration testing, shake table testing. Seismic risk evaluation and hazard management studies. Investigation of earthquake effects on man-made structures.

Courses
CIVL 436

Matrix Structural Analysis and Dynamics

Further techniques in matrix structural analysis; non-rigid supports, temperature-shrinkage effects, computer implementation; matrix representation of structural dynamics; mode shapes, natural frequencies, continuous systems; lumped mass models, modal analysis, response spectra.

CIVL 504

Seismicity and Seismic Design Parameters

Causes of earthquakes. Fault mechanisms. Wave motions. Magnitudes and intensities. Regional seismicity and risk analysis. Attenuation of ground motion parameters with distance. Development of site specific ground motions. Selection of earthquake records and construction of design spectra.

CIVL 507

Dynamics of Structures I

Fundamental analysis of simple structures subjected to dynamic loadings; vibration problems in structures; linear and nonlinear structural response of simple systems; numerical methods for practical vibration analysis.

CIVL 508

Dynamics of Structures II

Dynamic response of discrete and continuous systems; structural property matrices and eigenvalue problem; introduction to random vibrations; wave propagation analysis; experimental techniques and computer modelling.

Latest Publications

In Press

C. Centeno, Ventura, C. E., and Ingham, J., “Seismic Performance of a Six Storey Reinforced Concrete Masonry Building during the Canterbury Earthquakes”, EERI Spectra, In Press.
  • Google Scholar
  • BibTex
M. Saatcioglu, Tremblay, R., Mitchell, D., Ghobarah, A., Palermo, D., Simpson, R., Adebar, P., Ventura, C. E., and Hong, H., “Performance of steel buildings and non-structural elements during the February 27, 2010 Maule (Chile) Earthquake”, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, In Press.
  • Google Scholar
  • BibTex

2016

M. Motamedi and Ventura, C. E., “Inelastic Response of Steel Roof Deck Diaphragms with Nailed and Welded Connections”, Journal of Engineering Structures, vol. 117, 2016.
  • DOI
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  • BibTex

2013

M. Taiebat, Finn, W. D. L., Ahmadnia, A., Amirzehni, E., and Ventura, C. E., “Seismic evaluation of existing basement walls”, in Computational Methods in Earthquake Engineering, vol. 30 of Computational Methods in Applied Sciences, M. Papadrakakis, Fragiadakis, M., and Plevris, V. Netherlands: Springer, 2013, pp. 177-196.
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  • BibTex

2012

J. Prieto, Ventura, C. E., Finn, W. D. L., Ramos, C. A., and Prada, F., “Base de Datos de Intensidad para Colombia y el Occidente de Venezuela”, Revista Internacional De Desastres Naturales, Accidentes e Infraestructura Civil, vol. 11, pp. 163-182, 2012.
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  • BibTex
J. Prieto, Foschi, R. O., Ventura, C. E., Finn, W. D. L., Ramos, C. A., and Prada, F., “Atenuación y Distribución De Probabilidad De Intensidades Para Colombia Y El Occidente De Venezuela”, Revista Internacional De Desastres Naturales, Accidentes e Infraestructura, vol. 11, pp. 183-196, 2012.
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A. Rahmani, Taiebat, M., Finn, W. D. L., and Ventura, C. E., “Evaluation of p-y curves used in practice for seismic analysis of soil-pile interaction”, Proceedings of GeoCongress 2012, vol. State of the Art and Practice in Geotechnical Engineering (GSP 225). American Society of Civil Engineers, Oakland, CA, USA, pp. 1780-1788, 2012.
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M. S. Fayyazi, Taiebat, M., Finn, W. D. L., and Ventura, C. E., “Evaluation of p-multiplier method for performance-based design of pile groups”, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Performance-Based Design in Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering. Taormina, Italy, p. 11 pages, 2012.
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S. Molnar, Ventura, C. E., Finn, W. D. L., Taiebat, M., Dosso, S. E., and Cassidy, J. F., “Probabilistic site characterization based on Bayesian inversion of ambient vibration array recordings in SW British Columbia, Canada”, Proceedings of the Fifteenth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Lisbon, Portugal, p. 10 pages, 2012.
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  • BibTex
M. Fraino, Ventura, C. E., Finn, W. D. L., and Taiebat, M., “Seismic soil-structure interaction effects in instrumented bridges”, Proceedings of the Fifteenth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Lisbon, Portugal, p. 10 pages, 2012.
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View more publications
Contact
ventura@civil.ubc.ca
T:
604.822.6946
Location:

CEME - Room 2018

Civil and Mechanical Engineering Building
The University of British Columbia
6250 Applied Science Lane
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4
Canada
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Applied Science
2002 - 6250 Applied Science Lane

Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4

Tel 604 822 2637

Fax 604 822 6901
E-mail info@civil.ubc.ca

Website www.civil.ubc.ca
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