Underneath the arches - Choosing a life in the cold and damp!
About the speaker
Dr Bill Harvey has been a committed bridge engineer since 1954. He began properly working on bridges in 1971 when he spent some time on big steel bridges (Humber, Ouse, Dunkeld) before settling into academic life working on masonry arch bridges in 1981. Since then he has become an internationally-renowned bridge engineer and has spent many happy hours in cold damp places but also in libraries and sometimes even in the sun, learning about how arches came about, how they were built, how they work and how they deteriorate. He has worked as an independent consultant and software developer since 2000 and is particularly known for his masonry arch assessment software Archie-M.
About the event
This talk, organised jointly with The Institution of Structural Engineers Republic of Ireland Branch will skim through various aspects of bridge history. Bill will use pictures and videos of bridge behaviour to explain what we think we know and the gaps that remain in our knowledge and understanding of these economically vital structures. There will also be brief excursions into aspects of more modern structures.
Bill Harvey will also be holding a 1-day conference on the assessment of masonry arches on Wednesday 2 May in the Mespill Hotel, Dublin. Further details are available from Philip Denning (pjdenning@me.com).
Admission
Free - all welcome!