Author Archives: arnold.yuan

Today’s Quote

Joseph Butler (1692-1752): Probability is the very guide of life. Arnold Yuan: Uncertainty is the very guide to research; where there’s uncertainty there is research.

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Infrastructure-Related Government Agencies and Industrial Associations

Infrastructure Canada (http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/index-eng.html), under the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, is the lead federal department responsible for infrastructure policy development and program delivery.  Infrastructure Canada delivers a broad range of infrastructure programs, providing flexible and effective funding support to … Continue reading

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Why should you choose Civil Engineering?

The following graph will speak more than one thousand words when somebody wants to coax young fellows to study civil engineering. Source: Canadian Construction Overview (PDF), by Mark Casaletto, Reed Construction Data (2012)

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An Excellent Essay on Design Code

Dr Mihailo D. Trifunac is a professor of earthquake engineering at the University of Southern California.  He recently published a review paper on earthquake response spectra in Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering.  The opening paragraphs, in my opinion, represent an … Continue reading

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Public Infrastructure Investment in Canada

From the water we drink to the roads we drive on, public infrastructure forms the fabric of a nation.  Year after year, the government of all orders, from federal and provincial governments to municipalities, invests heavily on public infrastructure.  Listed … Continue reading

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Why Expected Value?

Decision making under uncertainty is a hard subject.  It is hard because there is no single criterion that is universally accepted by decision makers.  For example, when the probability of the ‘state’ of the world is hard to evaluate, a … Continue reading

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