Bridging Research and Practice

Memoir of a Journey

Dr. S.R. Lo

Engineering is a professional practice, and the need to build bridges between academic research and professional practice is self-evident. This talk attempts to share his experience in building those bridges via case studies in Australia and overseas. Emphasis will be placed on the challenges, including the need to acknowledge inconvenient reality.

About the speaker

Dr. S.R. Lo UNSW Canberra

Dr S.R. Lo started his career as a professional engineer in bridge structures, deep excavation and reclamation (over soft clay). He joined UNSW Canberra in 1986 and retired from academia in 2018. Lo’s research interests span from fundamental to applied, and from experimental studies to numerical modelling. He was awarded the Telford Prize for his paper on nonlinear ground-structure interaction, which has a strong emphasis on design. In addition to being an active academic researcher, he has been making a significant effort in the transfer of research findings to industry applications. He is currently working on his “last” PhD (and industry-sponsored) project on the behaviour of granitic saprolites which blends both fundamental and applied research.

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