Book Published in Honor of AUA President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian
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The book Risk and Reliability Analysis: Theory and Applications, edited by Paolo Gardoni, was recently published in honor of AUA President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian. The authors of the book are several of his former students who have gone on to become among the leading experts in the field of risk and reliability analysis.
Gardoni – the book’s editor and Dr. Der Kiureghian’s former PhD student – writes that “the book is a tribute to one of the fathers of modern risk and reliability analysis, Prof. Armen Der Kiureghian. During his career, Prof. Der Kiureghian has made fundamental and revolutionary research contributions. He had pioneered methods for safety and reliability assessment of complex structures and for stochastic seismic analysis of buildings, bridges, and critical equipment. He has more than 300 publications, including more than 100 journal articles and book chapters. Many of his publications have become mandatory reading for the current and future generations of students, researchers and practitioners.”
The book introduces Dr. Der Kiureghian and how he went from his hometown of Isfahan, Iran, to study engineering in Tehran before receiving his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1975. Thereafter, his reputation as a preeminent engineer grew. Gardoni, currently a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, notes, “Professor Der Kiureghian’s scholarly contributions are known for their mathematical elegance, precision and meticulous attention to detail.”
In the words of Springer, the publisher, the book “brings together some of the most prominent scholars in the field of risk and reliability analysis and includes state-of-the-art methods for risk and reliability analysis and applications to complex problems.”
Michel Kahan, one of the book’s co-authors, writes in his foreword: “Think of how many people have truly influenced your life. There should not be many. For me, Armen [Der Kiureghian] has been one of these very few. An extremely knowledgeable person, a remarkable teacher – the kind who makes you feel clever, and above all, a truly good man, and I hope a friend.”
Katerina Konakli, whose doctoral research was supervised by Dr. Der Kiureghian, noted that his work has been “fundamental” in achieving the goal of “addressing uncertainty in the field of earthquake engineering, among his numerous valuable contributions in the broader fields of risk and reliability.”
Another one of the book’s co-authors, Yukata Nakamura, underscores one of the many accomplishments for which his former professor is known: “The complete quadratic combination (CQC) modal combination rule for seismic analysis of structures is a great achievement of Professor Armen Der Kiureghian.”
“Through his advising, he also created a legacy of scholars that will be future leaders in risk and reliability analysis,” writes Gardoni. As evidenced by the publication of this book, there is no denying that.
AUA is proud to have Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian as its president and co-founder and congratulates him on being recognized and honored for the indelible mark he has made on his field as a scholar and professor.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.