Interview with Aryan, postdoc at IBOIS lab'

VP: Aryan, could you please introduce yourself and quickly recap your professional background?

ARR: I am a civil engineer and I majored in structural engineering. My areas of expertise include computer-aided engineering, numerical simulations, computer programming, structural dynamics, and (physical) experimental testing. Before starting my Ph.D. at IBOIS EPFL, I received my M.Sc. diploma from Tehran Polytechnic in 2015.

VP: Could you explain how and why you started your Ph.D. at IBOIS?

ARR: Before starting the Ph.D. at IBOIS EPFL, I became familiar with timber structures while I was collaborating with Prof. Dr. Henry V. Burton at The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Later, I came across the interesting research projects at IBOIS. Inter-disciplinary research work, which combines knowledge from digital architecture and engineering, was a unique and attractive feature at IBOIS. This, in particular, motivated me to apply for the doctoral program at EPFL. 

VP: How did you choose your thesis subject? Could you explain to us the main goals of your research?

ARR: I had this opportunity to closely collaborate with my research advisors, Prof. Dr. Yves Weinand and Prof. Dr. Henry Burton. This considerably helped me to clarify my research objectives and associated plan. I would like to extend to them my thanks. Furthermore, I dedicated my first year at IBOIS to design my Ph.D. framework. Toward this end, I read hundreds of articles, improved my programming skills, and most importantly, I conducted pilot studies.
The scope of my research includes the disciplines of computer science, digital architecture, and structural engineering, and it is oriented toward developing an interactive design framework for digitally-fabricated timber structures. Within the research, experimental studies have been conducted to characterize the behavior of wood-wood connections. Also, I introduced and developed a macroscopic model. The model aims to simulate the behavior of timber plate shells with minimum computational cost while maintaining accuracy. This is especially suitable for design practice and large-scale structures where time constraints are a major.

VP: What were your main achievements?

ARR:Well, this is a challenging question!! I think every single improvement in my professional life is an achievement. Nevertheless, developing a collaborative design framework, where different disciplines can interact with each other was one of the main achievements during the doctoral research. Regarding my research subject, introducing and developing an original macroscopic model for timber plates was the main achievement. The model is responsible to simulate timber plate structures with a wide range of geometries from standard shapes to complex free forms with minimum computational costs. Importantly, the developed model was applied to the recently-constructed prototypes.

VP: What were the main challenges you were confronted during your Ph.D.? Did it make your thesis subject evolve during your Ph.D.?

ARR: I think time and stress management were the main challenges. Although it took time, I was able to harness these challenges to be more efficient!!

VP: In your opinion, how will your Ph.D. affect your way of thinking and your way of working?

ARR: I do believe that doing a Ph.D. is a great (and unique) opportunity for each candidate to learn different skills … Thinking in a systemic, as well as organized way, trying to look at problems from different perspectives, managing your time and stress, improving communication skills, academic writing, conducting research, and collaborating with colleagues have been some of the most valuable skills I learned during my Ph.D.

VP: What are your professional aspirations, now that you are successfully done with your Ph.D.?

ARR: Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at IBOIS EPFL and NCCR Digital Fabrication*. I have an unprecedented opportunity to collaborate with knowledgeable researchers from different disciplines. Given that, I have been working on those aspects of my research which are appealing to both industry and academia. In particular, a modular package will be developed to read the 3D CAD geometry associated with the timber plate structure and convert it into the corresponding macro model for structural calculations.

VP: In which way, in your opinion, could your thesis affect the timber construction world?

ARR: My research included two main modules, (1) experimental studies studying the behavior of wood-wood connections, and (2) computational studies, where I formulated a new reduced-order macro model for the computation of timber plate structures. Both of these modules can be used by the timber construction industry. In particular, implementing the simplified macro model into conventional 3D CAD/CAE platforms would have a high impact on timber construction and engineering practice. I would like to share my thesis with you which is available on Infoscience.

* The National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication is Switzerland’s initiative to lead the development and integration of digital technologies within the field of architecture.

Interview : Violaine Prévost