Bio

Scott Walbridge is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo and a registered Professional Engineer in Alberta. He is an active member of Canadian Standards Association (CSA), American Society for Civil Engineering (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and a corresponding member of European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS). In 2018, Professor Walbridge was appointed as Director of the new Architectural Engineering program. This program is part of Canada's largest engineering school, and was developed conjointly through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering alongside the School of Architecture. This highly original and uniquely tailored co-op program offers the peer learning, hands-on experience, communication and design skills necessary for collaboration between the various professions and stakeholders involved in building projects. In the Fall of 2022, Professor Walbridge left this role to accept an appointment as of Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is currently serving in this new administrative role, which supports Waterloo's Civil, Environmental, Geological, and Architectural Engineering programs.

Professor Walbridge's research group’s primary mission is to develop new methods and technologies for the assessment and repair of damaged or deteriorating metal structures; and to develop new solutions for employing metals for the temporary or rapid replacement of other damaged or deteriorating civil or industrial infrastructure. In addition, they aim to investigate the influence of decisions made at the design stage on the durability and maintenance-related life-cycle costs of metal structures.

Daigneault Creek Bridge

The group also develops design provisions, so that engineers can incorporate these new methods and technologies into their maintenance programs. They perform an economic analysis of these new methods and technologies to identify conditions under which their use would result in reduced life-cycle costs.

Some of the past projects of the group include fatigue testing and analysis of bridge welds retrofitted by impact treatment and analysis of aluminum bridge welds; fatigue retrofitting of welded steel cover plates using pre-stressed CFRP strips; predicting and prolonging the service lives of corroding weathering steel bridges; development of a shear connection for a portable composite bridge, and aluminum highway bridges: design and life-cycle cost analysis.

In addition to his research work, Professor Walbridge has over 30 refereed journal and conference publications.

------   Technical Activities and Committee Involvement

  • Past Associate Editor for the ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering
  • Chair of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) – Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code – Technical Committee for Chapter 17 – Aluminum Structures
  • Active Member and Vice-Chair of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) – Strength Design in Aluminum (CAN/CSA S157) – Technical Committee
  • Active Member of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) – Welding of Bridges, Buildings and Machinery (CAN/CSA W59) – Technical Committee
  • Active Member of the Engineering Advisory Committee for the Aluminum Design Manual
  • Active Member of American Society for Civil Engineering (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) – Fatigue and Fracture Committee
  • Corresponding member of European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) – Technical Committee 6 – Fatigue, WGA – Assessment of Existing Structures 

------   Student Team Involvement

  • University of Waterloo Civil, Environmental, Architectural, and Geological Engineering Society (CEAGES)
  • University of Waterloo CSCE/CISC Steel Bridge Team

------   Professional Affiliations

  • Registered Professional Engineer in Alberta and member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA)
  • Member of Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE)
  • Member of American Society for Civil Engineering (ASCE)

------   Other Places Prof. Walbridge has Previosuly Studied or Worked...