Results posted for 2021 Reinforced Concrete Column Blind Prediction Contest

November 23, 2021

Results of the 2021 Reinforced Concrete Column Blind Prediction Contest have been determined. This contest opened in July 2021 and the objective was to predict the response of a reinforced concrete column subjected to lateral deformation. The contest was based on an experimental test of a concrete column conducted in 2020, the results of which have not yet been published. The test column is representative of gravity columns common in concrete buildings designed prior to the 1990s. Tipping Structural Engineers and Maffei Structural Engineering designed the test column. The column was built and tested by Simpson Strong-Tie at the Tyrell Gilb Research Laboratory in Stockton, California.

Congratulations to the winners in the following categories!

PRACTITIONER: Jonas Houston - Holmes Consulting, San Francisco, California

STUDENT: Sasan Dolati - University of Texas at San Antonio

RESEARCHERS: Three-way tie! in alphabetical order, the winning teams are

  • Farah Dameh, graduate researcher, and Stavroula Pantazopoulou, Professor and Chair at York University, Canada
  • Sadik Can Girgin, Associate Professor at Dokuz Eylui University, Turkey
  • Mervyn Kowalsky, Professor at North Carolina State University, with team members Taylor Brodbeck, Diego Martinez, Diego Sosa, Lina Espinosa, Ana Bona, and Julio Samayoa.

Read the summary document for more details about test results, winners' models, as well as the global range of practitioners, academics, and students who participated. Many thanks to everyone for participating!

Edited January 18, 2022, to update Mervyn Kowalsky's team roster and the summary document.