Welcome to my personal research web page. My name is Dr. Rizwan Azam and I am currently working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.
My research interests are centered on the following topics:
- Optimization-Based Economical Design of Concrete and Steel structures
- Service Life Extension of Reinforced Concrete Structures, and
- Development of Sustainable Building Materials.
I completed BSc Degree in Civil Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology Lahore in 2007 and for the best performance in soil and foundation engineering courses of civil engineering, I was awarded Gold Medal by the then President of Pakistan General Parvez Musharraf.
I did MSc in Structural Engineering under the Supervision of late Professor Khaled Soudki from the University of Waterloo, Canada in 2010 and the title of my MSc Thesis was Behaviour of shear critical RC beams with corroded longitudinal steel reinforcement.
I was awarded PhD degree in 2016 for my work on Behaviour of Shear-Critical Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Mortar. My PhD work was supervised by Late Professor Khaled Shoudki and Professor Jeffrey S West at the University of Waterloo, Canada. During my PhD work, I worked on several industry-sponsored contract Projects with Professor Khaled Soudki. Some of these projects are listed below:
- Monitoring of the Moisture Content in Historical Bridgeport Bridge over Grand River using Sensors (In collaboration with Region of Waterloo)
- Structural behavior of octaform™ forming system (In collaboration with octaform)
During my stay in Canada, I also worked on many projects as a Structural Engineer. Some of these projects are listed below:
- Optimized Repair Solution for Retaining Walls of Cleaning Line at ArcelorMittal Plant in Hamilton ON, Canada (Team Lead).
- Optimized Concrete Floor system for a Large Industrial Building using Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Team Lead).
- Assessment and Strengthening of Deteriorated/Damaged Steel and Reinforced Concrete Structures (Many Projects as a Team Lead).
- Designed Critical Steel Connections for High-rise Buildings and Bridges (Many Projects as a Team lead).
- Designed Foundations for Pre-Engineered Buildings (Many Projects as a Team Lead).
- Provided Rigging Engineering (Many Projects as a Team Lead).
In 2016, I joined Civil Engineering Department at University of Engineering and Technology Lahore as Assistant Professor. Since then, I have worked on several Industry-sponsored research projects. One key project is with our industrial partner Riaz-ud-din Engineering (RECO) on Optimization Based Economical Design of Steel Structures. Under this collaboration, I have been able to install the AISC Steel Sculpture in front of the Civil Engineering Department which is the first of its kind in Pakistan (AISC web LINK).
My research students have completed several research projects for the benefit of the civil engineering community. Some of these projects are listed below:
- Development of Unburnt Fly-ash Bricks: An Alternative to Burnt clay Bricks
- A spreadsheet-based tool for optimal design of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls
- Metaheuristic-Based Practical Tool for Optimal Design of Reinforced Concrete Isolated Footings
- Development of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash Replaced Cement Mortars
- Practical Tool for Economical Design of RC Beams
- Development of Quality Assessment Criteria for Burnt Clay Bricks
I am also working as director department library. In this role, I have worked on several initiatives for the benefit of Civil Engineering students at UET, Lahore. Some of these initiatives are listed below:
- Digitization of library data (BSc Thesis, MSc Thesis and Books)
- Renovation of library furniture with the help of our Alumni of Session 2003
- Formation of Library Student Advisory Committee (LSAC)
- Revival of Annual Yearbook tradition in Civil Engineering Department
- Bacholers Thesis Abstract Book Tradition in Civil Engineering Department