Bridging the gap: The challenges of measuring reality
By Katherine Mills 

Western Engineering was proud to host Dr. Nicholas P. Jones Thursday, March 31 as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series.  Dr. Jones is currently the fourth Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and has won numerous engineering related awards for his research. 

Dr. Jones’ presentation summarized much of his research on long-span bridge performance assessment using full-scale measurements.  His presentation also included an overview of the Whiting School of Engineering, which is comparable in size to Western Engineering. 

During his presentation, Dr. Jones showcased his extensive field work on the Fred Hartman Bridge in Houston, Texas.  He discussed the many challenges and limitations he faced when carrying out the research, as well as the number of surprises he encountered on his journey to end results. 

This rather technical presentation was summed up beautifully as Dr. Jones cautioned us all to “avoid field of dreams thinking,” adding that when measuring reality, “…it is very challenging in most practical cases.”    

Western Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series is generously sponsored by Materials and Manufacturing Ontario.