Department of Civil Engineering, AUST

As part of co-curricular activities, AUST Civil Engineering Society (ACES), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology organizes different programs from time to time. In keeping with this trend, recently, such a program titled 'Civil Job Fiesta 2017' was arranged on 1st August, 2017 by ACES at AUST campus premises. This event was a gathering of students, graduates, faculties and professionals from different companies on a common platform. Students got the opportunity to meet with different company professionals, shared information about the current job opportunities, gained idea about the companies' activities and had chance to get recruited by them. The day-long program included a seminar and a motivational session.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. A.M.M Safiuallah was present as chief guest and Prof. Dr. Md. Mahmudur Rahman was Chairman of the seminar. The seminar took place in Prof. Dr. M. H. Khan Auditorium premises in the presence of a vibrant crowd. For the technical seminar portion, Prof. Dr. Raquib Ahsan from BUET was the keynote speaker. For the motivational speech section, Ayman Sadiq (founder of Ten Minutes School) was the keynote speaker.

The seminar and motivational speech session was divided into two halves. Ayman Sadiq was given the floor in the first half. He shared his views on writing CV. He tried to motivate students to take part in extra-curricular activities as much as possible without hampering regular studies.

In the second half of the program, Prof. Dr. Raquib Ahsan delivered his in-depth speech conforming to the title of the seminar. Dr. Raquib emphasized on the importance of performing dynamic analysis for important structures of the country. He informed that till date, in Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), Bangladesh was divided into three earthquake zones based on position of plate tectonics, fault line, recent earthquake incidents, etc. However, in the upcoming version of BNBC (BNBC 2017), Bangladesh has been subdivided into four earthquake resistant zones. This change in code will affect new structures to be designed and also call for capacity check for the already built structures.

Dr. Ahsan also talked about vulnerability, hazard and risk in the context of earthquake. He explained each of the terms and differences between them. He described eight features to be vulnerability features for concrete buildings. They are- soft story, torsional irregularity, reentrant corners, Insufficient gap between buildings, Poor detailing, Poor concrete quality, Geotechnical problems and Non-structural aspects. Dr. Ahsan explained each features with practical case studies of real earthquake phenomenon. 

Besides, Dr. Ahsan mentioned steps to be considered while designing structures for earthquake. He mentioned a total of eight steps: Analysis procedure, Occupancy category, Site Class, Seismic design category, Height limitation, Special considerations for loading, Detailing and Retrofitting. He explained each steps elaborately in the context of upcoming BNBC.

After Dr. Raquib Ahsan finished his speech, the program ended with vote of thanks from the chairman of the seminar Prof. Dr. Md. Mahmudur Rahman, Head, Dept. of CE. This vibrant and interesting seminar finished by handing over crest amongst guests and speakers.