Ana Isabel Sarkis talks about how she cultivated a passion for studying Earthquake Engineering. Ana Isabel Sarkis is a Ph.D. candidate in Earthquake Engineering at泭UC Civil and Natural Resources Engineering Department.泭 Her doctoral research is part of a national effort to improve the understanding of the likely泭behaviour泭of precast concrete floors during earthquakes.泭I am particularly interested in expanding my knowledge and skills to help developing quake-resilient communities that can recover quickly after an important seismic event., said Ana.
Ana泭obtained her masters degree in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology from universities located in highly seismic countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy. During her masters, she investigated the performance泭of泭concrete frames with footing uplift and rocking.泭
She worked as a design engineer in Costa Rica, after completing her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Coming from a country located in a high seismicity region,泭Ana cultivated泭an early passion for studying earthquakes and dynamic of structures,泭which泭encouraged her to seek postgraduate studies.
Concrete buildings represent over 80% of existing commercial buildings in New Zealands urban areas, and most泭of these泭concrete buildings have precast泭concrete泭floors. Assessing the likely performance of precast floors in an earthquake is a challenge because there are many unanswered questions about the potential failure mechanisms when seismic actions are transferred across the building structure.泭The partial collapse of precast concrete flooring components during the Kaikura earthquake, together with catastrophic damages to several buildings in Wellington sparked serious concerns about泭our understanding of the泭seismic performance of precast floor systems.,泭said Ana.
To address these concerns, a research program called泭泭was initiated in 2018. As part of this research, Ana is leading efforts to develop solid numerical models, validated against experimental data, representing the seismic泭behaviour泭of precast floors.
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