Message-ID: <33D7CA0F.21A@avalon.net> Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 14:33:03 -0700 From: Al <mailto:ssi@AVALON.NET> Subject: An Inevitable Environmental Technology - International Seminar To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
International seminar announcement AN INEVITABLE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY WITH ECONOMIC PROMISE A mini-course on a new inter-discipline combining engineering, forestry and sustainable developmentDate: Thursday, October 16, 1997 Time: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Place: Oakdale Hall, Oakdale Research Campus, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242-5000, USA.
Note: This seminar is of particular value to individuals, organizations and corporations working in: agriculture; conservation and environmental sustainability; construction; economic development and infra-structure building; engineering research, design and innovation; forestry and forest products industries; and international trade.
For contact information, see Pre-registration Form below. For more information about the subject of the Seminar, see SSI's Home Page at:
CONTENTS (of this posting): Background. Technology. Implications. Company. Speaker. Seminar program. Registration and fees. Pre-registration form
BACKGROUND
Small diameter timber (SDT) from young forest trees is much more abundant in nature than lumber-grade timber from mature trees. Yet, SDT has no commercial use or value, except as firewood and fence posts. Meanwhile, forests and their irreplaceable ecosystems, in the U.S. and world-wide, are being depleted at alarming rates only to extract a small and diminishing content of mature trees. The LPSA (Light Prestressed Segmented Arch) project was developed with European Union and British funding. It won the British Design Council's National Business Invention Award in the Toshiba Year of Invention Competition. It also received a Merit Award from the British Farm and Rural Buildings Center.
TECHNOLOGY
The LPSA technology enables low-cost, large-scale utilization of SDT as a superb structural material. This is made possible through low-tech reliable solutions of the jointing and configuration problems. Example applications are: large buildings, bridge and highway structures, furniture, playground and garden structures, scaffolding systems, arts-and-crafts products and many other added-value applications. The development represents important environmental, economic, and technical breakthroughs.
IMPLICATIONS
Harvesting SDT forest thinnings would preserve forest ecosystems and enhance the mature trees. Creating commercial markets for SDT thinnings would also reduce and regulate demand for mature timber and would make conservation and forest management profitable. What is left of the world's mature forests might be spared and long-term prospects for most forest products industries secured. The LPSA technology achieves considerable savings in cost, energy, time, skills and capital equipment in the manufacture, transportation and assembly of building and bridge systems. End products are durable, re-usable and inherently earthquake-resistant. As a diversification tool and a sustainable basis for cottage industries, the technology could reverse the fortunes of family farms that are becoming non-viable as commercial enterprises. More generally, it could form a backbone for rural infra-structure building, by creating small businesses, manufacturing industries and export markets.
COMPANY
Sustainable Science International is an engineering research and innovation company located at the University of Iowa's Technology Innovation Center. Its specialty is to create technologies that utilize conservation and environmental sustainability as tools of economic development. SSI's main field is nonlinear engineering science and computational mechanics. The company owns scientific software packages for advanced analysis and design of industrial metal forming and powder compaction processes. This is in addition to the LPSA software code.
SPEAKER
Seminar speaker is SSI President, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khattat. He is a PhD / MS mechanical engineering graduate of Stanford University, a MS applied mechanics graduate of Kansas State University and a BS civil engineering graduate of the University of Wales, U.K. His international academic and professional experience spans 30 years and 4 continents.
SEMINAR PROGRAM (preliminary)
Thursday, October 16, 1997.
9:30 - 10:00 Registration
10:00 - 12:00 Background. Simple principles of the LPSA technology. Environmental, economic, commercial and social considerations. Applications in large-span buildings and bridges. Durable low-cost self-build housing systems. Sustainable development issues. Discussion.
12:00 - 1:30 pm Lunch break.
1:30 - 3:00 Technical considerations. Timber engineering redefined: an engineering mechanics framework. The jointing and configuration problems. LPSA computer software code for analysis and design. Distortion energy dissipation. Discussion.
3:00 - 3:30 Refreshments break.
3:30 - 4:30 Applications in regions of earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding and weak soils. Possible applications in aerospace and in used tire recycling. Other applications. Future directions of research, development and manufacturing. Concluding discussion.
REGISTRATION AND FEES
Due to space limitations, pre-registration is highly advised. Reservations will be accepted and confirmed on a first-come first-serve basis up to a maximum number, or up to one week before the seminar, whichever occurs first. Confirmed registrants will be sent updated information and location maps. Seminar fees are: $50 for commercial organizations and public bodies, and $25 for individuals and charitable groups. Fees include lunch and refreshments.
To pre-register, please fill in the form below and mail / fax it with payment to SSI, at the address / number below. Other enquiries and requests for help with local information and reservations are welcome.
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--PRE-REGISTRATION FORM
to: SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL 100 Oakdale Research Campus, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000, USA Telephone: (319) 335-4505 Fax: (319) 335-4489 E-mail: mailto:ssi@avalon.net
An International Seminar An Inevitable Environmental Technology with Economic Promise
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