Purpose of CERAI
The Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI) was formed for the purpose of promoting civil engineering research and practice in Ireland, and its communication to academics and practitioners. The principal activity is the sponsoring and overseeing of the organization of a conference series dedicated to this goal, the successor to the Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland (BCRI) series. These conferences have been and will be held about every two years. The conferences will address all relevant aspects of the subject of civil engineering systems, including bridges, concrete, other materials, geotechnics and other forms of civil engineering. There will be emphasis on applications as well as theory to maintain relevance to both industry and academia. The conferences will nurture early-career researchers by making it accessible and offering opportunities wherever possible to grow them as the next generation of leaders in research and industry.Membership to CERAI
Membership to CERAI is granted automatically to those who register for a CERAI conference. Membership remains valid until 2 months after the succeeding conference. The registration list for the most recent conference is the ‘de facto' current membership list of CERAI. Membership in CERAI represents recognition of individual commitment to matters involving civil engineering systems research or practice.
Board of CERAI
The current CERAI board, as elected at CERI2014 in Belfast, are as follows:
President: | Jamie Goggins (NUI Galway) |
Chair: | Vikram Pakrashi (UCD) |
Secretary: | Jennifer Keenahan (UCD) |
Treasurers: | Roger West (TCD) and Jennifer Keenahan (UCD) |
Ex Officio: | Roger West (TCD), Sree Nanukuttan (QUB), Jamie Goggins (NUIG) |
Other elected board members | Magdalena Hajdukiewicz (NUIG), Kieran Ruane(CIT), William Finnegan (NUIG), Zili Li (UCC), Tomas O'Flaherty (IT Sligo),Giuseppina Amato (QUB), Brian McCann (IT Sligo), Des Walsh (CIT) |
Due to the by‐laws of CERAI, we are limited to 12 board members plus the president.
History of CERAI
Bridge and Concrete Research Ireland (BCRI) was an enormously successful conference series. Over the years, the themes of the conference broadened significantly, attracting submission from the titular areas, as well as from other areas such as:
- Geotechnics
- Hydraulics
- Materials
- Structures
- Seismic
- Sustainability
As the research needs broaden, and the range of submission widened correspondingly, the Organising Committee of BCRI 2012 recommended re-naming the conference series to Civil Engineering Research in Ireland (CERI). In addition, to streamline the organization from year-to-year, a special purpose organizing body was established in Seotember 2012, termed Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland (CERAI). Further information on the history of the conference series can be found here.