Kuldeep Virdi has been appointed Professor of Structural Engineering at the Aarhus Graduate School of Engineering, which provides the framework for graduate engineer degrees at Aarhus University.

In 1965, Professor Virdi (64) graduated as a structural engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. He began his research career at the Structural Engineering Research Centre in Roorkee, India. In 1973, he completed his PhD at Imperial College, University of London, UK. After spending three years as Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia, he took up an appointment in 1979 at City University London, UK, where he has subsequently held several positions ranging from Associate Professor and Professor to Director of the Engineering Structures Research Centre.

Professor Virdi’s research demonstrates the advantage of the finite difference method compared with the more frequently used finite element method for solving complex structural stability problems. The strength of this application is particularly evident in steel stanchions, composite pillars and frames. The method has been extended to also predict the way in which steel and composite constructions react under the impact of fire. Professor Virdi’s research into composite pillars has resulted in the development of a construction method that – in a slightly modified form – has been incorporated into British and European norms relevant to composite structures.

Professor Virdi was admitted as one of only ten foreign members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg, Sweden. Since 1986, he has been strongly involved in different European programmes of higher education, including ERASMUS, COMETT and SOCRATES. Via this work, he has also been associated with the universities in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic, as well as in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Professor Virdi has contributed to the preparation of more than 70 publications and he has edited a number of books on building constructions.

More information

For more information, please contact Professor Kuldeep Virdi on +45 8942 9135 (Mon–Wed) or +4420 7040 8142 (Thu–Fri) or send an e-mail to k.s.virdi@city.ac.uk

6 October 2008
Charlotte Boel
cbo@adm.au.dk
Communication Office