Biography

Dr. Michael BEER is affiliated as an Assistant Professor to the Department of Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He graduated with a Diploma (Masters degree) in Civil Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) from the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden), Institute of Structural Analysis, Germany, in 1995 and was awarded as the best graduate of the year. His thesis contributed to the nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures. After graduation, Dr. Beer joined the Institute of Structural Analysis, TU Dresden, as a Research Assistant and worked on several research projects in the field of uncertainty modelling and structural reliability. In 2001, he received his Doctoral degree in Civil Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from TU Dresden with the exceptional final grade SUMMA CUM LAUDE and was awarded for his thesis on non-traditional uncertainty models in the reliability assessment of structures. Dr. Beer went to Rice University, Houston, TX, USA, with a Feodor-Lynen Research Fellowship granted by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (AvH) and worked as a Visiting Scholar hosted by Professor Pol D. Spanos in 2003/2004. He returned to the Institute of Structural Analysis, TU Dresden, as a Research and Teaching Associate and Principal Investigator of two research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). One of the projects was launched within the framework of the Centre of Research Excellence in Science and Technology SFB 528 "Textile Reinforcement for Structural Strengthening and Retrofitting".

Dr. Beer’s research interest is focused on non-traditional methods for modelling and processing of uncertainty in engineering with emphasis on reliability and risk analysis. He pursues integration of those concepts in current research programmes at NUS, specifically, in offshore engineering as well as in risk and hazard mitigation. His publication record is comprised of a scientific book, two other monographs, a Chapter in an Encyclopedia and a series of Journal and conference papers. He presented on numerous conferences, organised conference sessions, and recently co-edited a Special Issue of the Journal “Computers & Structures”. Further, he works as a reviewer for book chapters, book proposals, research proposals, a series of Journals and holds several professional memberships. Beyond research, Dr. Beer has been permanently involved in consulting activities with industry.

 

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree: Dr.-Ing., Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany, 2001
• Masters degree: Dipl.-Ing., Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany, 1995
• Technical Translator Russian - German for Civil Engineering, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany, 1993

Honours & Awards

• Listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World 2009
• CADLM PRIZE 2007 – Intelligent Optimal Design for the Journal paper “Designing Robust Structures – A Nonlinear Simulation Based Approach”, Computers & Structures, 2008, Vol. 86(10), pp. 1102–1122 (together with Dr. Martin Liebscher, DYNAmore GmbH, Stuttgart, Germany), Prof. Joseph Zarka / CADLM France, NPU, Xian, China, 2007
• Feodor-Lynen Research Fellowship for a one-year research project at Rice University, Houston, TX, USA; Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, Germany, 2003/2004
• Kurt Beyer Award for outstanding doctoral thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering / Dept. of Architecture (TU Dresden) / HOCHTIEF Construction AG, Germany, 2002
• Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann Medal for excellent study achievement, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Germany, 1995

Professional Activities

Professional Societies

• Feodor Lynen Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation
• Member, American Society of Civil Engineers, Charter Member of the Engineering Mechanics Institute
• Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Member, International Association for Computational Mechanics
• Member, European Association of Structural Dynamics, Technical Committee and Subcommittees “Theoretical, computational and experimental research” and “Updating and identification with experiments and inverse problems”
• Member, Committee of the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Society of Singapore – SingTAM
• Member, German Association for Computational Mechanics

Editorial Work

• Board member, International Journal of Engineering under Uncertainty: Hazards, Assessment, and Mitigation
• Board member, Twelfth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing (CC2009)
• Board member, First International Conference on Soft Computing Technology in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering (CSC2009)
• Special Issue “Uncertainties in Structural Analysis – Their Effect on Robustness, Sensitivity, and Design”, Computers & Structures, 2008, Vol. 86(10)

Organization of Conferences / Workshops

• Chairman, 4th International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing, REC2010: Robust Design – Coping with Hazards, Risk and Uncertainty
• Secretary, 5th Asian-Pacific Symposium on Structural Reliability and its Applications 2012

Scientific Committees

• Member, International Award Committee for the CADLM Prize 2010 – Intelligent Optimal Design
• Member, International Scientific Committee of the 11th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Soil and Structural Engineering 2011 – ICASP11
• Member, Scientific Committee of the International Workshop on Reliable Engineering Computing 2008
• Member, International Scientific, Technical & Advisory Committee of the International Conference on Advances in Concrete and Construction 2008
• Member, International Technical Committee of the 9th International Conference On Structural Safety And Reliability ICOSSAR 2005

Scientific Services

• Reviewer-book proposals / research proposals / book chapters John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Austrian Science Fund, Handbook of Granular Computing, Lecture Notes Series on Economics and Mathematical Systems - Coping with Uncertainty: Robust Decisions, Springer 2009
• Reviewer-Journals
  Computers & Structures, Probabilistic Engineering Mechanics, ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Computational Mechanics, IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems, Journal of Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Engineering Structures, Journal of Sound and Vibration, Applied Mathematical Modelling, Nonlinear Analysis: Modelling and Control, ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, International Journal of Georisk, Computer Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part B: Cybernetics, Soft Computing, International Journal of Reliability and Safety, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami, Applied Ocean Research, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics

Teaching Areas

• Engineering & Uncertainty Analysis
• Statics and Mechanics of Materials

Research Interests

• Non-traditional Uncertainty Modelling
• Simulation Techniques for Processing Uncertainty
• Reliability, Risk and Hazard Analysis
• Robust Design

Selected Publications

1. Beer, M.; Fuzzy Probability Theory, Chapter in: Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, in press.
2. Möller, B.; Beer, M.; Fuzzy Randomness - Uncertainty in Civil Engineering and Computational Mechanics, Springer, Berlin, 2004.
3. Freitag, S; Beer, M.; Graf, W.; Kaliske, M.; Lifetime Prediction Based on Accelerated test data with Neural Networks, Computers & Structures, in press.
4. Beer, M.; Engineering Quantification of Inconsistent Information, International Journal of Reliability and Safety, 2009, Vol. 3(1–3), pp. 174–200.
5. Beer, M.; Spanos, P.D.; A Neural Network Approach for Simulating Stationary Stochastic Processes, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, 2009, Vol. 32(1), pp. 71-94.
6. Beer, M.; Liebscher, M.; Designing Robust Structures - A Nonlinear Simulation Based Approach, Computers & Structures, 2008, Vol. 86(10), pp. 1102-1122.
7. Möller, B.; Beer, M.; Engineering computation under uncertainty - capabilities of non-traditional models, Computers & Structures, 2008, Vol. 86(10), pp. 1024-1041.
8. Spanos, P.D.; Beer, M.; Red-Horse, J.; Karhunen-Loéve Expansion of Stochastic Processes with a Modified Exponential Covariance Kernel, ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 2007, Vol. 133(7), pp. 773–779.
9. Beer, M.; Model-free sampling, Structural Safety, 2007, Vol. 29(1), pp. 49-65.
10. Möller, B.; Beer, M.; Graf, W.; Sickert, J.-U.; Time-Dependent Reliability of Textile-Strengthened RC Structures under Consideration of Fuzzy Randomness, Computers & Structures, 2006, Vol. 84(8-9), pp. 585-603.
11. Möller, B.; Graf, W.; Beer, M.; Safety Assessment of Structures in View of Fuzzy Randomness, Computers & Structures, 2003, Vol. 81(15), pp. 1567–1582.
12. Möller, B.; Graf, W.; Beer, M.; Fuzzy structural analysis using α-level optimization, Computational Mechanics, 2000, Vol. 26(6), pp. 547–565.