Teaching

This is a list of the courses I have taught in the past.

I have taught courses at three different universities but in overall they have the same structure and cover identical content. These are:

  • Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre & Maestra (PUCMM)
  • Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo (UASD)
  • Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE)

Undergraduate Level

Bridge Design (PUCMM)

This course treats the basic principles needed for the structuring and design of reinforced and prestressed concrete highway bridges; and the development of a bridge design project, which includes the location, design and calculation of each of its components. The content of the subject covers the behavior and design of bridge structures, types of bridges, basic concepts of highway bridges and design of highway culverts.

  1. Introduction to bridge design
  2. Location and choice of type of bridge
  3. Bridge loading
  4. Deck design
  5. Prestressed beams
  6. Bridge foundation
  7. Structural details of the project
  8. Bridge culverts

Concrete Design I (UNIBE)

The general objective of this course is to provide a general understanding of reinforced concrete design. The main topics covered include the analysis and design of reinforced concrete beams, columns, one-way slabs, and footings; with emphasis corresponding to the present ACI Building Code. The topics covered during the first phase of the course were the following.

  1. Introduction to reinforced concrete (RC), materials, and properties
  2. Flexural analysis of beams
  3. Flexural design of beams
  4. Flexural design of one-way slabs
  5. Shear and diagonal tension
  6. Development length of steel reinforcing bars
  7. Members in compression and bending
  8. Design of isolated footings

Concrete Design II (PUCMM)

This courses deals with intermediate to advanced topics in reinforced concrete. Part of the content that is studied in this course are the deflections and ductility of concrete beams subjected to flexure, torsion effects, design of columns subjected to biaxial flexo-compression, design of shear walls and the seismic requirements of current design codes. The topics covered during the second part of the course were the following:

  1. Ductility of sections subject to bending
  2. Analysis and design of two-way slabs
  3. Serviceability
  4. Analysis and design of elements subject to torsion
  5. Design of elements subject to biaxial bending
  6. Analysis and design of shear walls

Formwork Design (UNIBE)

This course contains information on the general criteria for the design of concrete formwork. The student is introduced to the design of wall, slab, beam and column formwork. The class also deals with the design of shoring and the choice of scaffolding, and the distribution of shoring and re-shoring of multi-level structures and elevated formwork. Custom and pre-engineered form systems, plate and shell forms, slipforms and cantilever forms are also discussed.

  1. Introduction
  2. Formwork design
  3. Formwork drawings
  4. Formwork for bridges and buildings
  5. Proprietary Systems
  6. Finishing requirements according to ACI 347
  7. Formwork Safety

Mechanics of Deformable Solids I (UNIBE)

This course contains basic information regarding the general concepts of Mechanics of Deformable Solids, which will introduce Civil Engineering students to the analysis and design of structures. During its development, terms such as force, stress, deformations, internal forces, beam flexure, deflection, beam design, among others, are covered. Stresses and deformations are determined in structural elements subjected to the simplest load levels, such as axial, transverse forces, and pure bending. The topics I covered during the first phase of the course were the following.

  1. Statics review
  2. Introduction to solid mechanichs: concept of stress
  3. Stress and Strain
  4. Transformation of stress and strain
  5. Bending: pure bending
  6. Analysis and design of beams for bending
  7. Shear stress in beams

Mechanics of Deformable Solids II (UNIBE)

This course contains basic information on the general concepts of Deformable Solid Mechanics, which will introduce Civil Engineering students to the analysis and design of structures. During its development, terms such as deformations, torsion, stress transformations, principal stresses, columns and energy methods are treated. The stresses and strains are determined in structural elements subjected to slightly more complex load levels such as axial, eccentric axial and torsional loads. The topics I covered during the second phase of the course were the following.

  1. Deflection of beams
  2. Torsion of circular and rectangular shafts
  3. Failure theories in mechanics
  4. Transformation of stress and strain
  5. Columns
  6. Energy Methods

Structural Analysis I (PUCMM & UNIBE)

The course deals with the study of internal forces in isostatic structures, such as beams, frames, trusses, and arches. The influence lines of these structures are studied to determine unfavorable load conditions. The deformations in isostatic structures are found using energetic methods. At the end of the course, the force method is used to solve hyperstatic structures. The topics covered during the first phase of the course were the following.

  1. Loads on structures
  2. Statics Review
  3. Internal forces in isostatic structures
  4. Influence lines in isostatic structures
  5. Deformation computation using energetic methods
  6. Analysis of hyperstatic structures using the force method

Structural Analysis II (PUCMM & UNIBE)

In this course, methods of analysis of hyperstatic structures are developed to predict or evaluate the behavior of structures under different load requirements and their most unfavorable conditions. The skills acquired in this course are of special relevance for civil engineering professionals since it will allow them to obtain the necessary answers to design efficient structural solutions complying with current analysis and design regulations and customer requirements. The topics covered in this part of the course are:

  1. The slope-deflection method
  2. The moment distribution method
  3. Analysis of beams and frames with non-prismatic elements
  4. Lines of influence for hyperstatic structures
  5. Approximate methods of analysis of hyperstatic rectangular frames
  6. Analysis of structures using the stiffness matrix method

Structural Dynamics (PUCMM)

Analysis methods are developed to study the response of linear and nonlinear systems of one and multi degree of freedom produced by dynamic loads. Additionally, the effects of seismic displacements in structures and their impact on current regulations are studied. With the above, it is sought that the student develops skills that allow a better understanding of the effects of seismic events for their consideration in the analysis and design in order to design safe buildings. By understanding dynamic loads and their effects, the students will be able to properly apply tools, codes, and specifications to proposed structural systems.

  1. Basics of dynamics
  2. Dynamic systems of one degree of freedom
  3. Numerical evaluation of the dynamic response
  4. Earthquakes, seismograms, accelerograms and spectra
  5. Multi-degrees of freedom systems
  6. Introduction to seismic design parameters

Graduate Level

Numerical Methods (UASD)

This course will be designed so that students can have the ability to develop computational algorithms and use programs, made by the students, to carry out the analysis and calculations required for the different subjects during the development of the graduate program. Computer programs such as Smath Studio and MathCAD are introduced, as well as the Python 3 programming language.

  1. Scientific computing
  2. Systems of linear equations
  3. Linear least squares
  4. Nonlinear equations
  5. Interpolation
  6. Numerical integration
  7. Random numbers and simulations