Dr. Alessandro Palermo is a structural engineer, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur at the University of California San Diego. He is internationally recognized for pioneering low-damage seismic technologies for mass-timber structures and bridges. Before joining UC San Diego in 2023, he was a Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Dr. Palermo has authored over 400 publications and holds three patents; since 2020, he has ranked among the top 2% most-cited civil engineering researchers worldwide (SCOPUS). His work advances resilient and sustainable structural systems through post-tensioned rocking technologies, innovative connections, hybrid materials, and large-scale experimental testing. His timber self-centering systems—validated at UC San Diego’s outdoor shake table—have led to multiple research grants, licensing agreements, design guidelines, and the construction of 15+ buildings. In bridge engineering, he has contributed significantly to seismic resilience, accelerated bridge construction, and precast/post-tensioned systems adopted internationally. Dr. Palermo received the University of Canterbury Innovation Medal (2013), the ASCE Alfred Noble Prize (2020), and the IABSE Outstanding Paper Award (2021). In 2021, he was named “Most Influential International Accelerated Bridge Construction Person of the Year (Outside the U.S.)”. He is a Fellow of several major associations, including IABSE, and is an award-winning educator with multiple university teaching honors at the University of Canterbury.
Prestressing technology in concrete structures has a rich history of almost 100 years, but it is only in the past two decades that innovative engineers have applied post-tensioning and pre-tensioning techniques to timber construction. This evolution includes the use of these techniques in timber floors, walls, and lateral load systems. PRES-LAM technology, involving post-tensioned rocking walls and frames enhanced with external dissipative devices, emerged in the early 2000s, showcasing a new path for resilient timber construction. While extensive research—from early studies at the University of Canterbury to the groundbreaking 10-story NHERI project—has affirmed the potential of post-tensioned timber systems, successful real-world implementation demands meticulous design detailing. The orthotropic nature of engineered wood, which varies across products, combined with the nuances of connection layouts, anchorage typologies, and fasteners, plays a critical role in achieving not only structural performance but also economic feasibility. This presentation will feature large-scale testing prototypes and real-world buildings in New Zealand and Europe, emphasizing the art of design detailing. We’ll explore how the integration of system performance, material mechanics, and load path optimization can transform concepts into high-performance structures. Examples will span beyond seismic design, including pre-tensioned suspended timber floors, statically indeterminate post-tensioned gravity frames, and fire-resistant solutions.