I have been a member of the academic environment at the University of Westminster, since 1977 in a variety of posts, working closely with students by teaching at various levels.
My main subjects in undergraduate teaching are;
In addition, I have previously been a course leader in Civil Engineering, Foundations Course and Built Environment Studies subjects.
As part of my postgraduate responsibilities I have supervised four PhD research students, numerous MSc dissertations, have been an examiner for two MPhil students, 3 PhD students and been assessor for several PhD applications in our Department.
I am fortunate to work closely with the structural engineering industry as a Chartered Structural Engineer and bring my experience of this working environment to my teaching. I have also been a member of the Campus Academic Standards Group of the University for many years.
I work with other universities as an external advisor and acted as an advisor for validation of courses. I am also a referee for applications made to Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, EPSRC. I also work closely with the Institution of Structural Engineers and am an assessor for the Chartered Engineer Status.
In the past, I have been a special consultant to the Transmission Division of the Eve Group engaged in design and dynamic analysis of a number of free standing towers and guyed masts. Examples of those projects are; dynamic analyses of a communication tower for the Port of London Authorities, complete dynamic design and analyses of a communication tower for the Alpha Platform in the North Sea, dynamic design and analyses of a 475m tall radial guyed mast and analyses and remedial recommendations for a tall guyed mast for BT to prevent rotations. My role in these projects was to establish static loading, dynamic loading in terms of wind, impact, impulse and in some cases earthquake loading, and process the results of analyses in terms of amplitudes of vibration, forces and dynamic properties such as frequencies and mode shapes and implement them in the dynamic design of the aforementioned structures.
I established Aronson Consulting Engineers in 1987 and the above works were mainly carried out under this company. A full list of projects carried out can be viewed on the web site.
I started my research work in dynamic analysis of cable and cable assisted structures and developed a method for non-linear dynamic analyses of flexible structures. This research lead to a number of research projects, supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and a number of joint programmes with other universities.
As a result of these research works, a number of papers have been published in well known journals and presented in conferences. The theoretical work was complemented by development of a non-destructive dynamic testing system in conjunction with the Norwegian Building Research Institute. The Controlled Dynamic Testing System, CDT, was designed to centrally control exertion of dynamic loading, recording of sensors and analysing the recorded response to obtain frequencies, mode shapes and damping. The CDT system is continually updated and used in non-destructive dynamic testing, assessment of dynamic behaviour and analyses of many structures, examples of those projects are; dynamic analyses of a communication tower for the Port of London Authorities, complete dynamic design and analyses of a communication tower for the Alpha Platform in the North Sea, dynamic design and analyses of a 475m tall radial guyed mast and analyses and remedial recommendations for a tall guyed mast for BT to prevent rotations.
Some of the research programmes lead to a number of PhD projects which expanded the dynamic analysis theory from flexible boundary to rigid boundary and rigid frame structures. The results are incorporated in a set of PhD theses.
I was also involved in research in Fibre Reinforced Concrete and its behaviour when sprayed by ShotCrete method.