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A reader recently asked me the following question: Some of the language we use here (South Africa) is a little different. Could you clarify what you mean with 3:3 or 4:4?. If you are teaching 3-5 courses, is that full semester (half a year) courses? Or 'just' involved in some way with the course? Is it repeat classes? Or 3 - 5 completely different modules? Particular relevant is then what else is on your plate. Do you also supervise thesis work of other students, work on your own credentialing, research and publish, admin etc? My answer was as follows. You can also have an insight into my days here : Dear Kerry, thanks for asking! In Ecuador we have 3 semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer (short semester). I used to teach 3 courses in Fall (mid august - mid december) and 3 in the Spring (January - May). Each course is 3 hours of class a week (2 times 1,5 hours), and we don't have TAs (unless the course has more than 40 students - I never qualify for this). So I do all the teachin...

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Dr. Noelle Sterne with a guest post on dissertation writing. Dissertation coach and nurturer, editor, academic and mainstream writing consultant and soother, author, workshop leader, and spiritual counselor, Noelle Sterne, Ph.D. (Columbia University), has published over 400 pieces in print and online venues. Her monthly posts appear in theTextbook and Academic Authors blog Abstract and the literary blog Two Drops of Ink. In her academic consulting practice, Noelle helps doctoral candidates wrestle their dissertations to completion. Based on her practice, her handbook addresses students’ largely overlooked but equally important nonacademic difficulties: Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping with the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2015). In Trust Your Life: Forgive Yourself and Go After Your Dreams (Unity Books, 2011), with examples from her academic practice, writing, and life, Noelle...

I recently gave a presentation titled "Pruebas de carga en puentes de hormigon armado: Experiencia de un programa de pruebas en Holanda" at the 1er Congreso Iberamericano de Ingenieria Civil. In this presentation, I gave an overview of the load testing work in the Netherlands. This was my first technical presentation in Spanish (so to reduce the amount of speaking that I had to do, I threw in a lot of videos...). The conference paper has as English title "Proof load testing of reinforced concrete bridges: Experience from a program of testing in the Netherlands" with the following abstract: For existing bridges with large uncertainties, analytical methods have limitations. Therefore, to reduce these uncertainties, field testing of a bridge can be used. A type of such a field test is a proof load test, in which a load equivalent to the factored live load is applied. If the bridge can carry this load without signs of distress, the proof load test is successful, and it...

I recently gave a presentation at the ACI Fall Convention in Anaheim, CA about our research on proof load testing of slab bridges. If all goes well, the paper will be published in an ACI SP. Below, you can find the slides of this presentation: Assessment of slab bridges through proof loading in the Netherlands from Eva Lantsoght

My colleagues and myself recently published a paper in the Journal of Bridge Engineering, titled "Pilot Proof-Load Test on Viaduct De Beek: Case Study". The paper reports on the proof load test on viaduct De Beek which our research group carried out in November 2015. I couldn't join my colleagues in the field at that time, but in the summer of 2016, I helped finalizing the analysis report of the test. The abstract is as follows: For existing bridges, proof-load testing can be a suitable assessment method. This paper addresses the evaluation of a posted reinforced concrete slab bridge over a highway through proof-load testing, detailing the preparation, execution, and analysis of the test. As the target proof-load and the required measurements for proof-load testing currently are not well-defined in the existing codes, this pilot case was used to develop and evaluate proposed recommendations for proof-load testing for a future guideline on proof-load testing for the Nether...

My colleagues and I recently published a paper titled "Plastic model for asymmetrically loaded reinforced concrete slabs" in a Special Publication of the ACI, ACI-SP 321 "Recent Developments in Two-Way Slabs: Design, Analysis, Construction, and Evaluation". This SP is the result of a session held at the ACI Fall Convention in 2015. You can purchase the SP through the ACI website. The abstract of our paper is as follows: Most methods for the design and analysis of reinforced concrete slabs for punching are based on experiments on slab-column connections, reflecting the situation in building slabs. Slab-column connections with unbalanced moments have also been studied in the past. Experiments indicate that the accuracy of models for asymmetrically loaded slabs is lower than for symmetrically loaded slabs. In this paper, the difference in accuracy between test predictions for symmetrically and asymmetrically loaded slabs is tackled. A plastic model, the Extended Strip ...

Just like every year, I present you with the 10 best books I read in the past year. I read a fair amount of pulp this year at the end of my pregnancy, as my brain couldn't make it through good fiction anymore, but I also read a few books I'd happily recommend you. 10. 80,000 Hours: Find a fulfilling career that does good - Benjamin Todd An excellent, evidence-based book on choosing a career path that does good in this world. 9. What the most successful people do on the weekend - Laura Vanderkam Part of a series of books. The other two are "what the most successful people do before breakfast" and what "what the most successful people do at work". Whereas the other two books are a rehash of typical time management tips, the topic of what to do on the weekend is fascinating and gave me some new insights. 8. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Book of the Spiritual Man - Charles Johnston I listened to this, and while I found some parts inspiring, I certain...

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer , your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands. If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic! We are the creatures of habit. Most days, we arrive around the same time at our office. Then, we perhaps get our coffee, check our email and see what we want to work on for the day. Or we check the news, start to read the comments, and before we realize, half an hour has gone. Or we start to reply emails, only to get lost in the rabbit hole of starting things without finishing them, or in email ping-pong. If at the end of the day, when you leave your office, you have the feeling you have ...

As every year, I am presenting you with an overview of the ten best albums of the past year. This year, I only listened to albums and reviewed them until May. By June, during my time in Delft, I was so tired after work that I did not gather the strength and courage to write my reviews. After the baby was born, I didn't listen to any new album. With that in mind, here is my list for 2017: 10. King of Asgard - :Taudr: Pagan metal with strong layering. You can find my review of this album on darkview. 9. Illimtable Dolor - Self-titled Fine funeral doom. Read my review here. 8. Battle Beast - Bringer of Pain Just good old heavy metal. You can find more on Darkview. 7. Psychedelic Witchcraft - Magick Rites and Spells Seventies doom revival. Review on Darkview. 6. Magnet - Feel your fire More seventies revival, but on the side of blues and rock and roll. You can read my full review on Darkview. 5. Immolation - Atonement Raw energy. Dark death metal. For more, go to Darkview . 4. Jess and...