Engineering Course Offers the History and Future of Bridges

Bridge design has long held an interest for Nasser Yari. As a civil engineer with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation for 33 years, he helped build many of the structures that have become commonplace for motorists in the Granite State.  

This summer, he will bring that knowledge to a Wentworth Institute of Technology classroom with his “Bridge Design” course.  

As an assistant professor in the School of Engineering since 2018, Yari has introduced students to some of the innovative techniques and materials found in today’s buildings and infrastructure, such as the use of mass timber to construct sports arenas. 

“I really like bridges and have for a long time, going back to my time as a foreman in college,” Yari said. “I’m looking forward to showing students the history and the future of these structures.” 

The Bridge Design course is currently open for registration and available to Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering students during the Summer 2021 semester. It will be made available in hybrid and fully online formats.  

Yari will convey how proper design can help keep structures like the circa-850 BC Bridge Over River Meles, as well as the Cendere Bridge in Turkey that dates to 200 BC, standing through present day. 

The course will also detail bridge loads, deck slab design, steel superstructures, pre-stressed concrete superstructures, substructure design, maintenance, cable supported bridges, timber bridges, and design criteria and code considerations. 

“It’s really important for young engineers to know and use the code book,” Yari said. The book is nearly 2,000 pages, but he is quick to point out that “I break it down nicely.” 

The use of commercial software will be used to supplement the course, including Autodesk and CSiBridge. Students will have the opportunity to build out designs and then test the structures (including the use of vehicles and other loads) using these programs. 

“I took some of my personal industry knowledge, and also spoke with people currently designing and building bridges to find the best software. The programs we’re using came from those conversations,” said Yari. 

A New Hampshire resident, Yari passes under the Highway 101 bridge that runs over Interstate 95 each time he travels to Wentworth. He calls the bridge his greatest achievement.  

“I see it every day, so it’s a constant reminder of work that makes me proud,” he said. “So many motorists benefit from that structure and that’s a very nice feeling.”