Ryan Hoult

Since completing my PhD in 2017, I have held several research positions as a postdoctoral researcher:

Research Fellow, Université catholique de Louvain (UClouvain), Belgium, 03/07/2023 to Present

I was recently a recipient of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship to be conducted at UCLouvain, Belgium. This research project aims to test reinforced concrete walls with shape-memory alloy (SMA) rebars, which offer the potential to return to their original form after seismic demands, and hence prevent damage and avoid permanent tilting of structures. The researchers will conduct experiments using iron-based SMA reinforcement in the boundary regions of concrete walls as a substitute material for the typical steel rebars. The goal is to contribute to a more robust and resilient building stock internationally, and to provide guidance for seismic design and assessment with this novel technology.

Postdoctoral Researcher, Université catholique de Louvain (UClouvain), Belgium, 02/07/2021 to 30/06/2023

I was the recipient of a Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) postdoctoral research grant to work at UCLouvain under Prof João Almeida. The research project investigates the torsional capacity of reinforced concrete U-shaped core walls. Three large-scale walls will be tested under different combinations of torsion and flexure.

Postdoctoral Researcher, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, 16/08/2018 to 01/09/2019

I was the recipient of the highly competitive Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship, which gave me the opportunity to conduct analytical and experimental research at the Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (EESD) laboratory at EPFL, Switzerland (100% research, one-year). The experimental program included the testing of two large-scale reinforced concrete U-shaped walls subjected to forces causing flexural actions.

I am motivated to publish his work in reputable, peer-reviewed journals that provide some level of open-access. At a minimum, future publications will have to agree on a green open-access level with a maximum of 6-12 months embargo prior to making the article publicly available. Open-access is important to the applicant in allowing the research to reach a wider and more diverse readership, such as practitioners (i.e., engineers in industry) and researchers in developing countries.

It is important to note that in my field of research it is typical to have publications with authors listed in terms of contribution to the study; the first author will generally be responsible for the largest contribution to the research design, data collection and manuscript preparation of the corresponding publication, whereas the last author listed is typically the most senior member of the research team, responsible for sourcing the funding and manuscript revision.

In Structural and Earthquake Engineering, journal publication is the preferred method for disseminating results.  However, conference publications are also a platform used by researchers in structural and earthquake engineering to disseminate their results, particularly for communicating research to industry-based practicing engineers.

Sharing the research data and outputs with an open-access repository is also important to the applicant. Disseminating research outputs and related data was practiced by the applicant during his research project at EPFL, Switzerland, and more recently at UCLouvain, Belgium. This allows the data to be readily and openly shared to the public and makes it easier for researchers to use the data or, importantly, for replication studies to be undertaken.

• Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund (AUD $150,000)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship 2021 (EUR $191,000)
• Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies (ERIES) Transnational Access (EUR ∼$200,000)
• Bilateral Mobility Project, Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)
• Learning and Teaching Initiatives Grant 2020 (AUD $14,119)
• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (2018-2019) (CHF $42,000)
• Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC Postgraduate Scholarship (2014-2017) (AUD $26,000 p.a.)
• Best Paper Award, Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES) Conference, 2016
• Pam Todd Research Scholarship, St Hilda’s College (2015) (AUD $5,000)
• Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES) Scholarship (2014) (AUD $5,000)
• Sir Louis Matheson Prize, University of Melbourne, 2014 (AUD $5,000)
• Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Student Research Scholarship (2013) (AUD $3,000)

Hoult, R., Bertholet, A., & de Almeida, J. P. (2023). Core versus Surface Sensors for Reinforced Concrete Structures: A Comparison of Fiber-Optic Strain Sensing to Conventional Instrumentation. Sensors, 23(3), 1745.

Hoult, R., Correia, A. A., & de Almeida, J. P. (2023). Beam-Truss Models to Simulate the Axial-Flexural-Torsional Performance of RC U-Shaped Wall Buildings. CivilEng, 4(1), 292-310.

Weng, X., Hoult, R. D., & Lumantarna, E. (2023). Site-Specific Seismic Analysis of Buildings Supported by Lightly Reinforced Precast Concrete Walls. CivilEng, 4(1), 270-291.

Hoult, R. (2022). Universal Plastic Hinge Length for Reinforced Concrete Walls. ACI Structural Journal, 119(4), 75-83.

Hoult, R. D., & de Almeida, J. P. (2022). Residual displacements of reinforced concrete walls detailed with conventional steel and shape memory alloy rebars. Engineering Structures, 256, 114002.

Hoult, R., & de Almeida, J. P. (2022). From experimental strain and crack distributions to plastic hinge lengths of RC walls with SMA rebars. Engineering Structures, 268, 114731.

Hoult, R. (2022). A computationally-effective method for rapidly determining the seismic structural response of high-rise buildings with a limited number of sensors. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 20(9), 4395-4417.

Hoult, R. (2021). Torsional capacity of reinforced concrete U-shaped walls. Structures (Vol. 31, pp. 190-204).

Hoult, R., Allen, T., Borleis, E., Peck, W., & Amirsardari, A. (2021). Source and attenuation properties of the 2012 Moe, southeastern Australia, earthquake sequence. Seismological Research Letters, 92(2A), 1112-1128.

Hoult, R., & Beyer, K. (2021). RC U-shaped walls subjected to in-plane, diagonal, and torsional loading: New experimental findings. Engineering Structures, 233, 111873.

Hoult, R., Peel, M., & Duffield, C. (2021). Lessons from flipping subjects in engineering: effectiveness of student learning in a flipped environment at the university level. Journal of Civil Engineering Education, 147(1), 04020012.

Currie, G., Henderson, A., & Hoult, R. (2021). Diffusion of innovation in an Australian engineering school. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 26(2), 219-226.

Sofi, M., Lumantarna, E., Hoult, R., Mooney, M., Mason, N., & Lu, J. (2021). Bond strength of GiR in cross-laminated timber: A preliminary study. Construction and Building Materials, 301, 123864.

Hoult, R., Appelle, A., Almeida, J., & Beyer, K. (2020). Seismic performance of slender RC U-shaped walls with a single-layer of reinforcement. Engineering Structures, 225, 111257.

Hoult, R., & Beyer, K. (2020). Decay of torsional stiffness in RC U-shaped walls. Journal of Structural Engineering, 146(9), 04020176.

Hoult, R. D. (2019). Shear lag effects in reinforced concrete C-shaped walls. Journal of Structural Engineering, 145(3), 04018270.

Hoult, R., Goldsworthy, H., & Lumantarna, E. (2019). Fragility functions for RC shear wall buildings in Australia. Earthquake Spectra, 35(1), 333-360.

Hoult, R. D., Goldsworthy, H. M., & Lumantarna, E. (2020). Plastic hinge length for lightly reinforced C-shaped concrete walls. Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 24(7), 1083-1114.

Hoult, R. D., Goldsworthy, H. M., & Lumantarna, E. (2018). Plastic hinge analysis for lightly reinforced and unconfined concrete structural walls. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 16, 4825-4860.

Hoult, R. D., Lumantarna, E., & Goldsworthy, H. M. (2017). Soil amplification in low-to-moderate seismic regions. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 15, 1945-1963.

Hoult, R., Goldsworthy, H., & Lumantarna, E. (2018). Plastic hinge length for lightly reinforced rectangular concrete walls. Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 22(8), 1447-1478.

Hoult, R. D. (2017). Minimum longitudinal reinforcement requirements for boundary elements of limited ductile walls for AS 3600. Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering, 17, 43-52.

• Canadian Conference – Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 2023, Vancouver, Canada, 25-30 June – Invited Talk
• Australian Earthquake Engineering Society 2022 Conference, Mt Macedon, VIC - Selected for Oral
• 8^th Asian Conference on Earthquake Engineering, 2022, Taipei, Taiwan, - Selected for Oral
• 3^rd European Conference on Earthquake Engineering & Seismology, 2022, Bucharest, Romania, - Selected for Oral
• Australian Earthquake Engineering Society 2021 Conference, (Online) - Selected for Oral
• Australian Earthquake Engineering Society 2020 Conference, (Online) - Selected for Oral
• 8th International Conference on Advances in Experimental Structural Engineering (8AESE), Christchurch, New Zealand, February 2020 – Invited Talk
• Concrete 2019, Concrete Institute of Australia's Biennial National Conference, Sydney, Australia, September 2019 - Selected for Oral
• Australasian Structural Engineering Conference 2018, Adelaide, Australia - Selected for Oral
• Australian Earthquake Engineering Society 2017 Conference, Canberra, ACT - Selected for Oral
• Australasian Structural Engineering Conference 2016, Brisbane, Australia - Selected for Oral
• Tenth Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering (2015), Sydney, Australia - Selected for Oral
• Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) 2015 conference, Adelaide, South Australia – Invited Talk