RIT faculty and alumnus co-author steel design textbook

For the co-authors of the newest structural engineering textbook, the collaboration between faculty and former student went beyond theory and application.

Abi Aghayere, chair of RIT’s Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety, and Jason Vigil, his former student, completed their second textbook collaboration, Structural Steel Design: A Practice Oriented Approach.

“The most satisfying aspect for me is that this is the second textbook that I’m co-authoring with Jason Vigil, a 1998 graduate of the civil engineering technology program who, by the way, was also the structural engineer of record for the new LEED-certified CAST Building,” Aghayere says.

Last April, the College of Applied Science and Technology Building was opened and certified with the LEED designation for best practices in sustainable design and energy usage. Vigil is a structural engineer with Jensen Engineering in Rochester and was part of the team that designed the CAST Building.

Vigil and Aghayere co-authored the textbook Structural Wood Design: A Practice Oriented Approach that was released in 2007. “Truly, the relationship with our students and alumni is life-long,” says Aghayere. The seventh edition of another of his textbooks, Reinforced Concrete Design is expected to be released in January.