Akademik

n.

The use of embedded electronic sensors to monitor the health of civil structures such as bridges and buildings. [Civil + electronics.]

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is the integration of a system of sensors, model validation, system identification, monitoring strategies, data mining, data management and interpretation of the data for decision-making purposes. The term civionics has been coined to denote the integration of civil structures with electrophotonic sensors for the purpose of determining the health of the structures.

—" Research and Markets: Monitoring Technologies for Bridge Management: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110324006581/en/Research-Markets-Monitoring-Technologies-Bridge-Management," BusinessWire, March 24, 2011

Winnipeg's famous Golden Boy, the statue that has topped the Manitoba Legislature since 1919, now reports back regularly on the state of the steel-alloy bar that fixes it to the roof.

And a bridge in Hamilton, Ont., tells city engineers how deeply winter road salt has penetrated its concrete deck and how close that salt is to corroding the deck's reinforcing bars.

"I call what [Dr. Cheng] is doing civionics," says Dr. Mufti, a professor of civil engineering.

—Terrence Belford, " Smart structures keep tabs on themselves: http://postcarboncities.net/node/2205," The Globe and Mail, December 11, 2007

There are times when the current lexicon is simply inadequate to define emerging developments in the world of science and technology. Thus, new terms emerge to more effectively describe mankind's latest capabilities. With such precedent in mind, we introduce "Civionics", a term coined by Dr. Aftab A. Mufti, President of the ISIS Canada Research Network, which brings together the brightest minds to expand the limits of civil engineering.

—" Civionics: Expanding the Limits of Civil Engineering: http://www.isiscanada.com/newsletter/Aug03en.pdf" (PDF), ISIS Innovator, August 1, 2003