Eric Rowland Lalonde is a Wind Engineering PhD Candidate in a joint program between the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Tongji University, China. His research is focused on incorporating improved computational wind engineering techniques into hybrid testing of wind turbines. This research goal incorporates cutting-edge fields in structural and wind engineering such as computational fluid dynamics, machine learning, super computing, real-time hybrid testing, and semi-active damping systems for the purposes of improving the design of wind turbines. Eric has published several journal papers on these topics and has presented internationally at engineering conferences. He has received numerous awards including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Alan G. Davenport Memorial Scholarship in 2020, and the Tongji International PhD Student Scholarship in 2017. Eric previously completed his bachelor and master degrees in structural engineering at UWO, and plans to enter the industry after completing his PhD.

List of publications

• Lalonde, E.R., Dai, K., Bitsuamlak, G., Lu, W., and Zhao, Z. (2020), “Comparison of robust semi-active and passive tuned mass damper systems for vibration control of a wind turbine”, Wind and Structures, 30(6).
• Lalonde, E.R., Dai, K., Lu, W., and Bitsuamlak, G. (2019), “Wind turbine testing methods and application of hybrid testing”, Wind and Structures, 29(3).
• Zhao, Z., Dai, K., Lalonde, E., Meng, J., Li, B., Ding, Z., and Bitsuamlak, G. (2019), “Studies on application of scissor-jack braced viscous damper system in wind turbines under seismic and wind loads”, Engineering Structures, 196(1).

Conference papers

• Lalonde, E.R., Vischschraper, B., Bitsuamlak, G., and Dai, K. (2020), “Evaluation of a neural network-based surrogate aerodynamic wind turbine blade model”, International Conference of Advances in Wind and Structures (August 25-29, 2020), Seoul, Korea.
• Lalonde, E.R., Bitsuamlak, G., and Dai, K. (2020), “Effect of aeroelastic blade deflections on the overall response of a 5 MW wind turbine tower”, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference (May 27-30, 2020), Saskatoon, Canada.
• Lalonde, E.R., and Kopp, G.A. (2016), “Wind tunnel testing of residential neighborhood model to analyze roof failures in high winds”, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference (June 1-4, 2016), London, Canada.
• Conference abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations
  “Engineering wind turbines: The impact of blade model simplifications when testing a 5 MW turbine”, EnviroCon 2020 (March 13, 2020), London, Canada.
  “Applicability of hybrid testing for multi-hazard wind turbine study”, 4th International Conference on Continental Earthquakes (May 12-14, 2018), Chengdu, China.

Awards

• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2020-2021), ($15,000)
• Alan G. Davenport Memorial Scholarship (2020), ($2000)
• Tongji University Scholarship for International PhD Students (2017-2019), ($20,000)
• 2nd place winner in City of London Design Competition (2016), ($500)
• Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Scholarship (2016), ($2000)
• NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (2015), ($4500)
• Western Scholarship of Excellence (2012), ($2000)