Lily Wilson is a PhD candidate at McMaster University, supervised by Drs. Lydell Wiebe, Cancan Yang, and Taylor Steele. Her research focuses on Controlled Rocking Braced Frames (CRBFs)—a seismic design approach that reduces structural damage and residual drift during earthquakes by allowing column uplift, unlike traditional braced frames that rely on member yielding.

Lily developed a static design procedure for CRBFs tailored to Canadian standards, making them as straightforward to design as conventional systems. Her method aligns with the National Building Code’s static force procedure and uses mechanics-based equations to simplify complex aspects like higher mode effects and energy dissipation.

She is currently exploring machine learning to predict drift behavior across Canada and improve CRBF design accuracy. Future work includes designing simple, pre-tested energy dissipation devices compatible with standard steel construction practices, aiming to make low-damage systems more accessible to engineers.

Her final research phase will involve a collapse assessment of CRBFs to support their inclusion in Canadian building codes, validating force reduction factors and drift estimation techniques.