Abstract: The use of mass timber and hybrid timber–steel in construction has risen dramatically in recent years across North America and Europe, fueled by its potential to reduce the environmental impact of buildings while enabling rapid and efficient construction. However, wider adoption of these systems requires a better understanding of their structural performance during day-to-day operations and under extreme loading conditions. At the same time, there remains a need to develop novel systems to address ongoing challenges associated with structural efficiency and resilience. This presentation summarizes ongoing research on two complementary themes: (1) hybrid timber–steel composite floor systems and (2) the seismic performance of conventional and high-performance timber connections. The first part of the presentation highlights recent experimental investigations on timber–steel composite floor systems, including studies on their stiffness and strength in a variety of design configurations. Emphasis is placed on the studying efficient shear connection systems as well as the use of advanced sensing technologies (e.g., distributed fibre optic strain sensors) to generate unique datasets that support the development of design methods for the use of timber-steel composite floor systems in practice. The second part focuses on the seismic performance of timber connections, including brace and moment-resisting connections, recognizing that connections are often the governing components in timber lateral force-resisting systems. Results from large-scale testing programs are presented for both conventional and high-performance connection technologies, with discussion on their strength, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, and resilience under earthquake loading. Collectively, this research advances the understanding of how innovative timber–steel structural systems can be designed to achieve improved sustainability, serviceability, and seismic performance, supporting th

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