Publications

• How Levels of Fabrication Precision Can Lead to Improved Quality in Light Frame Wood Construction.
• Sample Forensic Report

Civil&Structural Engineering/Construction Defects

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

As an engineer, I am fascinated by complexity and understanding new and different situations. I love to talk about engineering and explaining engineering processes and principles to young engineers and lay persons is personal passion. Examining a structural failure brings out my inner researcher, and explaining the cause and physics to a jury or arbitration panel channels my teacher personality. I work as a forensic engineer with the intent of helping the legal industry understand engineering principles and to help citizens resolve their disputes justly. Though I have worked as a scientific programmer and chemical engineer, my primary expertise is in structural engineering. I began professional practice at kpff in Portland, OR in 1998. In 2001, I was hired by DCI Engineers. In 2003, I started my own consulting engineering firm which I continue to operate. I have designed concrete, steel, masonry and wood structures, generally commercial, government or schools. About half of my work has been design of building facades or cladding systems. Seeking new challenges, I joined the faculty at the University of Kansas in 2016, where I retired in 2024. As a Professor of Practice and Director of the Master of Civil Engineering (MCE) Program at The University of Kansas, I taught primarily graduate structural engineering courses. Offered courses include: CE 625: Applied Probability&Statistics, CE 704: Dynamics and Vibrations, CE 711: Probablstc Design&Reliability, CE 713: Cold-formed Steel&Aluminm Dsgn, CE 714: Professional Practice, CE 725: Applied Probability&Statistics, CE 763: Dsgn Prestrssd Concrete Struct, CE 764: Adv Desgn Reinfrc Concr Struct, CE 768: Design of Timber Structures, CE 769: Design of Masonry Structures, CE 861: Finit Elemnt Mthd for Sld Mech, CE 864: Seismic Performnc of Structurs, CE 895 Design of Tall Buildings and CE 895 Building Envelope Design. I am Co-Chair of the KU Structures Conference (3rd year), the largest one day structural engineering conference in the U.S., former Vice-President of the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas-Missouri, KC Chapter (SEAKM-KC, 2 yrs), a voting member of the American Wood Council's Wood Design Standards Committee (WDSC) which determines code provisions for wood/timber design, Chair of the ASCE/SEI Committee on the Performance of Wood Structures (2nd, 3yr term). I am a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in CA, CT, DC, FL, GA, KS, MD, MO, NC, NY, TX, VA, WA and Structural Engineer (S.E.) in AZ, HI, IL, OK, OR, UT. (Only 14 states presently have SE licensing. The remaining states license structural engineers as PEs.) I am a member of the ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Division/Risk And Resilience Measurements Committee, and the ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Division/Social Science, Policy, Economics, Education Decision Committee. My professional organizations include the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In the past, I have been a member of the American Wood Council, the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon, the Forest Products Society and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. I have been chosen Outstanding Reviewer, ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering. (2020) and Outstanding Reviewer, ASCE Practice Periodical for Design and Construction. (2022). My major conference presentations include: - The Statistical History of US Tornadoes. ASCE/SEI Structures Congress (2022) - How Levels of Fabrication Precision Can Lead to Improved Quality in Light Frame Wood Construction. ASCE/SEI Structures Congress (2019) - Reducing Construction Defects and Design Errors in Timber Buildings. ASCE/SEI Structures Congress (2018) - Case Study: Four Story Assisted Living Facility Alleges Unacceptable Design and Construction Defects; What Can We Learn?. ASCE/SEI Structures Congress Conference (2015) My research publications have been cited 101 times by other researchers, according to Google Scholar.