People
Dr. Prevatt’s Research Team.
PhD
Kenton McBride:
I recently finished my undergraduate study at the University of Nebraska. During my undergraduate career I was the student chapter ASCE president and the president of the Engineering Student Advisory Board. I’ve interned for Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Lamp, Rynearson and Associates, and Kiewit Western Company in Phoenix, and performed undergraduate research in Water Resources engineering. I was very excited to join Dr. Prevatt’s research in Florida in wind engineering, and would like to apply the knowledge and processes that I learn in postgraduate study to forensic engineering and eventually teaching. I love to mountain bike, play basketball, and spend time outdoors. My research page
Peter L. Datin:
I joined the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida in June 2007 as a PhD student. I graduated with MS in Civil Engineering at Clemson University in May 2007 under the direction of Dr. David O. Prevatt. While at Clemson, I worked at the Wind Load Test Facility conducting wind tunnel studies and structural load testing of low-rise structures. I have continued that work at UF under the direction of Dr. Prevatt, who took a faculty position at UF in June 2007. My broad research interests include wind loading of low-rise, wood-frame structures and stochastic analysis techniques. I have extensive experimental testing experience. My interest in wind loading of wood-frame residential structures comes from having grown up in Oklahoma, a state known for tornadoes. While I enjoy research and learning, I also enjoy spending time with my wife and two children. Resume
Craig Dixon:
I received my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering in the Fall of 2008 from the University of Florida, and in the Fall of 2009 I joined Dr. Prevatt’s research group. During my undergraduate work, I spent 6 summers interning for forensic structural and building envelope consulting firms. I hope to apply the experience that I have gained in the field to my research concerning wind interaction on structural roofing. Away from school I enjoy everything outdoors. I am a member and past president of the UF Triathlon team and have raced in over 35 endurance athletic events.
Juan Antonio Balderrama Garcia Mendez:
Juan Antonio Balderrama Garcia Mendez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 1984. He received his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame du Lac in May 2007. In Fall 2007 he joined the department of Structural Engineering at the University of Florida and began his graduate studies in Structural Engineering. During his masters he worked with Dr. Kurtis Gurley and his team focusing on research in catastrophy modeling and the development of loss projection models for low and mid high rise commercial residential buildings. He is currently working under the tutelage of Dr. Forrest Masters, Dr. David Prevatt, and Dr. Kurtis Gurley. Aside from work and academics, he enjoys watersports (waterskiing, wakeboarding, surfing, fishing, etc.), playing basketball, and snowboarding.
ME
Akwasi Frimpong Mensah:
I joined the graduate program of the CCE Department of University of Florida in August 2008 and will be completing my masters degree in May 2010. I was born in Ghana, West Africa and graduated with a BSc (Honors) degree in Civil Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana in May 2006. Prior to joining UF, I worked as a a teaching assistant in my undergraduate school for a year and then moved to Accra as an assistant civil/structural engineer with an engineering consultancy firm. Currently in UF, I have been heavily involved in an NSF-funded performance based engineering project investigating the interaction of hurricane induced forces with low-rise buildings. My focus has been analyzing aerodynamic data from wind tunnel study, developing a Database Assisted Design (DAD) MATLAB-based program for residential buildings. Further details on my involvement in Dr. Prevatt’s research team may be found at my page. My interests include probabilistic and stochastic studies, reading, soccer, traveling and politics.
Sushmit Shreyans:
I graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India in July 2009 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) in Civil Engineering. I joined the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at University of Florida as a Master’s student in Fall 2009. I am working on “Field Evaluation of the Thermal Performance and Energy Efficiency of Closed Cell Spray Applied Polyurethane (ccSPF) Foam in Vented Residential Attics” towards my MS Thesis under the guidance of Dr. Prevatt. During under-graduation, my research focused on Composite materials, Finite Element Analysis and Energy Efficiency of Buildings. I love sketching, painting, photography and traveling.A glimpse of my current research can be found here.
BS
Tuan Vo:
I am currently a 4th year civil engineering student at the University of Florida pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree. I spent over 16 years of my life about two hours south of Gainesville in Saint Cloud, Florida, which prided itself in “small-town” life. Throughout high school and up to the first day of preview/orientation at the university, I prided myself as an aspiring architect, using Adam Sandler’s Click as a basis behind my motives. After the orientation however, my misconceptions about architecture led to engineering, and here I stand today. I had met Dr. Prevatt through an interview for a scholarship through the Civil Department. A few months later, I was contemplating research and ended up back in Dr. Prevatt’s office learning about the hurricane lab. Two weeks after, I found myself out in the lab helping out with the nail withdrawal tests. My current research project pertains to the structural ability of vegetative roofs and the possibility of designing a standard construction method for these roofs in order to meet the strict wind design codes placed on modern-day buildings. My hobbies that do not pertain to learning include gaming, spending time with friends, eating, and sleeping.
Zach Ferrall:
Zach Ferrall is a 5th year civil and coastal engineering senior at the University of Florida. Born and raised in Tallahassee, he has called many places home since his high school graduation in 1999. Upon graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a tactical aircraft maintainer. In this capacity he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant by the end of his 4 year, 9 month enlistment as he completed tours in Alaska, Kuwait, California. After completing a course taught by Dr. Prevatt, he was approached to work with Dr. Prevatt’s research team. In this capacity he has worked on many projects. Most recently was the destructive testing conducted in Debary, Florida. He has also greatly contributed to the construction of the 1/3rd scale model house. From welding brackets to building stud walls, Zach is eager to learn new skills in order to broaden his college experience. Outside of school, Zach is an avid outdoor enthusiast and traveler. More weekends than not, he can be found hiking on a mountain, camping in a field, or floating on a river. His adventures have taken him to 37 states. He will spend the 2nd half of the summer as a docent in Shenandoah National Park’s Rapidan Camp. There he will give tours to anyone willing to hike the 5 miles required to get there.
Former Students
Kenneth Hill:
Graduated ME in 2009 and working with Rehau Inc. (Washington, DC). Thesis: Development of Time-Varying Wind Uplift Test Protocols for Residential Wood Roof Sheathing Panels”
Hal Boudreau: Hal completed his undergraduate degree with thesis(hons.) in civil and coastal engineering from the University of Florida.
Carl Harrigan:
Conducted research on nail withdrawal test methods for wood-roof sheathing.
Graduated 2009.
Griffin Malatino:
Research in ASTM D1761 nail withdrawal testing.
Graduated 2009.
Dr. Forrest J. Masters
Dr. Masters is currently an assistant professor of civil and coastal engineering department at the University of Florida. Dr. Forrest received his PhD from Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida in August 2004. His research interest includes: Characterization of surface-level tropical cyclone winds and wind-driven rain, Wind and wind-driven rain effects on structures and Stochastic simulation of natural hazard events.
Dr. Kurtis R. Gurley
Dr. Gurley is currently an associate professor of civil and coastal engineering department at the University of Florida. Dr. Kurtis received his PhD from Department of Civil Engineering, University of Notre Dame in 1997. His research interest includes: Probabilistic natural hazard modeling and damage mitigation, Simulation of stochastic environmental loads Wind / Offshore engineering, random vibration, structural reliability, Signal processing, data analysis and Applications of wavelet transforms and neural networks in structural analysis.
Dr. Gregory A. Kopp
Dr. Kopp is a Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Dr. Koop received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1995. He currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Wind Engineering and is a Faculty Scholar in the Faculty of Engineering. Dr. Kopp is currently also a Research Director and a member of the Board of Directors of the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory.
Dr. John W. van de Lindt
Dr. John W. van de Lindt is an Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at Colorado State University. Dr. van de Lindt received his Ph.D.from Civil Engineering department at Texas A&M University in May 1999. Dr. van de Lindt’s research program has two major thrusts, both related to improving the built environment by making structures and structural systems perform to the level expected by their occupants, government, and the public. He seeks to accomplish this through the development and test bed applications of performance-based engineering of building systems and bridges for earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods.
Dr. Rakesh Gupta
Dr. Rakesh Gupta is a Professor of Department of Wood Science and Engineering at the Oregon State University. Dr. Rakesh received his PhD in Agricultural Engineering Department from Cornell University in 1990. Dr Rakesh’s research interest lies in the area of Timber Engineering and Mechanics. His research focuses on intelligent and efficient use of wood in structural application. The major goal of Dr. Rakesh’s research program is to develop advanced testing, modeling, and analysis techniques to design efficient and safe wood structures. This includes theoretical and experimental studies addressing problems in timber engineering and mechanics aimed towards the application of wood and wood-based composite materials in structures.
Dr. Bryant G. Nielson
Dr. Bryant Nielson and Dr. Prevatt were Principal Investigators on a 2006-2008 NSF-sponsored SGER project evaluating the vulnerabilities of existing residential construction. They had noted particularly high vulnerabilities of single-family residential structures that were built several decades ago (pre-1994), when building code requirements were less responsive to mitigating natural hazard damage from wind storms. Low-rise wood-framed and masonry structures are among the most commonly damaged structure types during hurricanes, suffering severe structural failure of roofs, fenestration and water leakage damage to contents from wind-driven rain. A reliability-based risk assessment approach is essential to make sound risk management decisions for as-built and retrofitted structures in this category. The intent of their research project conducted in Clemson, SC was to generate and acquire data through field testing and analyses pertaining to various critical capacities of roof-two-wall connections and the wind uplift resistance of wood sheathing panels in existing residential buildings. The PIs used a time-critical opportunity to carry out structural tests in the field on wood framed structures that were due to be demolished. The results of their NSF-sponsored study are presented in a conference paper and will soon be available in the archival paper form in Engineering Structures. A follow-up study, sponsored by the Department of Community Affairs , Division of Emergency Management, through University of Florida extended the NSF-sponsored work to masonry residential structures, as part of continuing efforts in Florida to learn from destructive testing of existing residential structures. Several papers will soon be completed on the results from these studies. The goal of these studies is to develop from rigorous experimental test results on existing buildings the quantitive data that can be used as the basis for making statistical inferences into performance of existing residential structures and other information usable in both probabilistic and analytical models of structural behaviours(Please contact Dr. Prevatt or Dr. Nielson for further information on the project).