basic infrastructure research group

I run the Basic Infrastructure Research Group (BIRG) at UMass Amherst, and have dedicated my career to ensuring safe and sustainable structures. Basic infrastructure often looks like what it is: basic, but appearances are only the tip of the iceberg (or, the iceBIRG).

To achieve  post-disaster resilience, low embodied energy construction, and structural longevity, the BIRG examines structural behavior through experimental work from material-scale to structural-scale, backed up by analytical modeling. To ensure our work is broadly disseminated, I serve on national codes and specification-writing committees, and professional organizations.

In the classroom, I am devoted to sharing my passion for basic infrastructure, and teaching holistic structural design to my students.