From Local Buckling to Lean-On Bracing: Matthew Yarnold Presents Award Lecture

Photo: Dr. Matthew Yarnold, second from left, with Brian Hanks, North Carolina Department of Transportation and AASHTO T-14 Committee Vice Chair (far left); Robert Wills, AISI vice president of construction (second from right); and Chris Garrell, chief bridge engineer, National Steel Bridge Alliance. 

Matthew Yarnold, Ph.D., P.E., assistant professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas presented the 2021 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture to members of the Steel Bridge Task Force on February 3, 2022 in Orlando, Florida.

His lecture topic was “Steel Bridge Research From Local Buckling to Lean-On Bracing.”

Dr. Yarnold was selected as the recipient of the 2021 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture by the Steel Bridge Task Force of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), and the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) T-14 Technical Committee for Structural Steel Design.

Dr. Matthew Yarnold was selected as the recipient of the 2021 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture.

Award Provides Opportunity for Engineers Early in Their Career

The program was instituted in 2005 in memory of Robert J. Dexter, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Minnesota, who was an internationally recognized expert on steel fracture and fatigue problems in bridges.

The Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture program provides an opportunity for individuals early in their careers in structural engineering to present a lecture on their steel bridge research activities to the Steel Bridge Task Force and to participate in its semiannual three-day meeting. Recipients become invited guests of the Steel Bridge Task Force, which is comprised of leading steel bridge experts.

Yarnold’s Research Solves ‘Real-World’ Challenges

When his selection was announced in March 2021, Robert J. Wills, P.E., vice president of the construction group for AISI, said: “As an assistant professor, Dr. Yarnold has already been widely published, contributing reference journal articles on a wide range of topics. His extensive design and research experience are essential to solving ‘real-world’ challenges that are directly applicable to the design, construction and fabrication industries. We look forward to the contributions that he will make in the years to come to advance steel bridge design.”

Matthew Yarnold, Ph.D., P.E., earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Lehigh University. After graduation, he accepted a position with the engineering firm Ammann & Whitney, during which time he contributed to more than 15 bridge design and rehabilitation projects while also obtaining his professional engineering license.

Despite a successful career as a consultant, he returned to academia where he completed his Ph.D. at Drexel University. Dr. Yarnold’s passion for research led him to a position at Tennessee Tech University where he was an assistant professor for four years. In 2017 he joined the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Previous Award Recipients

Previous recipients of the Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture include:

• Matthew H. Hebdon, Ph.D., P.E., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2019)
• Hussam Mahmoud, Ph.D., Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado (2014)
• Caroline R. Bennett, Ph.D., P.E., University of Kansas in Lawrence (2013)
• Hassan H. Abbas, Ph.D., Auburn University (2012)
• Justin Ocel, Ph.D., P.E., Federal Highway Administration (2010)
• Emmett A. Sumner III, Ph.D., North Carolina State University in Raleigh (2009)
• Jennifer Righman McConnell, Ph.D., University of Delaware (2007)
• Reagan Herman, Ph.D., University of Houston (2006)
• Robert J. Connor, Ph.D., P.E., Purdue University (2005)

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