Biographical information

My complete curriculum vitae can be downloaded in .pdf format.

More detailed information on my current activities can be found in the teaching, research, and consulting sections of this site.

Dr.sc.techn.	1993	Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
M.S.E.	1983	Princeton University Princeton, NJ, USA
B.Sc.	1981	University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada

Since 2014	Professor	Department of Civil Engineering University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada
Since 2002	Associate Professor	Department of Civil Engineering University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada
1997 to 2002	Principal	J. Muller International New York, NY, USA
1996 to 1997	Senior Structural Engineer	VSL Corporation Raleigh, NC, USA
1993 to 1996	Senior Engineer	Buckland and Taylor Ltd. North Vancouver, BC, Canada
1990 to 1992	Research Associate	Professor Christian Menn Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
1990	Senior Engineer (Structures)	Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Suva, Fiji
1987 to 1989	Research Associate	Professor Christian Menn Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
1985 to 1987	Project Engineer	Morrison Hershfield Ltd. Toronto, ON, Canada
1983 to 1985	Design Engineer	T.Y. Lin International San Francisco, CA, USA

This is a sample of some of the design projects to which I have contributed. More information on these projects as well as additional projects can be found in my CV and in the section on my consulting activities.

Pont Laviolette Redecking Feasibility Study, Trois-Rivières to Bécancour, QC, Canada

I was retained by the prime consultant to develop preliminary concepts for replacement of the concrete deck slab on a 2 700 m long, four-lane crossing of the St. Lawrence. The owner limited work on the deck to the closure of two lanes between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM every night. This severe constraint led to solutions that incorporated large precast post-tensioned concrete panels that were designed and detailed to allow them to carry full design live load immediately after they had been erected. An innovative system of temporary external post-tensioning was developed for the longitudinal steel girders on the approach spans.

BQE Connector Ramp to Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn, NY, USA

I was Principal in Charge of this project, responsible for all major design decisions and oversight of project staff. The scope of work was to replace an aging four-lane, 400 metre long steel viaduct passing through a densely populated neighbourhood. The structure is a primary commuter route linking Brooklyn to Manhattan. Because no new right of way could be acquired, it was necessary to locate the new structure along the same alignment as the existing viaduct. The total duration of lane closures during construction was minimized by building the superstructure in two parallel halves, which allowed two lanes of traffic to be maintained at all times during construction, and through the use of the precast segmental method of construction, which allowed the superstructure to be built at an average rate of one complete span per week.

Bridge across Rocky Creek, Monterey County, CA, USA

I was Lead Designer for this project, and was responsible for all major design decisions. The scope of work was to design a seismic retrofit of a reinforced concrete arch bridge originally built in the 1930s. Technical challenges included the proximity of the bridge to a major fault, which resulted in peak rock accelerations in excess of 0.7g, as well as the vulnerability of the relatively slender arch ribs. The solution was based on the provision of an alternate load path which ensured that inertial forces from the deck were not transferred to the arch. This was accomplished by post-tensioning the deck longitudinally to increase its stiffness and strengthening the abutments to ensure that they had adequate capacity to the higher seismic forces that would be imposed on them by the stiffened deck.

Royston Road Underpass, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

I was Lead Designer for this project, and was responsible for all major design decisions. The scope of work was to design a new overpass crossing a new four-lane highway. Because maintenance of traffic during construction was not an issue, a reinforced concrete post-tensioned rigid frame bridge was proposed. Compared to conventional solutions (two-span structures with precast concrete I-girders), the proposed solution offered the following advantages: (1) greater safety for motorists due to the absence of a pier in the median of the mainline highway, (2) enhanced durability due to a smaller surface of concrete exposed to salt spray, and (3) a higher standard of aesthetic design.