Bio

Portrait of Dr. Krauthammer

Fields of Interest (alphabetically)

  • Analysis, design, testing and evaluation of structures, and protective facilities
  • Containment structures and repositories for hazardous and energetic materials
  • Explosive Safety, physical security, and damage assessment
  • Fracture- and plasticity-based concrete material modeling
  • International aspects of engineering: Design, manufacturing, and education
  • Linear and nonlinear wave propagation and medium-structure interaction
  • Numerical and symbolic (expert systems) methods for structural analysis
  • Precision testing in support of computer code validation
  • Structural mechanics and dynamics
  • Structural Response to severe short duration dynamic loads
  • Structural concrete systems and facilities
  • Survivability and fragility assessment under explosive and/or impact loads

General Background

Dr. Krauthammer is currently Theodore R. Crom Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida, and Director of its Center for Infrastructure Protection and Physical Security (CIPPS). Until the end of 2006 he was Professor of Civil Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University and Director of the Protective Technology Center (PTC). He obtained his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His main research and technical activities are directed at structural behavior under severe dynamic loads, including considerations of both survivability and fragility aspects of facilities subjected to blast, shock impact, and vibrations. He has specialized in the nonlinear behavior of structures (including medium-structure interaction) under seismic or impulsive loads, and the development of numerical simulations and testing techniques for structural assessment. His work has included the development of design recommendations for enhancing structural performance, physical security and safety of buildings, facilities and systems. Additionally, he has been involved in the response, safety, and physical security assessment of buildings and facilities before and after abnormal loading events. He conducted both numerical simulation, and experimental studies of structures subjected to a broad range of loading conditions. His research has been supported by the Department of Defense Explosive Safety Board, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Federal Highway Administration, Minnesota Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, NATO, Norwegian Defence Construction Service, US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Dr. Krauthammer is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a member of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), and a member of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). He is involved with other national and international professional organizations. He serves on ten technical committees of ASCE, ACI, and AISC. Dr. Krauthammer was chair of the ASCE Committee on Blast, Shock, and Impact, and the founding Chair of ACI Committee 370 on Short Duration Dynamics and Vibratory Load Effects. Also, he was Chair of the ASCE Engineering Mechanics Committee on Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation, of the ACI Committee 444 Experimental Analysis of Concrete Structures, and of the Joint ASCE-ACI Committee on reinforced Concrete Slabs. He was a member of the National Research Council Defensive Architecture Committee. Dr. Krauthammer has written more than 540 research publications, and has been invited to lecture in the USA and abroad. He is a consultant to industry and government agencies in the USA and abroad.

Technical Committee Membership

  • Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 352, Joints and Connections in RC Structures (1990 – present)
  • ACI Committee 370, Short Duration Dynamics and Vibratory Load Effects (1991 – present, Founding Chair 1991 – 1997)
  • Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 421, Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs (1985 – present, Chair, 2002 – 2008)
  • ACI Committee 444, Experimental Analysis of Concrete structures (1988 – present, Chair, 1988 – 1991)
  • ACI Committee 445, Shear and Torsion (1988 – present)
  • AISC Committee for Blast-Resistant Design of Steel Buildings (2000 – 2009)
  • ASCE/EMD Committee on Experimental Analysis and Instrumentation (1983 – present, Chair 1986 – 1988 and 1995 – 1996)
  • ASCE/SEI Committee on Blast, Shock and Impact (1984 – 1994, 1995 – present, Chair, 2006 – present)
  • ASCE/SEI Task Committee on Structural Design for Physical Security (1990 – present, Chair, 1999 – 2010)
  • ASCE/SEI, Bridge and Tunnel Security Committee (2004 – 2007)
  • SAME Readiness and Homeland Security Committee (2009 – 2012)
  • National Institute of Building Science, DOD Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, and the Department of Homeland Security, Board of Advisors for developing the guidelines for the Certified Blast Protection Professional (CBPP) (2016 – 2018)
  • DOD Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, and the Department of Homeland Security, National Institute of Building Science Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council (CWCC) Job Task Analysis (JTA) Committee for the Certified Blast Protection Professional (CBPP) (2017 – 2018)

International Engineering Activities

Dr. Krauthammer has been very active in organizing cooperative international technical and engineering education activities. He is a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Committee on International Programs, and was a member of the University’s International Curricular Advisory Committee. He has strongly influenced the development of dual degree programs, with emphasis on international aspects of Engineering. Dr. Krauthammer visited and/or developed collaborative technical relationships with colleagues in the following countries (alphabetically): Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of Georgia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.

Honors, Awards, and Visiting Positions

  • Elected Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, 1996
  • Visiting Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Japan, 2000
  • ERDC Award for Outstanding Team Effort for valuable contribution to the Pentagon Rebuild Retrofit Program Study, 2002
  • Visiting Scientist, Singapore Ministry of Defence, March 2009
  • Visiting Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, November 2011
  • Visiting Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, November 2013
  • Visiting Professor, Ben-Gurion University, Israel, December 2015

Patents

  • Mataradze, E., Chagelishvili, E., Mikhelson, R., Butskhrikidze, G., Khoperia, Z., and Krauthammer, T., Blast Identification Technique, Republic of Georgia Patent P 3703, 18 June 2004
  • Mataradze, E., Chikhardze, N.., and Krauthammer, T., Explosion Protection System, Republic of Georgia Patent P 6632, 14 March 2017

Key Role in Recent Conferences, Workshops, Short Courses, and Consulting

Conferences and Workshops
  • Invited Member, International Scientific Committee, 4th International Conference on Lightweight Structures Cape Town, South Africa, 12-16 January 2014.
  • 3rd International Workshop on Advances in Computational Mechanics, Tokyo, Japan, 12-14 October 2015.
  • Co-Organizer, 16th International Symposium on the Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures (ISIEMS 16), Destin, Florida, USA, 10-14 November 2015.
  • Co-Organizer, 18th International Symposium on the Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures (ISIEMS 18), Panama City Beach, Florida, USA, 21-25 October 2019.
Graduate, Specialty and Short Courses
  • Modern Protective Structures, Internationally, since 1988
  • Impact Engineering, The Penn State University, 1998-2006, and University of Florida, since 2006
  • Protective Structures, Penn State University, 2002-2006, and the University of Florida, since 2006
  • Advanced Protective Structures, Penn State University, 2004-2006, and the University of Florida, since 2006
  • Applied Protective Technology, Penn State University, 2004-2006, and the University of Florida, since 2006
  • Retrofit Methods in Protective Design, Penn State University, 2004-2006, and the University of Florida, since 2006
Editorial Activities
  • Member of Editorial Board, Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Elsevier, (2002 – present)
  • Member of Editorial Board, International Journal of Impact Engineering, Elsevier, (2007 – present)
  • Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Critical Technologies In Shock and Vibration (2009 – 2010)
  • Member of Editorial Board, Engineering Structures, Elsevier, (2009 – present)
  • Guest Editor, Special Volume on Protective Structures, Engineering Structures, Elsevier, (2013, 2015)
Technical Advising and Consulting

Active advising and consulting to government and industrial organizations in the USA and abroad