Dr. Thomas E. Cousins

Professor of Civil Engineering

Areas of Interest:

Long term bridge monitoring
Behavior of bridge structures
Use of high performance materials (concrete, steel, composites) in structures
Prestressed concrete structures
Experimental research

Education:

PhD Structural Engineering - North Carolina State University 1987
MS Civil Engineering - Clemson University 1982
BS Civil Engineering - Clemson University 1978

Classes typically taught:

CE 2010 Statics
CE 2060 Strength of Materials
CE 3010 Structural Analysis
CE 4020 Reinforced Concrete Design
CE 4040/6040 Masonry Structural Design
CE 8020 Advanced Reinforced Concrete Design
CE 8040 Prestressed Concrete

Work Experience:

• • Professor, Glenn Department of Civil Engineering, January 2015- Present
  • Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2007 - 2014
  • Director, Virginia Cooperative Center for Bridge Engineering, Virginia Tech and Virginia Transportation Research Council, 2001 - 2014
  • Associate Professor, Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1996 - 2007
  • Assistant & Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, 1990 - 1996
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University, 1987 - 1990

Professional Registration:
Professional Engineer—Louisiana

Professional Society Membership:
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI)
American Concrete Institute (ACI)

Professional Honors, Awards & Recognitions:

• • “Full-Scale Investigation of Differential Settlements Beneath Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Bridge Abutment” and co-authored by Andy Kost, George Filz and Mike Brown received the following two awards from TRB:  1. Design and Construction Group’s (DCG) 2014 Practice-Ready Paper Award Certificate and 2. Soil Mechanics Section’s 2014 Best Paper Award.
  • "Investigation of Bridge Floor-Truss Behavior in Tied-Arch Span" nominated for Outstanding Paper of the Year award for Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (1996).
  • Co-winner of ASCE LSU Student Chapter favorite Civil Engineering Faculty Award (1989)
  • Nominated for LSU Student Government Association Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award for the College of Engineering (1988)
  • Paper titled "Evaluation of the In-Service Performance of the Tom’s Creek Bridge FRP Superstructure" won Outstanding Paper of the Year Award for ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (2006)

Selected Research Projects:

“Safe and Cost-Effective Reduction of Load Postings for South Carolina Bridges,” SCDOT

“Strengthening South Carolina’s Bridges,” SCDOT/FHWA

“Assessment of Structural Degradation for Bridges and Culverts,” SCDOT

“NEXT-D Implementation and Field Monitoring of Hanging Rock Creek Bridge,” SCDOT

“Implementation of an Improved Shear Key Detail in the Buffalo Branch Bridge”, Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

“Evaluation of Repair Methods for Impact Damaged Prestressed Concrete Beams”, Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

"Development of Improved Connection Details for Adjacent Member Bridges”, Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

“Evaluation of Varina Enon Bridge on I-195 near Richmond, Virginia”, Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

Sample Journal Publications:

Tarawneh, A.*, Ross, B., and Cousins, T.,. " Shear Behavior and Design of Post-Installed Anchors in Thin Concrete Members." May, 2020.

D’Alessandro, K., Roberts-Wollmann, C.,  and Cousins.  T., "Direct Biaxial Behavior of Ultra-High Performance Concrete", ACI Materials Journal, March, 2020.

Hess S.*, Filosa F.*, Ross B., Cousins T., “Live Load Testing of NEXT-D Bridges to Determine Distribution Factors for Moment,” ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, (accepted for publication December, 2019).

Maguire, M.*, Roberts-Wollmann, C., and Cousins, T., “Live Load Testing and Long Term Monitoring of the Varina-Enon Bridge: Investigating Thermal Distress”, Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineering, March, 2018.

Pino, V.*, Nanni, A., Arboleda, D., Roberts-Wollmann, C., Cousins, T., “Repair of Damaged Prestressed Concrete Girders with FRP and FRCM Composites”, Journal of Composites for Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, June, 2017.

Menkulasi, F.*, Mercer, M.*, Wollmann, C., and Cousins, T., “Investigation of the Effects of Transverse Bending in a Composite Inverted T- Beam Bridge System”, Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineering, Jan, 2017

Menkulasi, F.*, Wollmann, C.L.R., and Cousins, T., “Live Load Distribution Factors for Composite Bridges with Precast Inverted T-Beams”, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, American Society of Civil Engineering, Dec, 2016.

Kost, A.*, Filz, G., and Cousins, T., “Full-Scale Investigation of Differential Settlements Beneath Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil Bridge Abutment”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, accepted for publication, February, 2014.