James Nau
Bio
Dr. Jim Nau joined the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering in 1982 after receiving his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the undergraduate level, he teaches statics, solid mechanics, reinforced concrete design, structural steel design, and the senior design project course. At the graduate level, he teaches CE 523 Theory and Behavior of Steel Structures and CE 528 Structural Design in Wood.
Education
Ph.D. Civil Engineering University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 1982
M.S. Mechanical Engineering North Carolina State University 1977
B.S. Mechanical Engineering North Carolina State University 1974
Area(s) of Expertise
Dr. Nau is interested in structural design, structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, and numerical methods. His research is principally in the area of earthquake engineering. He is currently engaged in several research projects on the seismic response of steel and concrete bridge structures, with support from the Alaska University Transportation Center and the Alaska Department of Transportation. In collaboration with colleagues Mervyn Kowalsky and Rudi Seracino, this research involves large-scale experimentation at the Constructed Facilities Lab. Dr. Nau's research interests have recently expanded to include structural repair using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) materials. Reinforced concrete columns tested as part of a AUTC/AKDOT project have successfully been repaired to restore strength while preserving ductility.
Publications
- Experimental Investigation of an Earthquake-Resistant Steel Bridge Substructure System , EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING & STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (2025)
- Behavior of large diameter carbon fiber anchors , Construction and Building Materials (2023)
- Tensile Behavior of Large Diameter Carbon Fiber Anchors , 10TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FRP COMPOSITES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING (CICE 2020/2021) (2021)
- Seismic Repair of Circular Reinforced Concrete Bridge Columns by Plastic Hinge Relocation with Grouted Annular Ring , Journal of Earthquake Engineering (2019)
- Seismic performance of reinforced concrete filled steel tube drilled shafts with inground plastic hinges , Engineering Structures (2018)
- Closure to "Modified Plastic-Hinge Method for Circular RC Bridge Columns" by Jason C. Goodnight, Mervyn J. Kowalsky, and James M. Nau , JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING (2017)
- Modified Plastic-Hinge Method for Circular RC Bridge Columns , Journal of Structural Engineering (2016)
- Development of a ductile steel bridge substructure system , Journal of Constructional Steel Research (2015)
- Equivalent Viscous Damping Model for Short-Period Reinforced Concrete Bridges , Journal of Bridge Engineering (2015)
- Grouted shear stud connection for steel bridge substructures , Journal of Constructional Steel Research (2015)