Bridge Collapse Expert

When a container ship collided with the iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore in March, it caused a catastrophic failure of the bridge and triggered a flurry of media attention.

As news outlets worked to provide answers, they reached out to experts across the country for perspective. One of these was civil engineering Professor and bridge expert Nur Yazdani, who spoke with several national and local outlets, including the Baltimore Banner, LiveNow from FOX, WFAA, and NBC5.

Dr. Yazdani has done extensive research on bridge design, evaluation, and rehabilitation and has been instrumental in the development, adaptation, and implementation of bridge codes and specifications.

"This a wakeup call, as there are many such bridges without any pier protection or resiliency against ship or vehicle impact," he told reporters. "We must find and implement rapid and viable solutions."

Yazdani currently chairs the Committee on Retrofit of Structures for Dynamic Loads for the Structural Engineering Institute and is past chair of Committee 343 on Concrete Bridge Design for the American Concrete Institute/American Society of Civil Engineers. ₪