Mervyn Kowalsky

Christopher W. Clark Distinguished Professor

  • 919-515-7261
  • Fitts-Woolard Hall 3355

Mervyn Kowalsky is the Christopher W. Clark Distinguished Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in North Carolina and an active member of several national and international committees on Performance-Based Seismic Design.

Dr. Kowalsky is currently serving on the editorial board of Earthquake Spectra (the journal of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute), and has received the American Concrete Institute Structural Research Award for his work on the seismic behavior of lightweight concrete bridges and the ASCE Journal of Cold Regions Engineering Award for his work on seismic behavior of bridges in extreme environments.

Dr. Kowalsky is co-author of the textbook, Displacement-Based Seismic Design of Structures, and also teaches and maintains research collaborations with the School for Reduction of Seismic Risk (ROSE School) at the IUSS-Pavia, Italy. Dr. Kowalsky’s students are usually involved in a combination of large-scale structural experimentation and non-linear dynamic analysis aimed at developing solutions to problems facing the earthquake engineering community. His students conduct their research at the Constructed Facilities Lab on Centennial Campus, using several of the unique facilities at the lab, including a shake table, environmental chamber, and soil-structure interaction pit.

Education

Ph.D. 1997

Structural Engineering

University of California San Diego

M.S. 1994

Structural Engineering

University of California San Diego

B.S. 1993

Structural Engineering

University of California San Diego

Research Description

Dr. Kowalsky is interested in earthquake engineering design and analysis, behavior of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures, development of alternative performance-based seismic design procedures, and soil-structure interaction. His research, which has largely focused on the seismic behavior of structures, has been supported by the Alaska, California, and North Carolina Departments of Transportation, the Alaska University Transportation Center, the National Science Foundation, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and several industrial organizations.

Publications

Behavior of large diameter carbon fiber anchors
Tasdemir, E., Seracino, R., Kowalsky, M. J., & Nau, J. (2023), CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS, 394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.132174
Critical Bending Strain and Mechanical Properties of Corroded Reinforcing Bars
Calderon, V., Pourghaz, M., & Kowalsky, M. (2023), ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL, 120(2), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.14359/51738461
Impact of ground motion directionality (RotDnn) on the coupled and uncoupled inelastic response of RC circular cantilever columns
Parra, A. L. P., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2023), EARTHQUAKE SPECTRA, 39(3), 1859–1882. https://doi.org/10.1177/87552930231183725
Influence of Viscous Damping Models on the Inelastic Response of Reinforced Concrete Columns and Bridges
Martinez, D. R., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2023), JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING, 149(2). https://doi.org/10.1061/JSENDH.STENG-11040
Nonlinear seismic performance of RC bridges using the ESA, EDA, DDBA, and nonlinear analysis with various viscous damping models
Martinez, D. R., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2023), EARTHQUAKE SPECTRA, 39(1), 242–268. https://doi.org/10.1177/87552930221145435
Comparison of Seismic Demands on RC Bridge Columns Using the AASHTO Guide Specification, DDBA, and Nonlinear Analysis for Shallow Crustal and Subduction Tectonic Regimes
Martinez, D. R., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2022), JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING, 27(6). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001868
Recommended Parameters for Takeda Degrading Stiffness Hysteresis for Reinforced Concrete Circular Bridge Columns
Martinez, D. R., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2022), ACI STRUCTURAL JOURNAL, 119(6), 275–288. https://doi.org/10.14359/51736116
Simplification of Buckled Bar Tension Test through Fiber Modeling
Sosa, D., Varela, J., & Kowalsky, M. (2022), ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL, 119(3), 161–171. https://doi.org/10.14359/51734616
Tensile Behavior of Large Diameter Carbon Fiber Anchors
Tasdemir, E., Seracino, R., Kowalsky, M., & Nau, J. (2022), 10TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FRP COMPOSITES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING (CICE 2020/2021), Vol. 198, pp. 1199–1207. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88166-5_104
Seismic Performance of Circular Concrete Columns Reinforced with High-Strength Steel
Barcley, L. B., & Kowalsky, M. J. (2020), Journal of Structural Engineering, 146(2), 04019198. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0002452

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