Dave Rosowsky

Creating Safer and Stronger Infrastructure: One Structure at a Time

Dr. David V. Rosowsky, E'85, GE'87, Professor and Head of the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A & M University, attributes the skills and expertise he developed at Tufts School of Engineering as the foundation to his career. "The academic training at Tufts is extremely solid. I was challenged and guided both scholastically and intellectually."

A well-known expert in the field of structural reliability, probabilistic modelling of structural and environmental loads and probability based design, Rosowsky first ventured into this field as a student in the Civil Engineering department at Tufts University. Upon receiving his Bachelors and Masters degree from Tufts, he later went on to get a PhD in Civil Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1990.

Never the one to give up on fun, Rosowsky recalls fond memories of his time singing with the Beelzebubs, the all-male a capella group at Tufts. Along with performing with the singing group, he also served as the group's business manager during his junior year.

"My time at Tufts not only gave me a solid academic grounding, it gave opportunities to learn essential skills such as time management and how to work with people, which I now use everyday." Today, Rosowsky not only heads one of the top ten Civil Engineering departments in the US, but also maintains an active research program, supervising several doctoral and post-doctoral students and enjoys his family life with his wife and their two small children.

Rosowsky continues to research structural designs capable of resisting natural hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes. He also researches modelling and analysis of load effects on buildings and other structures, with particular emphasis on complex environmental phenomena, performance-based design, post-disaster condition assessment, and lost estimation studies. "Along with my research group, we are striving to learn more about how natural and man-made loads affect structures."

Most of Rosowsky's research feeds into the continuing improvement of building codes and standards. Translating his research information to the end-users and policy makers is what Rosowsky finds most challenging about his job. "Most decision makers are not trained in risk analysis. Often, their information is provided only by popular media. So you have to demystify some before you can inform."

An optimistic by nature, Rosowsky hopes to continue his career in academia and believes that the future of Civil Engineering is "brilliant." "It is the oldest and one of the most important fields in engineering and it will continue to be so as long as we continue to need buildings, clean water, and a transportation infrastructure. This need will only continue to grow." He further adds, "We are going to have a tough time keeping up the demand for civil engineers."

To the current civil engineering students at Tufts, Rosowsky advises to "be excited about the job market. As Tufts graduates, you will be well prepared for what lies ahead and have a broad understanding of engineering in the global context."

Story by Sujata Tuladhar, F'08