Brent Phares

About Brent

Dr. Phares has over 18 years of experience in the field of civil and structural engineering. After his graduation from Iowa State University, he worked as a consultant for the Federal Highway Administration with an assignment at the Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center. Two of the many products of his work include 1) an evaluation of NBIS-style bridge inspections and 2) a guideline/specification manual for the ultrasonic inspection of bridge pins. These publications have had a lasting impact on bridge evaluation.

Dr. Phares returned to ISU in 2001 as a research engineer and has served in many leadership positions since that time, currently as a bridge research engineer and research associate professor, where he oversees multiple researchers and more than 20 graduate students. Additionally, he collaborates with faculty from across ISU, the United States, and beyond. Dr. Phares is known as an international expert in the use of quantitative data in bridge evaluation. He has also become a national player in the field of accelerated bridge construction through his work with the Iowa Department of Transportation, where he serves as an on-demand consultant. He is known for his ability to integrate outreach into research to meet the needs of the academic community as well as the needs of transportation practitioners and other stakeholders.

Resume

Education

PhD, Structural Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 1998
MS, Structural Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1996
BS, Civil Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1994

Professional Experience

Iowa State University, Bridge Engineering Center, 2001–present
- Director, Bridge Engineering Center
- Co-director, National Center for Wood in Transportation
- Research associate professor, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Engineer III, McLean, VA, 1998–2001

Selected Research Projects

Condition-based Maintenance and Management of Aging Transportation Infrastructure
Testing, Performance Evaluation, and Documentation of the Little Silver Creek Bridge: An Accelerated Innovation Deployment AID Project Using Accelerated Bridge Construction
Determination of Codified Impact Factor for Permit Vehicles
Assessing Bridge Characteristics as a Tool for Prediction of Use and Importance as Roosting Habitat for Bats
Investigation of the Causes of Transverse Bridge Deck Cracking
Laboratory Investigation of Bridge Strip Seal Joint Terminations
Evaluation of Bridge Deck Epoxy Injection Processes, Iowa Department of Transportation
Development of Techniques for Minimizing Glulam Deck Relative Deflections, Forest Products Laboratory
Development of a Moisture Sensor for the National System of Timber Bridges, Forest Products Laboratory
Design, Construction, and Testing of Field Implemented Timber Bridge Deck Concepts: Phase III, Forest Products Laboratory
Development of Smart Timber Bridge Concepts: Phase II, Forest Products Laboratory
Study of the Impacts of Implements of Husbandry on Bridges, Multiple State Departments of Transportation

Selected Publications

Professional Affiliations, Honors, and Service

Voting member, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Committee on Timber, Committee 7, 2005–present
Secretary, Transportation Research Board Committee A2C05(1), Subcommittee on Nondestructive Evaluation of Structures, 1998–present
Team Coordinator, Performance Definitions and Measurement, Federal Highway Administration Virtual Team on Structural Health Monitoring, 2004–present
Transportation Research Board Committee A2C05,Committee on Dynamics and Field Testing of Bridges, voting member, 1999–2003; friend of committee, 1997–1998, 2003–present
Voting Member, American Concrete Institute Committee 342, Evaluation of Concrete Bridges and Bridge Elements, 1997–present
Secretary, Transportation Research Board Committee A2C01, Committee on General Structures, 2004–present
Voting member, Transportation Research Board Committee A2C01, Committee on General Structures, 1998–present
Associate Member ACI Committee 228, Nondestructive Testing of Concrete, 1998–present
Member, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1990–present