Advisors

OHIO UNIVERSITY

ADVISORS

We would like thank our advisors for everything they have done to help us throughout the years!

Thank you…

James Thompson

James Thompson joined Ohio University's Civil Engineering Department in September 2002. He earned a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Lehigh University (2004) where his doctoral work focused on precast, prestressed concrete inverted tee girders. Prior to coming to OU, he worked as a Visiting Research Scientist at Lehigh University, testing composite ship hull sections. After earning his Master of Science in Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University (1992), Mr. Thompson spent approximately four years working as a structural engineer in Baltimore, MD, designing steel, masonry, and wood buildings. Mr. Thompson spent four years in the U. S. Navy's Civil Engineer Corps after earning his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree at Villanova University (1985). While in the Navy, he served as the Public Works Officer for the Naval Facility in Adak, Alaska and the Officer-in-Charge of CBU-420 in Mayport, Florida.

Research Activities

Mr. Thompson is interested in structural analysis and structural design in all traditional civil engineering materials and emerging materials such as fiber reinforced polymers. He is interested in testing in-place structures and performing destructive tests in the laboratory, as different things can be learned from each type of test. He is currently looking at precast, prestressed inverted tee girders with large web openings.

Dr. Deborah McAvoy

Dr. Deb McAvoy joined Ohio University's Civil Engineering Department in the Fall of 2007. She received her Ph.D. from Wayne State University after working as a civil engineering consultant for eleven years. Dr. McAvoy worked as the lead research engineer for the Wayne State University Transportation Research Group for three years while working toward her Ph.D. She completed her M.S. degree in Transportation Engineering from Wayne State University, and her B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Detroit. She is a registered professional engineer in the states of Michigan and Ohio. She is also certified as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) through the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

Research Activities

Dr. McAvoy's principal area of research interest is in highway safety, traffic engineering, traffic signal system optimization and progression, roadway design and human factors engineering. She has worked on projects for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP). As a part of these studies, she has conducted technical analyses for signal timing, congestion, crash, gap studies and has substantial experience in corridor progression and work zone safety analyses.