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Thomas E. Cousins

Emeritus Professor
Thomas E Cousins, Emeritus Professor
Program Area : Structural Engineering and Materials
Professional Registration : Louisiana (PE)
tcousins@vt.edu
(540) 231-6753

Areas of Interest :

Long term bridge monitoring, Behavior of bridge structures, use of high performance materials (concrete, steel, composites) in structures, prestressed concrete structures, experimental research

  • PhD Structural Engineering - North Carolina State University 1987
  • MS Civil Engineering - Clemson University 1982
  • BS Civil Engineering - Clemson University 1978
  • Professor, Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2007 - present
  • Director, Virginia Cooperative Center for Bridge Engineering, Virginia Tech and Virginia Transporation Research Council, 2001 - present
  • Associate Professor, Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1996 - 2007
  • Assistant & Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Auburn University, 1990 - 1996
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University, 1987 - 1990
  • Paper titled "Investigation of Bridge Floor-Truss Behavior in Tied-Arch Span" nominated for Outstanding Paper of the Year award for Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (1996)
  • Co-winner of ASCE LSU Student Chapter favorite Civil Engineering Faculty Award (1989)
  • Nominated for LSU Student Government Association Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award for the College of Engineering (1988)
  • Paper titled "Evaluation of the In-Service Performance of the Tom’s Creek Bridge FRP Superstructure" won Outstanding Paper of the Year Award for ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (2006)
  • Implementation of a Prestressed Inverted T-Beam System with 0.7-inch Diameter Prestressing Strand on a Virginia Bridge - VCTIR (Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research)
  • Implementation of the Hillman Composite Beam in a Virginia Bridge - VCTIR
  • High Performance/High Strength Light Weight Concrete for Bridge Decks and Girders - NCHRP
  • Long-Term Bridge Performance Program - Federal Highway Administration
  • Construction of a Virginia Bridge with Light Weight Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders - VCTIR
  • Construction of a Virginia Short Span Bridge with the Strongwell 36" Double Web I-beam - VCTIR, Federal Highway Administration.
  • Plate & Tube Bridge Deck Design Evaluation in the Troutville, VA Weigh Station Deck Test Bed - VCTIR, Federal Highway Administration.
  • Assessing In-Service FRP Durability through the Tom's Creek Bridge Durability Field Site and Laboratory Investigation - VCTIR, Federal Highway Administration.
  • Performance Evaluation of Aluminum Bridge Decks - VCTIR
  • Fatigue of Diaphragm-Girder Connections - Alabama Department of Transportation.
  • Modification of Existing Prestressed Girder Cross-Sections for the Optimal Structural Use of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) - Federal Highway Administration
  • Rapid Replacement of Tangier Island Bridges Including Lightweight and Durable FRP Deck Systems - VCTIR
  • Shear Strength of PCBT-53 Girders Fabricated with Lightweight, Self Consolidating Concrete - VCTIR
  • Use of Sandwich Panel System (SPS) in a Virginia Bridge - VCTIR
  • Introduction of Grade 300 Prestressing Strand into Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders - VCTIR
  • Hawthorne Street Bridge Rehabilitation Utilizing an FRP Bridge Deck System - VCTIR
  • Hayes, M., Ohanehi, D., Lesko, J., Cousins, T., and Witcher, D., "Static and Fatigue Performance of a Square Tube and Plate Fiberglass Composite Bridge Deck System," Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 4, No. 2, May, 2000, pp.87-94.
  • Hayes, M.*, Lesko, J., Haramis, J., Cousins, T., Gomez, J., and Massarelli, P., "Laboratory & Field Characterization of the Tom's Creek Bridge Composite Superstructure," Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 4, No. 3, August, 2000, pp.1-9.
  • Cousins, T. and Stallings, J., "Laboratory Tests of Bolted Diaphragm-Girder Connections", Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 3, No. 2, May, 1998, pp. 56-63.
  • Stallings, J., Cousins, T., and Stafford, T., "Removal of Diaphragms from a 3-Span Steel Bridge", Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 4, No. 1, February, 1999, 99. 63-70.
  • Cousins, T., Stallings, J., and Christopher, B., "Investigation of Bridge Floortruss Behavior in Tied Arch Span," Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 10, No. 2, May, 1996.
  • Cousins, T., Stallings, J., and Simmons, M., "Reduced Strand Spacing in Pretensioned Prestressed Members," American Concrete Institute Structural Journal, Vol. 91, No. 3, May-June, 1994.
  • Waldron, C., Cousins, T., Nassar, A., and Gomez, J., “Demonstration of the Use of High Performance Lightweight Concrete in a Bridge Superstructure in Virginia”, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 19, No. 2, May 2005, pp. 146 - 154.
  • Zhou, A., Coleman, J., Temeles, A., Lesko, J., and Cousins, T., “Laboratory and Field Performance of Cellular Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Bridge Deck Systems”, Vol. 9, No. 5, September/October 2005, Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 9, No. 5, September/October 2005, pp. 458 - 467.
  • Restrepo, E., Cousins, T., and Lesko, J., “Determination of Bridge Design Parameters through Field Evaluation of the Route 601 Bridge Utilizing Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Girders”, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 19, No. 1, February 2005, pp. 17 - 27.
  • Waldron, C., Cousins, T., Nassar, A., and Gomez,J., "Demonstration of the Use of High Performance Lightweight Concrete in a Bridge Superstructure in Virginia" accepted for publication in Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 19, No. 2, May, 2005, pp. 146 - 154.
  • Zhou, A., Coleman, J., Temeles, A., Lesko, J., and Cousins, T., "Laboratory and Field Performance of Cellular Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Bridge Deck Systems", accepted for publication in Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 9 No. 5, September/October, 2005, pp. 458 - 467.
  • Newhouse, C., Roberts-Wollmann, C., Cousins, T., and Davis, R., "Strands versus Bars for Positive Moment Connection of PCBT Girders", PCI Journal, Vol. 52, No. 3 May-June, 2007, pp. 18-29.
  • Liu, Z., Majumbar, P., Cousins, T., and Lesko, J., "Development and Evaluation of an Adhesively Bonded Panel-to-Panel Joint for a FRP Bridge Deck System", Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 12, No. 2, April, 2008, pp.224-233.
  • Newhouse, C., Roberts-Wollmann, C., Cousins, T., and Davis, R., “Modeling Early-Age Bridge Restraint Moments: Creep, Shrinkage, and Temperature Effects”, Journal of Bridge Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 13, No. 5, September/October, 2008, pp. 431-438.
  • Liu, Z., Cousins, T., Lesko, J., and Sotelino, E., "Design Recommendations for a FRP Bridge Deck Supported on Steel Superstructure", Journal of Composites in Construction, American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 12, No. 6, November, 2008. pp. 660-668.