Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, November 20, 2006 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Donald Vannoy
"Lessons Learned from Failures"
ABSTRACT -- Much of the knowledge and successful engineering used to design, construct, manufacture, and operate engineered facilities and products has been obtained through learning from failures. The interdisciplinary communications about the causes of failures and accidents often results in improved design practices. A discussion of failures must include performance problems that are less than catastrophic. Many performance problems or incidents are not life threatening, but involve significant cumulative economic costs. This presentation will review examples of failures that were the result of variety of causes involving both technical/physical problems and human error/procedural factors.
The talk will discuss many individual cases of failure, including the Bailey's Crossroads building collapse, the Hyatt Regency balcony collapse, the Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal collapse, the Kemper Arena Roof Collapse, the Pontiac Silverdome, and failures of bridges and dams. In addition, the talk will address briefly the topic of electrical fires, product defects, and material defects in general.
SPEAKER -- Dr. Donald Vannoy is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland. He is also president of Trident Engineering Associates, a forensic engineering firm, and of Vannoy and Associates, a general and civil engineering firm. Dr. Vannoy majored in Civil Engineering, obtaining a B.S. in from the West Virginia Institute of Technology as well as an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. He is a registered professional engineer in Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
As a forensic engineer, Dr. Vannoy has conducted over 2,500 studies, including failure analyses. As a civil engineer, he has worked on projects around the world. He served as the Chief Technical Advisor for the United Nations infrastructure upgrade programs in India, Malawi, Romania and the United Arab Emirates. For the State Department, he studied embassies around the world. He has also worked for HUD and for many private companies, in studies of property conditions and due diligence.
Dr. Vannoy has received many awards, including Outstanding Teacher Award for Civil Engineering in 1984, 1990, and 1996. In 1991, he was named Civil Engineer of the Year by the Maryland Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Engineer of the Year by the Engineering Council of Maryland and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He has received the the State-of-the Art Civil Engineering Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers and has been recognized by the Engineering News-Record.