Dr. Laurence Jacobs
Georgia Institute of Technology
e-mail: larry.jacobs@ce.gatech.edu
phone: 404-894-2771
Research Interests: Quantitative nondestructive evaluation of civil engineering materials; wave propagation in solids, emphasizing guided waves, nonlinear methods and heterogeneous materials; optical techniques for the generation and detection of ultrasonic waves; signal processing techniques applied to nondestructive evaluation; development of acoustic sensors for condition monitoring of structural components; and structural mechanics.
Research Themes: Materials and Construction
BIO
Professor Jacobs has a unique combination of research experience in nondestructive evaluation and civil engineering, including research in the characterization of adhesive bonds, composites and cement-based materials. Dr. Jacobs has authored/co-authored over 120 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings and is a past Associate Editor of ASCE's Journal of Engineering Mechanics and currently on the editorial board of NDT&E International. After receiving his B.S. in Civil Engineering, Dr. Jacobs worked for two years in the aerospace industry and for one year as a structural engineer. He received a Grumman Aerospace Masters Fellowship in 1980, which allowed him to complete his studies (part-time) for the M.S. degree in 1981. Dr. Jacobs received his Ph.D. in 1987, and worked for one year as an Office of Naval Technology Postdoctoral Fellow prior to coming to Georgia Tech in 1988. At Georgia Tech, Professor Jacobs was promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor and received tenure (both in 1994) and to Professor in April 2000. Dr. Jacobs has been the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 1995, and received a joint appointment with the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering in 2003.