Gary Prinz, Ph.D., P.E., professor and director of the Grady E. Harvell Civil Engineering Research and Education Center at the University of Arkansas, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2024 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture by the Steel Bridge Task Force of the American Iron and Steel Institute and presented his research — which is focused on fracture, fatigue and the service life of steel bridge structures — at a task force meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition to the AISI, task force members include the National Steel Bridge Alliance and the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials Steel and Metals Technical Committee.
Prinz received the distinguished recognition for his work on ultra-low-cycle fatigue damage prediction, ductile fracture simulation in additively manufactured steels, seismic performance of ductile-frame systems and fatigue assessment methods for steel infrastructure. Prinz’s work on the fatigue behavior of shear studs has been instrumental in updating bridge design standards, including key contributions to AASHTO standards, helping improve steel bridges’ reliability and performance nationwide.
Prinz joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Arkansas as an assistant professor in January 2014. He holds three degrees from Brigham Young University and completed his post-doctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. He is a registered professional engineer in both California and Arkansas. In 2018, he was honored with the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development award from the U.S. National Science Foundation for developing ductile fracture prediction tools for additively manufactured steel alloys.
Beyond his bridge research, Prinz is deeply committed to education and outreach. He and his students have produced creative music videos to explain complex structural engineering topics. His innovative approach to blending science and art inspires the next generation of engineers and reinforces his lasting impact on the academic and engineering communities.
The Dexter Memorial Lecture was instituted in 2005 in memory of Robert J. Dexter, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Minnesota who was an internationally recognized expert on steel fracture and fatigue problems in bridges. The program provides an opportunity for individuals early in their careers in structural engineering to present a lecture on their steel bridge research activities to the Steel Bridge Task Force and participate in its semiannual three-day meeting.
Previous recipients of the Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture can be found here.
