Dr. John Gilbert

Professor Emeritus, MAE

Contact

301 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

john.gilbert@uah.edu

Biography

Dr. Gilbert received a Ph.D. in solid mechanics from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1975. He specializes in experimental stress analysis and applied optics with a concentration in optical metrology. During the past forty years he helped introduce new concepts in holographic/fiber optic recording, real-time moiré interferometry, ultra-low frequency holography, shadow speckle metrology, radial metrology, photoelastic fiber-optic sensing, diffractive optic interferometry, and strategically tuned absolutely resilient structures. He received the Fellowship Award from the American Society for Nondestructive Testing for the development of a thermal acousto photonic system for nondestructive evaluation and awards from NASA and the AIAA for pioneering work in the areas of radial metrology, fluid flow visualization, and panoramic imaging in space. Portions of his work were declared as "milestones in optics" by SPIE and he was recognized by ASM for the evolution of high compliance ratio cementitious composites. His academic awards include the UAH Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award, the Foundation's Distinguished Teaching Award, the College of Engineering's Outstanding Faculty Member Award, the UAH Student Government Outstanding Faculty Award, and the UAH Outstanding Student Group Advisor Award. His professional awards include ASCE's Engineer of The Year Award and HAT's Professional of The Year Award. Dr. Gilbert is a fellow of the Society for Experimental Mechanics and is, or has been, a member of the British Society for Strain Measurement, the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, the American Academy of Mechanics, the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Huntsville Electro-Optical Section and Working Group, Sigma Xi, and the Order of the Engineer. He was twice designated as an International Man of the Year by the International Biographical Centre and declared Man of the Year by the American Biographical Institute. Citations include Continental Who's Who Registry of National Business Leaders, Empire Who's Who Among Executives and Professionals in Engineering, Who's Who in Technology Today, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 20th and 21st Centuries, 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 20th and 21st Centuries, and Who's Who in the World. He has supervised 14 Ph.D. dissertations, as well as 39 MS and 8 BS theses to completion and is currently supervising several graduate students. His major research projects include "Strategically Tuned Absolutely Resilient Structures" (US Army) and "Creating Resilient Structures with Polymer Coatings" (US Department of Commerce).

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanics, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1975
  • M.S., Applied Mechanics, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1973
  • B.S., Aerospace, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1971

Honors & Awards

  • UAH Outstanding Student Group Advisor Award, 2003, 2007, 2008
  • UAH Student Government Outstanding Faculty Award, 2003
  • IBC's Man of the Year Award, 1992, 2000
  • College of Engineering's Outstanding Faculty Member Award, 1999
  • ABI's Man of the Year Award, 1998
  • UAH Foundation's Distinguished Teaching Award, 1998
  • HAT's Professional of The Year Award, 1997
  • Society for Experimental Mechanics Fellow, 1993
  • ASCE's Engineer of The Year Award, 1991
  • UAH Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award, 1988

Expertise

  • Experimental Stress Analysis
  • Applied Optics
  • Optical Metrology
  • Strategically Tuned Absolutely Resilient Structures
  • Cementitious Composites
  • Smart Structures

Recent Publications

  • Britz, M.T., Gilbert, J.A., Ooi, T.K., "A hybrid method for calculating residual stress and deformation in space hardware on earth," Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 2013, in press; ISSN 0893-1321, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000306.
  • Choi, H., Toutanji, H.A., Gilbert, J.A., Alldredge, D.J., "Impact resistance of polyurea-coated organic cementitious materials," Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 25(12), 2013; ISSN 0899-1561/2013/12-0-0/$25.00, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000714.
  • Biszick, K.R., Gilbert, J.A., Toutanji, H., Britz, M.T., "Doubly reinforcing cementitious beams with instrumented hollow carbon fiber tendons," Experimental Mechanics, 53(4): 579-592, 2013; ISSN 0014-4851, DOI: 10.1007/s11340-012-9665-6.
  • Toutanji, H.A., Choi, H., Wong, D., Gilbert, J.A., Alldredge, D.J., "Applying a polyurea coating to high-performance organic cementitious materials," Journal of Construction and Building Materials, 38(1): 1170-1179, 2013; ISSN: 0950-0618, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.09.041.
  • Alldredge, D.J., Gilbert, J.A., Toutanji, H.A., Lavin, T, Balasubramanyam, M.S., "Uplift capacity of polyurea-coated light-frame rafter to top plate connections," Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 24(9): 1201-1210, 2012; ISSN: 0899-1561, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000492.
  • Xu, B., Toutanji, H.A., Lavin, T., Gilbert, J.A., "Characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol) fiber reinforced organic aggregate cementitious materials," Key Engineering Materials, 466: 73-83, 2011; ISSN: 1662-9795, DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.466.73.
  • Reynolds, C.L., Gilbert, J.A., "Solenoid actuated, rail mounted, aircraft payload release mechanisms," Proc. of SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13 - 16, 2011, Paper No. 312, 11 pages.
  • Mills, V.P., Gilbert, J.A., Ooi, T.K., "Quantification of micro-crack density for fiber based composites," Proc. of SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13 - 16, 2011, Paper No. 516, 6 pages.
  • Alldredge, D.J., Gilbert, J.A., Toutanji, H, Lavin, T., Balasubramanyam, M.S., "Structural enhancement of framing members using polyurea," Proc. of SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13 - 16, 2011, Paper No. 143, 15 pages.
  • Biszick, K.R., Gilbert, J.A., Toutanji, H., Lavin, T., Britz, M.T., Bommu. R.K., "Characterization of adaptive reinforced concrete structures," Proc. of SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13 - 16, 2011, Paper No. 124, 12 pages.