Jennifer Righman McConnell
Assistant Professor
University of Delaware
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

358A DuPont Hall, Newark, DE 19717
righman@udel.edu
302-831-6056

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.  2005 – present.

Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, August 2005
West Virginia University               
Dissertation:  Rotation Compatibility Approach to Moment Distribution for Design and Rating of Continuous-Span Steel Bridges
Advisor:  Karl Barth

Master of Science, Civil Engineering, May 2002
West Virginia University
Thesis:  Development of an Innovative Connection for FRP Bridge Decks to Steel Girders
Advisors:  Karl Barth and Julio Davalos

Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, May 2000.
West Virginia University
Honors and Awards
American Iron and Steel Institute Bridge Task Force, Lecturer of the Year, 2007.
American Society of Civil Engineers, Excellence in Civil Engineering Education Fellowship, 2007.

Refereed Journal Publications

Barth, K. E.; Yang, L.; and Righman, J.  (2007). “Simplified Moment Redistribution of Hybrid HPS 485W Bridge Girders in Negative Bending Region”, ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, 12(4), 456-466.

Barth, K.; Righman, J.; and Wolfe, L. (2007).  “Assessment of AASHTO LRFD Specifications for Hybrid HPS 690W Steel I-Girders”, ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, 12(3), 380-388.

Barth, K. E.; White, D. W.; Righman, J. E.; and Yang, L.  (2005).  “Evaluation of Web Compactness Limits for Singly and Doubly Symmetric Steel I-Girders”, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 61(10), 1411-1434.

Righman, J. E.; Barth, K. E.; and Davalos, J. F.  (2004).  “Development of an Efficient Connector System For Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bridge Decks to Steel Girders,” ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction, 8(4), 279-288.

Conference Proceedings Publications (peer-reviewed abstracts, presenter first)
Burrell, G. and McConnell, J.  (2007).  “Distortional Buckling of Steel I-Girders," Proceedings of the 2007 Structural Stability Research Council Annual Technical Session and Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Chajes, M., Mertz, D., Righman, J., Ross, J., Zoli, T., Volk, J., (2006).  “Evaluating Ultimate Bridge Capacity Through Destructive Testing of Decommissioned Bridges," Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, Porto, Portugal, July 16-19, 2006.

Righman, J., Barth, K., and Barker, M.  (2006).  “Inelastic Design and Rating of Steel I-Girders Based on Girder Rotation Capacity,” Proceedings of the 2006 Structural Stability Research Council Annual Technical Session and Meeting, San Antonio, TX.

Righman, J. E. and Barth, K. E.  (2005).  “Rotation Capacity Requirements for Continuous Span Steel Bridge Girders,” Proceedings of the 2005 Structural Stability Research Council Annual Technical Session and Meeting, Montreal, QC.

Righman, J. E., Barth, K. E., White, D. W., and Yang, L.  (2004).  “Development of Web Slenderness Limits to Assure Compact Steel I-Girder Performance,” Proceedings of the 2004 Structural Stability Research Council Annual Technical Session and Meeting, Long Beach, CA, p. 59-78.

Righman, J. E., Barth, K. E., White, D. W., and Barker, M. G.  (2003).  “On the Inelastic Design of Steel I-Girder Bridges,” Proceedings of the 2003 Structural Stability Research Council Annual Technical Session and Meeting, Baltimore, MD, p. 619-638.

Righman, J., Barth, K., and Davalos, J.  (2002).  “Experimental and Analytical Evaluation of Shear Stud Type Connectors for FRP Bridge Decks to Steel Stringers,” Proceedings of the 17th Annual American Society for Composites Technical Conference, West Lafayette, IN, CD-ROM.

Righman, J., Barth, K., Davalos, J., Qiao, P., and Xu, X. F.  (2001).  “Development of an Economical and Efficient Connector System for FRP Decks to Steel Bridge Girders,” Proceedings of the 16th Annual American Society for Composites Technical Conference, Blacksburg, VA, CD-ROM.

“Distortional Buckling of Steel I-Beams,” American Society of Civil Engineers, Committee on Compression and Flexural Members, May, 19, 2007.

“Moment Redistribution for Design and Rating of Steel I-Girder Bridges,” Johns Hopkins University Civil Engineering Seminar, October 11, 2005.

“Designing for Corrosion Resistance in Steel Bridges,” University of Delaware Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Seminar, October 26, 2005.

Pending

Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Bridge Engineering
Funding Organization: National Science Foundation
Funding Requested: $567,057.00
Period of Performance: February 1, 2008 through January 1, 2013
PI: Jennifer Righman McConnell
Co-PI: Michael Chajes

CAREER: Analysis of Disproportionate Collapse Potential through Investigation of Nonlinear Response to Impulse Loadings
Funding Organization:  National Science Foundation
Funding Requested: $489, 356.00
Period of Performance:  July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2013
PI: Jennifer Righman McConnell

In Progress         

Mitigation of Blast Forces Through Advanced Composite Materials
Funding Organization: US Department of Defense
Award Amount: $433,387
Period of Performance: June 1, 2007 through May 31, 2010
PI: Jennifer Righman McConnell
Co-PI: Jack Gillespie

Near Real-Time Monitoring of Indian River Inlet Scour Hole Edge Evolution Seaward of the Bridge Piers: Phase 1
Funding Organization: Delaware Department of Transportation
Funding Requested: $842,397.00
Period of Performance: October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2010
PI: Jack Puleo
Co-PIs: Jennifer Righman McConnell and Michael Chajes

Completed (University of Delaware)

Scour Monitoring of the Indian River Inlet River Bridge: Pilot Study
Funding Organization: Delaware Department of Transportation
Award Amount: $50,112
Period of Performance: July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007
PIs: Jennifer Righman McConnell, Jack Puleo, and Jamie MacMahan

Analysis of Blast Loading Effects on Bridges
Funding Organization: University of Delaware Research Foundation
Award Amount: $25,000
Period of Performance: June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2007
PI: Jennifer Righman McConnell

Moment Redistribution and the Service II Limit State
        Funding Organization: Delaware Department of Transportation
Award Amount: $56,342
Period of Performance: July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2007
PI: Jennifer Righman McConnell

Completed (Previous)

Performance of Weathering Steel Bridges in West Virginia
Funding Organization: West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways
Award Amount: $95,000
Period of Performance:  September 1, 2004 through August 30, 2005
PIs: Karl Barth and Pedro Albrecht
Co-Investigator: Jennifer Righman McConnell

Undergraduate Students

Greg Black                                          
Doug Charles

Masters Students

Geoffrey Burrell (MCE ’07)
Renee Cimo (MCE ’07)
Justin Ross (MCE ’07)
Michael Zettlemoyer (MCE ’07)
Andrew Bechtel (current)
Michael Cann (current)
Dennis (DJ) Helmstetter (current)

Ph.D. Students

Houston Brown (current)
Su Hong (current)

CIEG 301, Structural Analysis, Fall 2005, Fall 2006, Fall 2007
CIEG 302, Structural Design, Spring 2007
CIEG 801, Advanced Steel Design, Spring 2006
CIEG 865, Civil Engineering Structures Seminar, Spring 2007

Member, Transportation Research Board, Steel Bridge Committee
Member, Structural Stability Research Council, Beams Task Group
Member, ASCE / Structural Engineering Institute, Bridge and Tunnel Security Committee
Member, ASCE / Structural Engineering Institute, Compression and Flexural Members Committee
Member, American Society of Civil Engineers
Reviewer, Journal of Bridge Engineering
Reviewer, Engineering Structures
External Reviewer, Nevada DEPSCoR
Moderator, Bridges and Structures Session, 2007 Delaware Transportation, Education, and Security Conference

ASCE Student Chapter Advisor
ASCE steel bridge team co-advisor
Academic advisor for class of 2009
Department Undergraduate Committee
Department recruiting events (Blue and Gold Days)
Department outreach activities (MathCounts)
Center for Composite Materials Awards Committee