Gerard Pardoen, professor emeritus of Civil & Environment Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, obtained his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and MSCE and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. He primarily taught the fundamental undergraduate CEE courses such as statics and strength of materials. At the graduate level he taught courses in applied mechanics, finite element methods and experimental modal analysis. His research interests include analytical and experimental vibration methods, nonlinear response of shell membrane structures as well as the cyclic testing and behavior of concrete and timber structures. He had previously served as the Assistant Director for Education for the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) and as the director of the Structures Laboratory at UCI.

Dr. Pardoen is an expert in structural analysis and experimental structural dynamics. He has a special interest in the structural mechanics of civil structures, such as bridge pier walls.

Dr. Pardoen’s research focused on the mechanics of materials and how they respond to seismic stress. His most recent published projects concern the assessment of cross-tie performance in bridge pier walls; the shear capacity of bridge pinned columns; the cyclic behavior of bridge pier walls for retrofit; and the relationship between shear strength capacity and the rotation of column pins at the base of elevated roadway structures.