Dr. Douglas K. Nims, P.E.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The University of Toledo
2801 W. Bancroft Street
Toledo, Ohio 43606-3390
Phone: (419)530-8122
E-mail: Douglas.Nims@utoledo.edu

BACKGROUND

Dr. Dr. Nims is a registered professional engineer who worked for 12 years as a consultant before entering academia. He has a wide range of interests that centers on the testing of structures. His background is in structural mechanics with emphasis in testing, bridge engineering and earthquake engineering. He has tested marine, land-based and space structures. He has over forty years’ experience as a test engineer. He has been involved in the assessment and evaluation of structures, particularly bridges and sign support structures, the mitigation of weather hazards, the isolation and reduction of motion including bridge bearings with elastomeric elements, the design of large specialty bearings and test fixtures, the use of instrumented bridge bearings to assess bridge condition, the application of passive damping to structures (friction, shape memory and viscoelastic), the analysis and design of earthquake resistant structures and the seismic behavior of secondary systems.

He enjoys teaching in the area of structural mechanics and be involved with students. He has won several teaching awards including the College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers Outstanding Engineering Educator Award. He was a mentor for the team that finished second nationally in the Prestressed/Postensioned Concrete Institute Big Beam Contest. He is the founding and current advisor for the Structural Engineers of Ohio University of Toledo Student Chapter. He has received several awards for his engagement with students including the College of Engineering Undergraduate Mentor Award and induction into Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. - University of California at Berkeley Department of Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials.
M.B.A. with Distinction - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Business School, Concentrations in finance and business economics.
M.S. - The Ohio State University. Department of Civil Engineering.
B.S.C.E. - The Ohio State University, Department of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Nims’ active research projects August 2016

Tilt Measurement and Monitoring of Jeremiah Morrow Bridge: Application of tilt meters in a real time monitoring system to large cast in-place segmental concrete bridge assess the behavior and prestressing of the bridge to account fo.
Aluminum Truss Overhead Sign Support Flange Damage Assessment: A forensic investigation into the corrosion d fatigue that lead to large cracks in the joints of overhead sign support structures.
Preliminary Measurement and Analysis of Flexure and Shear Strain for a Carbon Fiber-Wrapped Pier Cap: Testing to evaluate the efficacy of carbon fiber wraps to strength bridge piers caps.
Assessment of the Load Rating of Bridges with RF > 1.35 to Meet Special Hauling Vehicle Requirements: Short heavy trucks can overload short span bridges. This is a statistical study to assess if bridges with a rating factor > 1.35 for Ohio Legal Loads are adequate for the short heavy trucks.
Magnetic Inspection of Prestressed Spandrel Beams in East Parking Garage at the University of Toledo: Post failure examination of the corrosion of prestressing in spandrel beams of a parking garage.
Long Term Maintenance of the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge Main Cables: Study of corrosion and corrosion monitoring in the cables of a suspension bridge.
Veteran's Glass Skyway Ice Hazard Mitigation: Ice falling from this large cable stayed bridge poses a hazard to travelers. Reducing the risk by assisting bridge operators is being studied.
Reliability of Overhead Sign Support Structures: Based on an earlier study of the inspection of overhead sign support structures the reliability is being examined. The goal is to lay the foundation for reliability based inspection intervals.
Comparative study of the creep behavior of prestressed concrete: a comparison of creep models.
Examination of the behavior of a large post-tensioned cable stayed bridge: A large cable stayed bridge was monitored throughout its construction. The measured strain is being compared to that predicted by the contractor.

Journal Publications

Ghaedi, H., D. Nims, R. Gostautas, E. Steinberg, L. Hu, K. Walsh, "Field Study of Ohio's Overhead Sign Structural Support Inspection Program", Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No 2550, Maintenance and Preservation, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2016, pp. 15–21, DOI: 10.3141/2550-03.

Mirto, C., A. Abdelaal, D. Nims, T-M Ng, V. Hunt, A. Helmicki, C. Ryerson, and K. Jones, “Icing Management on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway Stay Cables”, Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No 2482, Maintenance Services, Transportation Weather and Winter Maintenance, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2015, pp. 74-81, DOI: 10.3141/2482-10.

	Nimse, P. S., D. K. Nims, V. J. Hunt, and A. J. Helmicki, “Use of Construction Stages to Review a Bridge Finite-Element Model”, ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, SPECIAL ISSUE: Design, Analysis, and Construction of Segmental Bridges Aug 2015, Vol. 20, No. 8
	Norouzi, M., K. Cormier, M. Aydemir, S. Hashtroodi, V. Hunt, D. K. Nims, and A. Helmicki, “Measuring Displacement of Tall Concrete Columns During Construction Jeremiah Morrow Bridge”, Transportation Research Record, Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2408, Construction, 2014, pp. 97-106
	Fernandes, B., D. K. Nims, and V. Devabhaktuni, "Comprehensive MMF-MFL inspection for corrosion detection and estimation in embedded prestressing strands", Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, Vol(1), Feb, 2014, pp. 43-55.
	Fernandes, B., D. K. Nims, and Devabhaktuni, V., “Computer aided modeling of magnetic behavior of embedded prestressing strand for corrosion estimation,” Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, June 2013, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp. 124-133.
	Kumpf. J., A. Helmicki, D. K. Nims, Hunt, V., Agrawal, S., “Automated Ice Detection and Monitoring on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Bridge ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering. Technical Note, Nov/Dec 2012 V. 17, No. 6, pp. 975 - 978.
	Fernandes, B., M. Titus, D. K. Nims, A. Ghorbanpoor and V. Devabhaktuni, “Field test of magnetic methods for corrosion detection in prestressing strands in adjacent box-beam bridges,” Journal of Bridge Engineering, Technical Note , Nov/Dec. 2012, V. 17, no. 6, pp. 984-988.
	Nimse, P., D. K. Nims, V. Hunt, and A. Helmicki, “Experimental Verification of a Stay Cable Delta Frame Model”, Nov. 2012, Bridge Engineering, V. 166, Issue 1, pp. 5-15.
	Fernandes, B., M. Titus, D. K. Nims, A. Ghorbanpoor and V. Devabhaktuni, “Practical Assessment of Magnetic Methods for Corrosion Detection in an Adjacent Precast, Prestressed Concrete Box-Beam Bridge,” Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation, Aug. 2012.
	Fernandes, B., M. Titus, D. K. Nims, and V. Devabhaktuni. “A New Magnetic Sensor Concept for Nondestructive Evaluation of Deteriorated Prestressing Strand, Research in Nondestructive Evaluation”, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 46-68, January, 2012.

Conference Publications

Colony, C., D. Rogers, D. Nims, J. Bradley, “Investigation, Proposed Rehabilitation and Application of a Corrosion Sensor to the Anthony Wayne Bridge Suspension Cables”, International Cable Supported Bridge Operators Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, June 2016.

	Abdelaal, A., C. Mirto, D. Nims, T-M Ng, K. Jones, C. Ryerson, A. Helmicki, V. Hunt, "Investigation of Using Icephobic Coatings on a Cable Stayed Bridge", Proceedings of The 16th International Workshop on Atmospheric Icing of Structures, Uppsala, Sweden, ISBN 978-91-637-8552-8, June 2015.
	Niroula, K., D. Nims, R. Gostautas, and K. Layton, "Long Term Maintenance of the Suspension Cables of the Anthony Wayne Bridge", American Society for Nondestructive Testing, 2014 Smart Materials and Technologies for Bridges, Washington, D.C. August 2014.
	Gostautas, R. D. Nims, T. Tamutus, R. Seyedianchoobi, “Acoustic Monitoring of the Main Cables of the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge”, NDE/NDT for Highways and Bridges: Structural Materials and Technology (SMT) New York, August 2012.

Fernandes, B., D. Nims, and V. Devabhaktuni, “Magnetic Inspection of Adjacent Box-Beam Girders”, 6th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS), Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy, July 2012, pp. 2476-2481.

Nimse, P., D. Nims, R. Ward, A. Helmicki, and V. Hunt, ”Construction Live Load Response and Progressive Calibration of the VGCS Cable Stay Bridge Model”, Paper IBC 12-93 2012 International Bridge Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2012.

Reports

Gostautas, R., D. Nims, E. Steinberg, L. Hu, K, Walsh, “Evaluation of Overhead Support Inspection Program”, Final Report Ohio DOT State Job 134677, January 2015.

"Use of the Energy Dissipating Restraint to Retrofit Non-ductile Reinforced Concrete Frames", Nims, D.K., Pickett, M.A., Inaudi, J.A., and Richter, P.J., Proceedings of Fifth U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, pp. 745-754, Chicago, July 1994.

Nims, D.K., Hunt, V.J., Helmicki, A.J., Ng. T.M. "Ice Prevention or Removal on the Veteran's Glass City Skyway Cables", Final Report Ohio DOT State Job 134489, August 2014.

Layton, K. and D. Nims, “LUC-2-1682 Anthony Wayne Bridge Main Cable Long Term Health Monitoring”, The Ohio Department of Transportation, Final Ohio DOT Report, State Job Number: 427318, January, 2014.

A. Helmicki, V. Hunt, D. Nims "Instrumentation of the Maumee River Crossing", Ohio DOT Final report, State Job Number: 426354, Report Number: FHWA/OH-2012/2, March 2012.

B. Fernandes, D. Nims, Final Report for phase II of UT-UTC Magnetic Sensor for Nondestructive Evaluation of Deteriorated Prestressing Strand project D. Nims, PI, V. Devabhaktuni, Co-PI, September, 2011.

Nims, D. K., PI, Final Report for State Job Number 134381 submitted to Ohio University “Field Test of Washington Waterloo Road Bridge – Magnetic Flux Leakage and Induced Magnetic Field NDE Techniques”, August 2011.

Nims, D. K., Final Report for State Job Number 134489 submitted to Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Innovation, Partnerships and Energy, Innovation, Research and Implementation Section, “Ice Prevention or Removal on the Veteran's Glass City Skyway Cables”, , PI, June 2011.

Nims, D. K. PI, V. Devabhaktuni, Co-PI,Final Report for phase I submitted to UT-UTC Magnetic Sensor for Nondestructive Evaluation of Deteriorated Prestressing Strand project June 2011.

Teaching Awards August 2016

	University of Toledo, Undergraduate Research Recognition Award, 2012.
	Inducted as an Honorary Member into Tau Beta Pi, 2009, for work with undergraduate engineering students.
	Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, Outstanding Engineering Educator Award, 2009.
	University of Toledo, College of Engineering, Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor, 1999-2000.
	Inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, 1999, for work with honor students.
	University of Toledo, College of Engineering Outstanding College Faculty Teaching Award, 1995-1996.

University of Toledo, Department of Civil Engineering Department, Teacher of the Year 1994- 1995.

Twice nominated for University advising awards