Ronald A. Cook
PhD, University of Texas, 1989
MS, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1981
BS, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1975
Ronald Cook is a Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, where he taught for 25 years. An expert in the area of connections to concrete and wind engineering, his academic career allowed him to educate many students on concrete, timber, and masonry behavior and design. He has also led the U.S. effort in evaluating and designing adhesive bonded anchors in concrete.
His introduction to the area of connections to concrete began while he was an undergraduate assistant working on a research project at the University of Tennessee. This was followed by nine years of design experience involving large scale connections to concrete while at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
After leaving TVA, Ron began a consulting firm and taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee. In 1986, he returned to school at The University of Texas at Austin and began work on his Ph.D. under Dr. Richard Klingner. In 1989, He joined the faculty of the University of Florida where he focused on structural behavior, structural systems, connections to concrete structures, and the performance of structures under wind loading.
The results of several years in engineering practice followed by several years in research led to the development of consensus standard provisions for adhesive bonded anchors that are now implemented by ACI 318, ACI 355, and the International Federation of Structural Concrete Design Guideline.
Along with his graduate students, Ron’s name is on every major publication dealing with adhesive anchors in the world. He is a recognized expert on the behavior and design of adhesive anchors, and investigated the Boston Tunnel Ceiling Collapse, focused on the adhesive anchors failure.
Ron’s research in the area of wind engineering has also led to the development of design provisions. He specializes in the effects of wind loading on structure anchoring and the effects of windblown debris on structures. Through his research, he has determined the cause of countless sign pole and signal failures. He also has identified structural design changes that could improve safety, lower the incidence of failure, and reduce post-storm recovery costs.
Ron received the Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award by the American Concrete Institute in 2006 and he is an ACI Fellow, awarded in 2002.
