Bios - Marc_Levitan

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Marc Levitan has been actively engaged in wind engineering research, practice, and teaching for the past 15 years. His primary research focus is in the fields of wind loading on structures, wind damage assessment, wind damage mitigation, and hurricane sheltering and evacuation issues. Past research projects have dealt with wind loading on low-rise buildings, electrical power transmission towers, and many other types of structures. He is currently involved with research in areas relating to wind loading on industrial and petrochemical structures, and assessment/retrofit/design of hurricane evacuation shelters. Dr. Levitan has over 20 publications in these areas and has made a similar number of presentations at conferences, seminars, and short courses. He was the driving force behind the creation of the new LSU Hurricane Center. The Center is a campus-wide, multi-disciplinary initiative. Its mission is to address hurricanes and other weather-related hazards and their impacts on the natural, built, and human environments.

Prior to joining LSU, Dr. Levitan spent five years as the Managing Director of the Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory at Texas Tech University. This laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility for measuring wind loads on low-rise buildings and structures. During his tenure as Managing Director, the project grew from an idea on the drawing board into an internationally respected laboratory. He was responsible for the design and construction of the laboratory and its test facilities; development of the computerized data acquisition and data analysis systems; designing and managing many of the experiments performed at the lab; and personnel management.

Dr. Levitan has done consulting work in the fields of wind-damage investigation, site-specific prediction of extreme wind speeds, wind load analysis on a variety of buildings and structures, and design of instrumentation and data acquisition systems for dynamic loads on structures.

The academic pursuit of Dr. Levitan is structural engineering with the focus areas of structural analysis, design of steel structures, wind engineering, and hurricane engineering. He has received teaching awards from the ASCE and Chi Epsilon student chapters, the LSU and Texas Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Departments, and the Chi Epsilon Southern District.

EDUCATION
B. Architecture, Texas Tech University, 1985
B.S. Civil Engineering, Texas Tech University, 1985
M.S. Civil Engineering, Texas Tech University, 1988
Ph. D. Civil Engineering, Texas Tech University, 1993

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

2000-present	-	Charles P. Seiss Jr. Professor, Louisiana State University
1999-present	-	Director, LSU Hurricane Center, Louisiana State University
1999-present	-	Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University
1993-98	-	Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Louisiana State University
1987-92	-	Managing Director, Wind Engineering Research Field Laboratory, Texas Tech University
1985-90	-	Research and Teaching Assistant, Texas Tech University

COURSE INFORMATION
CE 2720 - Computational Methods I Civil Engineering
CE 3400 - Mechanics of Materials
CE 3415 - Structural Analysis I
CE 4435 - Indeterminate Structural Analysis
CE 4400 - Principles of Steel Design
CE 4781 - Special Topics: Steel Design II
CE 4445 - Hurricane Engineering
CE 7700 - Special Topics: Wind Engineering
CE 7405 - Statically Indeterminate Structures

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
"A Comprehensive Assessment of Hurricane Shelters: Lessons from Hurricane Georges," (2000) John C. Pine, Marc L. Levitan, Brian Marx and Dan Wilkins. Submitted to Natural Hazards Review. American Society of Civil Engineers.

"A Refined Method for Calculating Wind Load Combinations on Open Frame Structures," Nadeem, Ahmad, and Levitan, M.L. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Vol 72, 1997, pp. 445-453.

"Lessons from Hurricane Andrew," Cochran, L. and Levitan, M.L., Architectural Science Review, Vol. 37, 1994, pp. 115-121.

"Performance of Manufactured Housing in Louisiana During Hurricane Andrew," Levitan, M.L., Cochran, L.S. and Levitan, J.E., Proceedings, ASCE Conference on Hurricanes of 1992 (December 1-3, 1993; Miami, FL).

"Damage Assessment of Hurricane Andrew in Louisiana," Levitan, M.L., Cochran, L., Bove, P. and Norville, H.S., Proceedings, Seventh U.S. National Conference on Wind Engineering (June 27-30, 1993; Los Angeles, CA), Hart, G., Ed., pp. 393-402.

RECENT RESEARCH CONTRACTS AND GRANTS

Hurricane Engineering: A New Curriculum for a Planet at Risk. National Science Foundation, $500,000
Taming the Hurricane Threat: Enhancement of Research and Teaching Laboratory for Study of Extreme Wind Effects on Structures: Board of Regents Support Fund, $322,283.
Investigation of Wind Loads on Industrial Structures: Louisiana Educational Quality Support Fund, $139,419.
Investigation of Wind Loads on Open Frame Petrochemical Structures: Louisiana Energy Enhancement Program, $30,000.
Wind Effects on Petrochemical Pipe Support Structures: Louisiana Energy Enhancement Program, $23,000.
Hurricane Shelter Assessments: Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness, $95,003.
Total Highway Condition Monitoring and Management System: Louisiana Transportation Research Center, $20,000.
Hurricane Shelter Assessment, Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Dept., $9,989

OTHER LINKS:
LSU Hurricane Center (www.hurricane.lsu.edu)

Marc Levitan

Biography