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Draft:J. David Frost

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J. David Frost
Frost
Alma materTrinity College Dublin; Purdue University
AwardsH. Bolton Seed Medal (2023); Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (2001); Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award (2025)
Scientific career
FieldsGeotechnical engineering

J. David Frost is a civil engineer and academic at the Georgia Institute of Technology whose work has focused on geotechnical engineering, post-disaster reconnaissance, and infrastructure resilience.[1][2] He has served as co-chair and chair of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association and became president of the Geosynthetic Institute following its move to Georgia Tech.[3][1][4][5] Frost received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) H. Bolton Seed Medal in 2023 and was among the recipients of the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 2001. He has also delivered named lectures at Columbia University, Purdue University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Northwestern University.[6][7][8][9][2][1]

Education

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Frost received B.A.I. and B.A. degrees in civil engineering and mathematics from Trinity College Dublin in 1980 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1986 and 1989.[10][9]

Career

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A 2008 lecture biography published by Columbia University and a 2016 Purdue University lecture flyer state that Frost worked in industry in Ireland and Canada prior to returning to graduate school, served on the Purdue University faculty after completing his Ph.D., and joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1992.[10][9]

A 2025 Purdue University alumni award page described Frost as the Elizabeth and Bill Higginbotham Professor of Civil Engineering and a Regents’ Entrepreneur at Georgia Tech.[11]

The same Columbia University biography described him as vice provost at Georgia Tech, while the Purdue University lecture flyer stated that he had served as founding director of the Georgia Tech Savannah campus.[10][9]

In 2025, Geosynthetics Magazine reported that Frost would lead the Geosynthetic Institute after its transition to Georgia Tech in Atlanta; Georgia Tech described him as the institute's president in 2026.[4][5]

Disaster investigations and reconnaissance

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Frost has served as a founding member and chair of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association.[1]

Berkeley News described him as GEER co-chair for a Chile earthquake reconnaissance team in 2010, and in 2023 the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute quoted him as GEER principal investigator in connection with the association's reconnaissance report on the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes.[3][12]

In 2021, the National Institute of Standards and Technology listed Frost as a supporting team member of its National Construction Safety Team investigation into the Champlain Towers South collapse.[13][14]

Entrepreneurship and technology transfer

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Georgia Tech reports that Frost has been involved in software commercialization efforts including Dataforensics and Filio.[15]

The same report states that Filio uses a mobile app and web-based back end with cloud storage and AI and is used in infrastructure construction and post-disaster reconnaissance.[15]

A Georgia Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration research report described Filio as a visual asset management platform used for automatic image-based classification in a geotechnical asset-management study, and a GEER report on Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico reported use of the Filio application in field documentation.[16][17]

Honors

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  • H. Bolton Seed Medal (ASCE), 2023.[18][6]
  • Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (ASCE), 2001.[7]
  • Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award, Purdue University, 2025.[11]
  • Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors, 2026.[19]
  • Delivered named lectures at Columbia University (Donald M. Burmister Lecture, 2008), Purdue University (Gerald A. Leonards Lecture, 2016), Missouri University of Science and Technology (Prakash Lecture, 2021), and Northwestern University (Osterberg Lecture, 2023).[8][9][2][1]
  • Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Osterberg Lecture- Dr. David Frost". Northwestern Engineering. Northwestern University. November 30, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Talking reconstructing infrastructure systems after disastrous events". eConnection. Missouri University of Science and Technology. April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Engineers deployed to Chile to study earthquake's impacts". Berkeley News. University of California, Berkeley. March 8, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "GSI moving operations to Georgia Tech". Geosynthetics Magazine. June 24, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Major Geosynthetic Research Hub Moves to Georgia Tech". Georgia Tech Research News Center. Georgia Institute of Technology. February 23, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Frost earns H. Bolton Seed Medal". American Society of Civil Engineers. February 24, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prizes Past Award Winners". American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "index - Burmister Lecture". Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Columbia University. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gerald A. Leonards Lecture" (PDF). Purdue Geotechnical Society. Purdue University. April 15, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "The Donald M. Burmister Lecture: Insights into Geomaterial Response Based on Optical Microstructure Characterization" (PDF). Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Columbia University. November 11, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "J. David Frost". Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering. Purdue University. April 4, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  12. ↑ "GEER and EERI Release Joint Report on 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes". Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. May 6, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Oct. 25, 2021, Update on NIST's Champlain Towers South Investigation". National Institute of Standards and Technology. October 25, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ "National Construction Safety Team (Champlain Towers South Collapse NCST Investigation)". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "USG Honors 6 Engineers as Regents' Innovators, Entrepreneurs, Researchers, Professors". Georgia Tech College of Engineering. Georgia Institute of Technology. August 15, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ Towards the Implementation of a Geotechnical Asset Management Program in the State of Georgia (PDF) (Report). Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Performance-Based Management & Research; Federal Highway Administration. 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Geotechnical Impacts of Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico (PDF) (Report). GEER Association. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  18. ↑ "H. Bolton Seed Medal Past Award Winners". American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Congratulations 2026 Class of Senior Members" (PDF). National Academy of Inventors. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
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Category:Living people Category:Georgia Institute of Technology faculty Category:Geotechnical engineers Category:Trinity College Dublin alumni Category:Purdue University alumni Category:Fellows of the American Society of Civil Engineers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)