David Thambiratnam

Professor David Thambiratnam is a distinguished academic and researcher in civil and environmental engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), where he has held the position of Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 1996. With over 35 years of international experience, his expertise spans structural dynamics, new materials technology, structural health monitoring, and disaster mitigation under extreme loads such as impact, blast, and seismic events.

Research Focus:

• Applications of advanced materials like Auxetics and FRP to enhance structural resilience against extreme loads.
• Structural health monitoring of bridges and buildings using vibration analysis and sensor technologies.
• Performance evaluation of structures under impact, blast, and seismic loadings, including retrofitting strategies for disaster mitigation.
• Vibration control in slender structures such as bridges, grandstands, and cooling towers.

Grants and Funding:

• Total research grants exceeding AUD 15 million, including multiple ARC Discovery and Linkage grants.
• Notable projects include the AUD 1.4M ARC LIEF Grant for an advanced horizontal impact testing machine and AUD 415k for mitigating vehicular crashes into masonry buildings.

Awards and Recognition:

• Recipient of the STEM Award for Outstanding HDR Supervision (2010) and multiple Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Awards.
• International Patent for an Innovative Road Safety Barrier System (2015).
• Commendations from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and Applied Research Corporation, Singapore.

Labs and Teams: Leads research initiatives at QUT’s Centre for Data Science and collaborates with industry partners on projects like rail track infrastructure and bridge safety systems.