Donald W. White

Donald W. White is a Professor at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Georgia Institute of Technology since 1997. Previously, he served at Purdue University from 1987 to 1996. He earned a doctorate in Structural Engineering from Cornell University (1988) and holds an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University. Prior to academia, he worked as a structural engineer in Raleigh, NC.

Research Interests: White’s research focuses on structural design and behavior of steel and composite steel-concrete structures, computational mechanics, nonlinear analysis, and stability analysis. His work has significantly influenced steel design standards, including contributions to the AISC Direct Analysis Method (DM) and updates to AASHTO LRFD bridge specifications. He has led efforts to modernize design practices for curved/skewed steel bridges and noncomposite box-section members.

Professional Contributions: He serves on AISC Technical Committees 4 and 10, the SSRC Executive Committee, and AASHTO/NSBA task groups. As Principal Investigator, he authored NCHRP Report 725 on analytical methods for curved/skewed steel bridges and is currently leading an FHWA-funded project to update AASHTO LRFD provisions for noncomposite box-section members.

Awards:

• 2005 AISC Special Achievement Award
• 2009 AISC T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award
• 2006 ASCE Shortridge Hardesty Award
• 2007 Richard S. Fountain Bridge Task Force Award
• 2006 Richardson Medal (with collaborators)

Grants & Advising: White’s research has been supported by FHWA, NCHRP, and industry collaborations. He has advised on major infrastructure projects, including experimental testing of curved steel bridges at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Research Center (1997–2005).