Sarah Orton

Sarah Orton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She specializes in structural engineering, with a focus on reinforced concrete, disproportionate collapse analysis, seismic risk assessment, and bridge reliability. Orton is also a registered professional engineer in Missouri and actively involved in improving undergraduate engineering education.

• PhD in Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
• MS in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• BS in Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Her research explores the time-dependent behavior of reinforced concrete under extreme loads, the use of carbon fiber composites for structural reinforcement, and the development of computational tools to predict collapse progression. She integrates these findings into educational outreach programs for K-12 students.

Orton's recent publications emphasize the impact of sustained gravity loads on structural integrity and the development of modeling frameworks to simulate collapse dynamics. These studies intersect with broader trends in disaster resilience and infrastructure safety.

She leads NSF-funded projects on structural debris mitigation and collaborates with industry partners like MoDOT and Lunda Construction to advance engineering education and real-world design applications.