Yarnold named director of Auburn University's Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory

On Jan. 1, Matt Yarnold, associate professor of structural engineering, took charge of Auburn University's Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory, or ASEL, as director.

It's been a good first two months.

"We have won several new research projects with large-scale structural testing to be performed in ASEL," Yarnold said. "One study beat out the top structural testing laboratories in the country. The sponsor indicated that everything ASEL had to offer was a big reason that Auburn was awarded the project."

Everything ASEL has to offer is also a big reason Yarnold took the job.

Yarnold received a bachelor's and master's degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University. Since earning his civil engineering doctorate from Drexel University in 2013, he has been an assistant professor of civil engineering at Tennessee Technological University and, most recently, Texas A&M University.

Both schools have great civil engineering research facilities, Yarnold said. They just don't have ASEL.

"I was very impressed the first time I toured here," Yarnold said. "It was instantly clear that Auburn had invested significantly in structural and geotechnical engineering research. This facility puts Auburn in the country's top tier of related research facilities."

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