Shenton will replace Michael Chajes, who has been named interim dean of the College of Engineering. The appointment is effective Oct. 1 and was announced jointly by Chajes and Dean Eric W. Kaler, who is leaving UD to become provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University.
“I am grateful that Dr. Shenton has agreed to serve as acting chair,” Chajes said. “In the past, he has played a key role in the administration of the department's undergraduate programs and has an excellent grasp of the department's current priorities and future directions. I look forward to working with Dr. Shenton in his new role.”
Shenton graduated from UD in 1982 with a bachelor's degree and completed a master's degree in civil engineering in 1984. He worked as a research engineer at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds from 1984-86 and received a doctorate in civil engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1990. In the final year of his studies, he was also a visiting professor at the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis.
From 1990-94, Shenton was employed as a research structural engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md., where he worked in the Building and Fire Research Laboratory. There he conducted basic and applied research in earthquake engineering, with particular emphasis on seismic isolation and passive energy dissipation systems. While at NIST he received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Zone I Young Government Civil Engineer of the Year award.
Shenton joined the faculty of UD in September 1994 as an assistant professor of civil engineering. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2000.
Shenton's areas of research focus include structural health monitoring and condition assessment of civil infrastructure and innovative systems and materials for low-rise construction. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Highway Administration, NIST, the Delaware Department of Transportation, the University of Delaware Research Foundation and industry.
In 1999, he received the prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award.
Shenton is an affiliated member of the University's Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering, Center for Composite Materials and Delaware Transportation Center.
He teaches engineering mechanics at the undergraduate and graduate levels and received the 2001 College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching award and the 2006 College of Engineering Slocomb Excellence in Teaching Award.
Shenton most recently served as undergraduate coordinator for civil engineering and was recently appointed associate dean for assessment of the College of Engineering. He has served on several department and college committees and also the University's Undergraduate Studies Committee and Distinguished Scholars Selection Committee.
Shenton is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure and Sigma Xi scientific research society. He chairs the ASCE technical committee on methods of monitoring the performance of structures.
Photo by Kevin Quinlan
