Site+Moderator

=M. Kevin Parfitt, P.E., F.AEI = = = M. Kevin Parfitt is an educator and industry practitioner with over 36 years of experience in the architectural and structural engineering fields. A licensed Professional Engineer in eight states, Parfitt has considerable knowledge and background related to structural and forensic engineering practice including his current role as a consultant to industry, previously managing the structural aspects of his own consulting firm and past employment with nationally known entities such as BASCO Associates, Hansen Lind Meyer (HLM Design – Heery) and R. A. DiPasquale & Associates. He holds a BAE degree from Penn State in structures and a Master of Engineering (Civil) degree with an architecture emphasis from Cornell University.

As an associate professor in the Department of Architectural Engineering at Penn State, Professor Parfitt teaches courses in structural engineering, architectural and structural engineering systems failures and manages the year-long Senior Thesis Program for all AE students. In 2011, Parfitt was named a Penn State Teaching Fellow, one of the highest teaching honors available at the University. He was also the recipient of the 2009 Penn State Engineering Society (PSES) Premier Teaching Award, as well as being honored with the PSES Outstanding Teaching Award, the Lawrence J. Perez Student Advocate Award and he has received the PSES Outstanding Advising Award three times in his career. His current educational initiatives include adding additional practitioner interaction to AE 537 (Building Failures and Forensic Techniques) in addition to leading a three year IPD/BIM AE Senior Thesis Pilot Program.

Professor Parfitt is a forensic specialist and court qualified expert witness in the areas of architectural and structural engineering having investigated hundreds of building performance problems ranging from roof and façade defects to building material performance failures to full and partial collapses. Cases investigated by Parfitt encompass residential and commercial projects that included EIFS, roofing, fire treated plywood, shingles and underlayment, moisture intrusion and mold, siding, waterproofing, structural damages, wind and snow overloads and full building collapse. He was a member of a damage assessment team for one of the major insurance carriers investigating roofing, building envelope and structural failures after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Parfitt performed damage assessment for disaster response contractors related to the floor collapse at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh and he is currently serving as a consultant investigating the collapse of three major long-span hangar buildings at the Dulles Jet Center located on the grounds of the Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

Parfitt is active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) where he currently serves on the Education and Dissemination of Failure Information committees of the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE). He is also a charter member of the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) of ASCE, served as editor of the Journal of Architectural Engineering for five years and was elected to the grade of AEI Fellow in 2009. Professor Parfitt was one of the editors of the Proceedings of the 5th Congress on Forensic Engineering and is the creator of Failures Wiki and Building Failures Forum both of which are educational and resource sites for the dissemination of building failures information.