UC civil engineers share structural bolt expertise
Two professors authored article for steel industry magazine
Gian A. Rassati. Photo/UC Creative + Brand.
An article by Gian A. Rassati and James Swanson, associate professors of civil engineering at the University of Cincinnati, was featured in Modern Steel Construction, the magazine of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), which goes to 60,000 engineers, architects and others in the steel construction and fabrication industry.
Rassati and Swanson, along with Chad Larson, president of LeJeune Bolt Company, wrote about bolt design for structural joints. The article, titled “The Short Shank Redemption,” explains the specific design of structural bolts, which have a shorter thread than other bolt types. They also discussed common questions and design recommendations.
The article referenced two recent papers written by the three experts and published in the AISC Engineering Journal.
Rassati, who has a Ph.D. in structural engineering from University of Trieste in Italy, has been a professor at UC for more than 18 years. His research interests include steel and steel-concrete composite structures, with an emphasis on lateral force resisting systems, dynamic behavior of structures and earthquake engineering.
James Swanson. Photo: UC Creative + Brand.
Swanson earned a Ph.D. in structural engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and joined UC in 1999. His research has focused on strength and resistance of steel structures, joints and bolts. In 2019, Swanson was given the James M. Robbins Excellence in Teaching Award from the civil engineering honor society Chi Epsilon. He’s been called on to analyze the safety of existing bridges and future designs.
Swanson was recently quoted in news story with WLWT on the inspection and repair process of the Brent Spence Bridge, a highly traveled, double-decker bridge that was closed following a two-truck collision that resulted in a large fire.
Rassati was interviewed recently in a Washington Post article about the fire on the Cincinnati bridge. The bridge has long been in need of replacement and Rassati said it is functionally obsolete.
Featured image at top: UC's Engineering Research Center. Photo/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing.
Related Stories
UC, GE Aerospace celebrate Next Engineers grads
April 24, 2026
The University of Cincinnati played host in April to the graduation of this year’s class of the GE Aerospace Foundation’s Next Engineers, a global college- and career-readiness program that provides scholarship incentives for young people to become engineers.
UC hosts annual robotics competition for local students
April 24, 2026
Every year, the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science brings local middle and high school students to campus for the annual robotics competition. Students are given specific parameters to follow and tasks their robots must complete according to a designated competition theme. This year’s theme — autonomous wheelchairs — comes with a real-world perspective from event guest speaker Sarah Elam, a woman who uses a wheelchair and is a disability advocate.
UC students engineer cold-weather lifeline for Paralympians
April 23, 2026
Three University of Cincinnati students designed and built a residual limb warmer to protect Paralympic athletes competing in bobsled and skeleton from freezing temperatures between races.