Prof. James M. LaFave, NSEL Director

3129B Newmark Building | jlafave@illinois.edu | (217) 333-8064

Professor LaFave was appointed as Director of the Newmark Structural Engineering Laboratory in 2025. He has been a faculty member since 1999 with leadership experience as Chair of the CEE Structures Group, Associate Head of CEE, and Associate Dean in the Grainger College of Engineering. Combining industry practice with academic expertise in concrete and steel structures, he has chaired major ACI and ASCE committees, served as Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Building Engineering, and earned national awards for teaching, research, and professional contributions. His leadership and expertise position him to advance NSEL’s mission in structural engineering research and education.

2129B Newmark Building | fhnstck@illinois.edu | (217) 265-0211

Professor Fahnestock was the Director of NSEL from 2021 to 2025 and has been a faculty member since 2006. From 1998 to 2000, he worked as a structural engineer for the architectural and engineering firm KlingStubbins. He is also a licensed professional engineer in both California and Illinois. Professor Fahnestock teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on the behavior and design of steel structures and building systems. His research interests include earthquake engineering, steel structures, seismic building design, connection behavior, bridge performance under both service and extreme loading, progressive collapse mitigation, and large-scale testing.

1141 Newmark Building | ouellet@illinois.edu | (217) 300-1860

Dr. Ouellet is a senior research engineer specializing in the testing of structures and construction materials. He developed his testing experience in the industry with quality control on construction sites, development of advanced materials for contractors, and inspection of concrete structures. Dr. Ouellet configures and operates servo-hydraulic load frames and full-scale systems. He has experience with the calibration and installation of various measuring instruments, both in the field and in the laboratory. Dr. Ouellet takes an active interest in teaching materials science and testing through hands-on demonstrations, student competitions, and safe experimentation.

3051 Sidney Lu Building | jwp@illinois.edu | (217) 333-4388

Professor Phillips has conducted research in biomechanics, publishing one of the first studies on the aging effects in silicone-gel breast implants. He developed a simple but effective load cell for measuring the axial force and twisting moment in wire ropes, such as those used in deep-shaft mines. He also used the, then, newly developed pulsed-ruby laser in a photoelastic analysis of mechanical pulse propagation in curved beams. Professor Phillips oversees testing on the 3-million-pound testing machine in Talbot Laboratory, as well as the machine’s calibration to standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

1141 Newmark Building | wriem@illinois.edu

Wyatt Riemma is an undergraduate student in Civil Engineering. He assists with a variety of projects and testing in the laboratory, while also supporting safe operations and maintaining an organized workspace. Wyatt is eager to learn more about the field of structural engineering and to gain valuable, hands-on lab experience.