Dr. Frank specializes in the behavior of steel structures. He is an expert on the design and behavior of steel bridges, the design of steel structures to prevent fatigue and fracture, and the behavior of bolted connections. He is in charge of the materials and fracture area of study in the SAC II project sponsored by FEMA. He has developed a database of material properties that will be used to formulate resistance and demand factors for the seismic design of steel buildings. He is also currently developing new procedures for the weld qualification requirements for bridges.