Rate My Professor David Frost

Frost's research specializes in geotechnical responses to natural and man-made disasters worldwide, utilizing digital data collection systems to assess infrastructure impacts at multiple scales. His academic interests encompass micro- and nanomechanics of geomaterials, composites, sustainable communities, bio-mediated and bio-inspired geotechnics, and geosynthetics. As founding member and current chair of the NSF-funded Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, he has led or participated in disaster response teams in the US, Chile, China, Turkey, Japan, and India. Frost has maintained continuous NSF funding since 1990 and contributes to International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) committees, including TC-302 Forensic Geotechnical Engineering and TC-105 Geomechanics from Micro to Macro. He has delivered distinguished lectures such as the Osterberg Lecture (Northwestern University, 2023), Leonards Lecture (Purdue University, 2016), Prakash Distinguished Lecture (Missouri S&T, 2021), and Burmister Lecture (Columbia University, 2008). Notable publications include “Geotechnical and Geological Reconnaissance Observations of the February 6th, 2023 Turkiye Earthquakes” (Earthquake Spectra, 2024), “Impact of Ground Motion Uncertainty Evolution from Seismic Datasets on Post-earthquake Data on Building Damage” (Earthquake Spectra, 2024), “3-D Printing and Lab Scale Testing of Bio-inspired Geogrids for Road Rutting Reduction” (Bio-geotechnics, 2025), and “Framework for Designing Next-Generation Geogrids” (Geosynthetics International, 2025). Frost's honors include the ASCE H. Bolton Seed Medal (2023), Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (2001), NSF National Young Investigator Award (1994-1999), ASCE Fellow (2011), and Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award from Purdue (2025).