James LaDue (james.ladue@nist.gov): “Toward a First Ever ASCE Standard on Wind Speed Estimation in Severe Storms”

James G. LaDue is the acting Director of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP) in the Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NWIRP is a federal interagency science-based program focused on achieving major measurable reductions in the losses of life and property from windstorms, by leveraging the latest science and best practices from across the federal government, academia, and the private sector.

Marc L. Levitan (marc.levitan@nist.gov): “Engineering Design for Tornadoes”

Dr. Marc Levitan is the Lead Research Engineer for the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.  He has over 25 years’ experience in research on tornado, hurricane, and extreme wind effects on buildings and structures.  With respect to tornado research, Dr, Levitan served as lead investigator for NIST’s National Construction Safety Team technical investigation of the 2011 Joplin tornado, as well as for the NIST study of the 2013 Moore tornado.  Dr. Levitan also leads implementation of many recommendations resulting from these investigations, including chairing the ASCE/SEI committee that developed the tornado load provisions for ASCE 7-22; the ICC committee developing the 2023 and previous editions of the ICC 500 Storm Shelter standard; and co-chairing the ASCE/SEI/AMS committee developing a new standard on Wind Speed Estimation in Tornadoes.