David Ford

Role and Background

David Ford serves as the Vecellio Professor of Vecellio Construction Engineering and Management in the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He joined Virginia Tech in 2022.

Ford's research focuses on the social impacts of natural disaster management in communities. In his current research, he is exploring the quantification of habitation loss using dynamic modeling. He aims to expand the analysis of disaster management projects beyond economics to include their social impacts. 

Previously,  Ford served on the faculties of Texas A&M University and the University of Bergen, Norway. He has over a dozen years of experience in engineering practice. 

Education

Ford holds a Ph.D in Engineering and Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.S. and B.S.in Civil Engineering from Tulane University. He is also a Professional Engineer.