John Gross
 Dr John Gross  | ||||||||||||
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| Alma mater | Cornell University | |||||||||||
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Dr John Gross is Associate Director for Structures Research for the National Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA. His research interests include computer analysis and design of structures, structural steel, fracture mechanics, nonlinear mechanics and stability. He has been active in the development of analytical methods for shoring loads and slab capacity for multistory concrete construction and in research into the behaviour of steel-braced frame connections.[1]
Dr Gross participated in the collapse investigation of L'Ambiance Plaza and led the Ashland Oil tank failure investigation. He conducted an analytical investigation of the Cypress Viaduct elevated highway structure that failed in the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 1989, and research into the failure of steel beam-to-column connections in the January 1994 Northridge earthquake.[2]
Dr Gross was responsible for the Structural Fire Response and Collapse aspects of the NIST World Trade Center investigation and report.[3]
In 2007, Dr Gross was invited to speak about the WTC destruction at the University of Texas at Austin. In the Q & A session, he was questioned about the existence of molten steel at the World Trade Center and the collapse of WTC Building 7.[4]
Whilst denying any knowledge of molten steel at the site, Dr Gross made the surprise admission that the NIST investigators didn't need to do an analysis of the physical collapse of the three buildings because "the video evidence is clear".[5]
