Peter Turula's B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are in civil engineering with a strong emphasis on structural analysis.  His education was back at the time when computers were just being introduced to engineering academia, so he has a very strong background in classical analysis techniques.  However since the beginning of his graduate work he has been in the forefront of the computer revolution in structural engineering.  Both his Master's and Ph.D. Theses developed new techniques using this new analysis tool.   His Master's Thesis dealt with large structural frame analysis and his Ph.D. Thesis developed a new non-linear stability analysis technique using finite difference methodology.

In industry Dr. Turula developed expertise with a variety of conventional analysis techniques, extensive hands on experience with several finite element codes, plus a basic understanding of other codes.  In his career he worked on reactor component dynamics, and developed and coded computer programs for finite element analysis and other engineering tasks.  His engineering analysis experience provides the skill to understand how a structure behaves, to know where the potential stress problems are, and to select and apply methods that are effective at solving structural problems.

Since 1985 Dr. Turula has been engaged almost exclusively in the evaluation of radioactive material transportation packaging for safety and compliance with regulations.  Most of his activity has been as principal engineer in a National Laboratory advisory function to the Department of Energy, where he was responsible for the review of transportation packaging.  His specialty was the evaluation of structural behavior including pressure, impact and thermal stress analysis, and the associated dynamic analysis.  He contributed extensively to the development of NuPack, the ASME consensus code for radioactive materials packaging, and worked on other applicable ANSI standards.  He is quite familiar with the entire range of radioactive materials packaging requirements.  Currently he is developing packaging performance assessments and helping applicants address questions raised in the licensing review process.

Licensed Professional Engineer - Illinois

Ph.D. (Structural Engineering) Illinois Institute of Technology

M.B.A. University of Chicago

Additional Expertise and Facilities

To satisfy the requirements of specific projects, experienced specialists in supporting disciplines are available for assistance as identified by a proposed scope of work.  Specialties that can be addressed include quality assurance, materials engineering, and thermal analysis.  He is equipped to work effectively from home, communicating over the internet and has the computer hardware and software to do engineering work, including finite element analysis.  He can also travel to work on-location as needed.

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