My specialty is the behavior of wood structures with a greater emphasis on light-frame wood systems such as floors, walls, and roofs. My research includes both analytical modeling and experimentation. Modeling efforts include the behavior of these systems above the service load level and they involve both material and geometric nonlinearities. My laboratory research includes full-scale tests of more than 35 floor systems and numerous wall and roof tests. I am currently working on several studies. The first is the analytical prediction of ultimate limit states in wood floors. We recently have used a combination of experimental and analytical efforts to determine the characteristics of joist stiffness deterioration as wood floors reach their ultimate limit state. This work coincides with current load and resistance factor design philosophies and it is aimed at the inclusion of system effects in the design process. Another project is a study of composite wood-steel “flitch" beams and how their behavior may differ from that assumed in the design process. We will propose new design procedures based on our findings. There is essentially nothing in the existing literature on the behavior of these beams and their design has been based entirely subjective criteria. We will report on test results as well as new design procedures based on behavior. If there is any way to characterize the theme of my research, it is to say that I have a commitment to modeling and testing, in an accurate way, the behavior of light-frame systems so that the difficult issues of the flexible connectivity between the sheathing and framing members are recognized.