Jennifer H. Gross, P.E. is a full-time professor of practice and director of Lehigh's professional master's program (M.Eng.) in structural engineering. She brings 12 years of industry experience in the field, with building credits that include Gaylord National Harbor (Oxon Hill, MD), the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia South Tower Project, the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa (Atlantic City, NJ), and Seuss Landing at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure (Orlando, FL).
Gross leads the three-course design sequence that forms the core of the M.Eng. curriculum, and works with the program’s executive advisory board to identify and develop the group design project for the year. Throughout the 10-month program, she guides students through the group design project and arranges periodic external reviews of each group’s progress. She began her career as a design engineer at Walter P. Moore and was most recently with The Harman Group as a senior project engineer, and is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Professional Experience
Jennifer H. Gross, P.E. is a full-time professor of practice and director of Lehigh’s professional master’s program (M.Eng.) in structural engineering. She brings to Lehigh 12 years of industry experience in the field.
Prof. Gross began her career as a design engineer at Walter P. Moore. Before coming to Lehigh she was most recently with The Harman Group as a senior project engineer. Her building credits include:
Gaylord National Harbor
This 2.5 million sq. ft. convention center and hotel complex in Oxon Hill, Maryland features a glass-roofed and glass-walled atrium supported by steel trusses. The convention center is framed with 60 ’x 60’ bays made of post-tensioned concrete, along with 180’-long span steel joists and trusses at the ballroom roofs. The 2,000-room, 20-story hotel is constructed of post-tensioned concrete.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia South Tower Project
This 332,000 sq. ft., 10-story, structural steel braced frame addition was built adjacent to and above portions of the existing hospital. The project features transfer trusses at the lower floors, suspended floor framing from roof trusses, and complicated connections to the existing structure. The project also made extensive renovations to the existing steel-framed structure, which remained functional during the construction. Prof. Gross co-authored an article on the project for Modern Steel Construction magazine.
The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa
This is a 4.1 million sq. ft., 44-story, post-tensioned concrete hotel and four-story structural steel casino located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Prof. Gross’ responsibilities included the design and coordination of the casino, ballroom, and back-of-house spaces.
Seuss Landing at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
Prof. Gross was a design engineer on this unique project based on the works of Dr. Seuss in Orlando, Florida. She was responsible for the analysis and design of various structural steel buildings and features, including the steel columns and arches supporting a monorail ride.
Teaching and Service
Prof. Gross leads the three-course design sequence that forms the core of the M.Eng. curriculum, and works with the program’s executive advisory board to identify and develop the group design project for the year. Throughout the 10-month program, she guides students through the group design project and arranges periodic external reviews of each group’s progress.
Depth and breadth of expertise well equip Prof. Gross for the diversity of work students explore through their individual projects. Her students also benefit from seminars she frequently organizes with industry leaders to examine contemporary issues in structural engineering practice.
As director of the M.Eng. in Structural Engineering Program, Prof. Gross also serves as academic adviser to all M.Eng. in Structural Engineering students. She is also the faculty adviser to Lehigh student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Lehigh Student Steel Bridge team which competes in the AISC/ASCE Student Steel Bridge Competition, and has also been a guest speaker and session mentor for Lehigh’s summer CHOICES program.
Prof. Gross is a member of the American Concrete Institute (ACI); the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC); the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); and the Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers (DVASE).
Selected Publications
Rodriguez, M., Lotze, D., Gross, J.H., Zhang, Y-G., Klingner, R.E., Graves, H.L., (2001), “Dynamic Behavior of Tensile Anchors to Concrete,” ACI Structural Journal, V.98, No.4, pp. 511-524.
Gross, J.H., Klingner, R.E., Graves, H.L., (2001), “Dynamic Behavior of Single and Double Near-
Edge Anchors Loaded in Shear,” ACI Structural Journal, V.98, No.5, pp.665-676.
Vacca, J.B., Harman, D.K., Gross, J.H. (2004), “Precision Procedure,” Modern Steel Construction, February, pp. 32-36.
Teaching-related Publications
Gross, J.H., Mohr, D.M., and Pessiki, S.P.(2012), “Creation of a Structural Engineering Professional Master’s Degree Program,” Proceedings of the 2012 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition – San Antonio, TX, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Paper # 4080, pp. 1-14.
Teaching-related Presentations
Gross, J.H., Mohr, D.M., and Pessiki, S.P. (2012), “Creation of a Structural Engineering Professional Master’s Degree Program,” American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition , San Antonio, Texas. (presented by J. Gross)
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