Ms. Rong's background is in civil and structural engineering, and her specific expertise includes structural seismic design and analysis of residential framing and foundation systems.
Ms. Rong's educational background encompasses both structural engineering and architecture. She has a Master's degree in Civil Engineering with a focus in Structural Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In her thesis research, Ms. Rong formulated and coded her own computational analysis tool to simulate the phenomenon of nonlinear large-displacement deformation and the fracture of continuum solids via the discrete element method. Her graduate-level coursework entailed both advanced design of steel and concrete, as well as sophisticated computational methods for complex structural systems.
Ms. Rong has also earned a bachelor's degree in Architecture (with a minor in Structural Engineering) from University of California, Berkeley. Her undergraduate studies included methods to better integrate the sometimes disparate objectives of the architectural and structural design consultants.
Prior to joining Exponent, Ms. Rong managed and designed engineering projects involving high-end single- and multi-family residential structures in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her responsibilities included design, analysis, value-engineering, construction inspection, including design and implementation of framing and foundation repair.
Rong L. On the accuracy of nonlinear analysis of continua using the discrete element method. Master of Science Thesis, College of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Summer 2009.