David Icove, the UL Professor of Practice in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UT, was recently awarded one of the top honors in his field as he was chosen a fellow of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.
“This is a tremendous honor for me, but it’s also a recognition that the work I’ve done matters in a real-world sense,” said Icove. “It’s nice to get that notice, but it’s far better to realize that I’ve been able to help improve safety and lives.”
Part of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the organization is devoted to the study of why products and structures fail.
Icove is a leading national expert in that field, performing what amounts to a structural autopsy for agencies ranging from the FBI and ATF to Knoxville police and fire officials.
He spent more than forty years in various law enforcement roles before taking that knowledge to UT and turning the data into research that can be applied in new standards, textbooks, and understanding of fires and how to fight them.
Icove has developed a graduate-level course at UT, one of the few in the country devoted to forensic engineering.
“We teach students how to take a scientific approach to the aftermath of certain incidents and product failures,” said Icove. “If you can do that and can understand why things happened, then you can try to prevent them in the first place.”
In addition to the latest honor, Icove is a registered professional engineer, a fire and explosion investigator of the National Association of Fire Investigators, a senior life member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and a fellow in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, and has authored textbooks and developed computer models that extend his impact far beyond UT.
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C O N T A C T :
David Goddard (865-974-0683, david.goddard@utk.edu)