Personal profile
Research Interests
Bridge Structural Health Monitoring
Bridge Scour
Bridge Instrumentation and Performance Monitoring
Bridge Decision Support Systems
Vehicle-Bridge Interaction modeling
Signal Processing
Structural Engineering
Interests
I am a lecturer in Structural Engineering at Queen's University Belfast. I have a number of years experience as a design engineer working primarily on bridge design and assessment and I am member of Engineers Ireland. I have been involved in teaching a number structural design modules within the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering.
Teaching
(past)
CIV 4027 - Design & Communication
CIV 4031 - Architectural Design Studies 4
CIV 1019 – Engineering Drawing and Design
Research Interests
Current research focuses on developing a decision support system for bridge managers. This work involves engaging with stakeholders to identifying what metrics are useful to bridge managers and then trying to develop sensing and data interpretation systems that will deliver these metrics. This work involves applying the latest sensing technologies to the particular challenge of bridge sensing (e.g. absence of power, limitations of data transmission and the difficulty in accessing some parts of the structure). I am also working on relating global bridge measurements to foundation scour.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R3464NBE: (ARISE) - Assembly and Robotics In Steel Building Erection
McPolin, D. (PI), Hester, D. (CoI) & Rafferty, K. (CoI)
02/11/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R1692NBE: Revolutionising Operational Safety and Economy for High-value Infrastructure using Population-based
Hester, D. (PI), Lydon, M. (CoI), Taylor, S. (CoI) & Woods, R. (CoI)
30/06/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R1798NBE: Advanced Sensors and Modelling for Next-generation Bridge Management
Hester, D. (PI)
25/09/2017 → 11/08/2019
Project: Research
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R3717CIV: Camera-Based Bridge Safety Monitoring
Taylor, S. (PI), Hester, D. (CoI) & Robinson, D. (CoI)
27/08/2015 → 30/06/2019
Project: Research
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Advancing PEAR: development of a Bridge Benchmark Datasets for PBSHM research
O'Higgins, C., Gowdridge, T., Hester, D., Worden, K. & Brennan, D. S., 01 Sept 2025, 13th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (SHMII-13): Proceedings. Werner, L. & Krüger, M. (eds.). Technische Universität Graz, p. 864-872 9 p. (International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure: Proceedings).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
A methodology for data collection and aggregation in population-based structural health monitoring ecosystems
Lim, D. R., Ferguson, A. J., Brennan, D. S., Hester, D. & Woods, R., 01 Sept 2025, 13th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure SHMII-13 : Proceedings. Werner, L. & Krüger, M. (eds.). Technische Universität Graz, p. 849-855 7 p. (International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure: Proceedings).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile113 Downloads (Pure) -
Investigating damage detection via short-term ambient rotation monitoring campaigns
Ferguson, A. J., Hester, D. & Woods, R., 18 May 2025, IABSE Symposium Tokyo 2025. Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures: Focusing on Sustainable Approaches : Proceedings. International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), p. 1235-1243 9 p. (IABSE Symposium Tokyo 2025: Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures: Focusing on Sustainable Approaches - Report).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
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On the normalisation and mapping of influence lines
Ferguson, A. J., Hester, D., Huseynov, F., Kim, C.-W., Brownjohn, J., Woods, R. & Bull, L. A., 15 Aug 2025, In: Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 237, 112883.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)70 Downloads (Pure) -
Removal of drive-by vehicle components using transfer functions with experimental investigation
Feng, K., Taylor, S., Hester, D., Fayyad, T., Zou, G., Lydon, M. & Early, J., Jan 2025, In: Structures. 71, 14 p., 108025.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
4 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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Aftab Mufti Medal for The Best Journal Paper in 2017 in the Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring
Hester, D. (Recipient) & Taylor, S. (Recipient), 07 Aug 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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"Editor's Choice Article" award from the journal 'Sensors'
Hester, D. (Recipient), Jan 2025
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
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Sensing and Field Testing for Civil SHM: Experience, Challenges & Future Directions
Hester, D. (Organiser)
08 Sept 2025 → 09 Sept 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Population Based Structural Health Monitoring (PBSHM) application to bridges
Hester, D. (Invited speaker)
04 Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Population Based Structural Health Monitoring for Bridges
Hester, D. (Invited speaker)
Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Population Based Structural Health Monitoring for bridges: experience and future directions
Hester, D. (Keynote speaker)
22 May 2025 → 24 May 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference
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University of Nottingham (External organisation)
Hester, D. (Reviewer)
May 2025Activity: Membership types › Membership of peer review panel or committee