Background
Mr. James N. Pyatt holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering with a Geotechnical Engineering emphasis and is a licensed professional engineer in Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas. He has over 37 years of experience in the geotechnical engineering, construction material testing, and forensic evaluation fields.
Over the past 13 years, Mr. Pyatt has focused much of his expertise on investigating cause and origin of damage to various properties. He has performed well over 1300 engineering investigations on residential, commercial, and industrial properties evaluating site issues, including foundation settlement investigations, grading and erosion evaluations, construction vibration damage, mine subsidence damage, slope stability and retaining wall evaluations, moisture intrusion/water damage, fungal growth evaluations, tornado and storm damage, structural damage, fire damage, vehicle impact and tree impact damage, roofing evaluations, and construction defect determinations. Mr. Pyatt has assisted insurance company clients by functioning as appraiser and umpire on various matters and has provided depositions and courtroom testimony on numerous occasions.
Mr. Pyatt’s past geotechnical engineering experience includes work on a range of projects including office/warehouse facilities, retail buildings, schools, multi-story buildings, residential developments as well as public works projects such as embankment dams, wastewater plants, and roadways. He has used his extensive technical expertise to design shallow and deep foundations, geogrid reinforced concrete modular block and gravity retaining walls, and earthwork solutions. He has performed expansive clay remediation analysis, slope analysis, and remediation, and engineered sheet piling solutions, site preloading systems with wick drains, seismic and liquefaction studies, dam and levee underseepage analysis, settlement analysis, subsurface mine impact studies, and sinkhole evaluations. He has also designed pavement systems, wastewater lagoon liners, shoring systems, and augered cast-in-place pile foundations.
Education and Certifications
- Civil Engineering, B.S.: University of Missouri-Rolla (1985)
- Civil Engineering, M.S.: University of Missouri-Rolla (1987)
- Professional Engineer: Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas
- A.V.E. Volunteer: Missouri State Emergency Management Agency
Publications
- “Urban Sinkholes: Geologic versus Non-Geologic Formations, Distress, and Remediation.” American Society of Civil Engineers Forensic Engineering Congress 2024, James N. Pyatt, P.E., and Kurt A. Bergman, P.E., 2024.
- “Evaluation of Structural and Consequential Damage Resulting from Vehicle Impacts to Residential Structures.” American Society of Civil Engineers Forensic Engineering Congress 2022, Aaron J. Trenshaw, P.E., and James N. Pyatt, P.E., 2022.
- “Pullout Resistance of Geogrids in Sand.” Transportation Research Record 1188, Transportation Research Board, Rodney W. Lentz and James N. Pyatt, 1988