Our Team

Damon Fick

Damon FickDamon Fick is a licensed structural engineer in Montana and Minnesota with over 24 years of experience. He practiced as a structural engineer for 6 years designing steel and concrete commercial buildings before pursuing research opportunities that focused on full-scale experimental testing of concrete structures. Damon expanded his research experience while at South Dakota Mines and Montana State University to include steel and masonry structures, innovative bridge designs, and the use of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) materials for wildlife crossings. He serves as a member of the American Concrete Institute’s sub-committees 318-B (Anchorage and Reinforcement) and 318-J (Joints and Connections).

B.S., M.S., Civil Engineering, University, of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Purdue University

damon@wildengineers.com
406-404-4454

Revelant Publications

  • Fick, D., & Bell, M. (2022). Development of Deterioration Curves for Bridge Elements in
    Montana (No. FHWA/MT-22-003/9831-765). Montana. Department of Transportation. Research Programs.
  • Pujol, S., Fick, D.R., Fargier-Gabaldon, L.B. (2021). Test of a 90-foot post-tensioned concrete girder with unbonded tendons, ACI Structural Journal, Vol. 118, No. 5.
  • Caliskan, M., Fick, D. (2019). The Influence of Supplemental Reinforcement in Concrete Breakout Zones Subjected to Shear, Precast Concrete Institute Committee Days and Technical Conference, September 25-28.
  • Johnson, M.G., Skillen, K.C., Fick, D.R., and Stephens, J. (2018). Response of Masonry Infill and Confined Masonry Walls Subjected to Direct Shear, Proceedings of the Eleventh U.S., National Conference on Earthqua Engineering, Los Angeles, CA, July 25-29.
  • Johnson, M.G., Fick, D.R. (2018). Generalized Trends of Severe Damage Observed from Building Surveys of Seven Different Earthquakes, Proceedings of the Eleventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Los Angeles, CA, July 25-29.
  • Barbosa, A. R., Fahnestock, L. A., Fick, D. R., Gautam, D., Soti, R., Wood, R., Moaveni, B., Stavridis, A., Olsen, M. J., and Rodrigues, H. (2017). Performance of Medium-to-High Rise Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings with Masonry Infill in the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, Earthquake, Earthquake Spectra, 33(S1), S197-S218.
  • Fick, D.R., Sozen, M.A., Kreger, M.E. (2017). Response of a Full-Scale Three-Story Flat-Plate Test Structure to Cycles of Increasing Lateral Load, ACI Structural Journal, November, 2017, 114(6): p. 1507-1517.
  • Kuehl, T.W., Fick, D.R. (2017). A Modular Hybrid Steel Truss with Composite Deck for Accelerated Bridge Construction, Proceedings of the National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference, Miami, FL, December 7-8.
  • Fick, D.R. (2014). A Procedure to Estimate the Drift Response of Flat Plate Structures Subjected to Strong Ground Motions, Proceedings of the 10th U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Anchorage, AK, July 21-25.
  • Robinson, M.J., Belzer, B.E., Fick, D.R. (2013). Composite Action of Concrete-Filled Rectangular GFRP Tubes, ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction, September/October, 17(5) p. 722-731.
  • Pujol, S. and Fick, D. (2010). The Test of a Full- Scale Three-Story RC Structure with Masonry Infill Walls, Engineering Structures, October, 32(10): p. 3112-3121.
  • Fick, D.R., Schultz, A.E., Bergson, P., Galambos, T.V. (1998). Montioring and Assessment Program for Wabasha County Bridge, Report no. Mn/DOT 1998-22, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul, MN.

Matthew Bell

Matthew BellMatthew Bell is an Engineer in Training (EIT) and has a unique educational background in wildlife biology and civil engineering with over a decade of experience within the two fields. He has mapped wildlife- vehicle collisions to create risk maps to increase road network, as well as analyze bridge inspection data to optimize maintenance activities for state DOTs. As a Road Ecology Engineer, he has experience in all facets of the placement and design of wildlife crossing infrastructure. From collecting wildlife data and using GIS for spatial analyses, modeling, and mapping to site assessments for structure placement and design, Mat has the experience to complete any mitigation challenge. His background includes knowledge of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) and other sustainable materials for use in bridge, transportation, and wildlife crossing infrastructure. His combination of statistical approaches and creative designs have added value to decisions made by resource managers, engineers, and planners that increase public safety and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions along roadways. He has been involved with research and conservation issues pertaining to a wide variety of species and landscapes since childhood and is able to apply this understanding to any ecological setting.

B.S., Wildlife Biology, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
M.S., Civil Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana

matthew@wildengineers.com
406-579-5916

Relevant publications:

  • Bell, M., Ament, R., Fick, D., & Huijser, M. (2022). Improving Connectivity: Innovative Fiber- Reinforced Polymer Structures for Wildlife, Bicyclists, and/or Pedestrians. Nevada Department of Transportation.
  • Huijser, M. P., Ament, R. J., Bell, M., Clevenger, A. P., Fairbank, E. R., Gunson, K. E., & McGuire, T. (2021). Animal Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity, Nevada Department of Transportation.
  • R. Ament, M. Bell, and M. Wittie (2021). Federal Lands Animal-Vehicle Collision Data Coordination Project Phase 3, National Center for Rural Road Safety.
  • R. Ament, G. Stonecipher, M. Butynski, T. Creech, A. P. Clevenger, A. Neelakantan, et al. (2021). Final Report: Building a foundation for linear infrastructure safeguards in Asia, Contract no. AID-OAA-I-15-00051/ AIDOAA-TO-16-00028, ESS WA#13, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • T. Creech, G. Stonecipher, M. Bell, A. P. Clevenger, and R. Ament (2021). Annex 1: Spatial analyses of linear infrastructure threats to biodiversity in Asia, in Building a foundation for linear infrastructure safeguards in Asia, Contract no. AID-OAA-I-15-00051/ AIDOAA-TO-16-00028, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • M. P. Huijser, R. J. Ament, M. Bell, A. P. Clevenger, E. R. Fairbank, K. E. Gunson, and T. McGuire (2021). Animal vehicle collision reduction and habitat connectivity study, Literature review, Report No. 701-18-803 TO 1, Transportation Pooled-Fund Project TPF-5(358).
  • Bell, M., Fick, D., Ament, R., & Lister, N. M. (2020). The Use of Fiber-Reinforced Polymers in Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure. Sustainability, 12(4), 1557.
  • Ament, R., Hall, K., Bell, M., & Wittie, M. (2019). Federal Lands Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Data Coordination Project Phase 2. National Center for Rural Road Safety.
  • Bell, M. A. (2019). An investigation modeling risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Montana, USA (Master’s Thesis), Montana State University-Bozeman, Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.