About

Alexander C. Schreyer is a Senior Lecturer II, Interim Department Head of Environmental Conservation, and Program Director of Building and Construction Technology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His leadership roles involve overseeing a large department with responsibilities that include strategic and academic planning, personnel management, facilities, and resource stewardship. Since 2013, he has shaped the growth of the Building and Construction Technology program through innovative curriculum development, industry partnerships, and a focus on student success. Schreyer contributed to the development of the John W. Olver Design Building, a landmark mass timber facility that integrates research, teaching, and practice across three colleges, and established Trimble's first worldwide Technology Lab on campus to advance digital building and geospatial education. His expertise bridges structural engineering, wood science, and digital design technologies, with particular depth in mass timber structural systems, building materials, construction methods, and technology applications in architecture, engineering, and construction. He teaches courses in Building Information Modeling (BIM), 3D design, wood properties, and construction materials, mentoring students from undergraduate advising through graduate supervision.

Research topics

• Structural engineering
• Materials science
• Engineering
• Composite material
• Geometry
• Mathematics
• Geology

Selected publications

• Design of Mass Timber Columns and Walls for Gravity Loads

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  This chapter describes the behavior and design of columns and walls under pure axial compression forces, and discusses their response and design when subjected to combined compression and bending forces. Designers most often rely on tables or specialized software for compression member design. Bearing stress parallel to grain occurs when wood members bear on end grain, either with other wood members or with metal plates or strips. Bearing stresses are applied at an angle to the grain, such as at the support of a sloped roof panel. The chapter demonstrates some examples of axial compression design for glulam and cross-laminated timber using the allowable stress design procedure. Columns experience pure compression stresses while beams experience bending stresses, shear stresses, and bearing stresses.

  PublisherDOI

• Case Study 3: Origine in Québec City, QC

  2026-01-16

  otherOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Structural Design Methodology for Mass Timber

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  This chapter introduces the fundamental design code in the United States for all wood and wood products, including mass timber – the National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction. It describes how designers make structural decisions using one of two possible design methodologies: Allowable stress design (ASD) or Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD). The NDS has a companion document called the NDS Supplement or simply the NDS-S. LRFD replaced ASD for steel and concrete because it offers a more rational approach to safety and reliability. The only way to truly know how strong something is, is to break it. As such, reference design values for all mass timber products are derived from experimental testing. Due to wood's many unique characteristics, there are a large number of adjustment factors for wood: some are applicable to certain products or applications while others are more universally applicable.

  PublisherDOI

• Mass Timber in the Building Codes

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  While mass timber buildings may appear as a recent phenomenon in architecture, it should be noted that solid and glue-laminated timber have been covered by various building codes for a long time. This chapter explores how building codes address mass timber structures and lays out what and how one can build with this material option. One building-code-sanctioned form of construction has become popular in recent years, mainly for light-frame residential buildings like apartments and hotels: podium construction. Once a feasible construction type has been determined, a set of detailed specifications need to be followed for the building design that cover minimum sizes, material options, and fire-resistance requirements. As is common practice, the IBC does not include all specifications in its text but rather references for various product and design standards that then become mandatory rules in jurisdictions where the IBC is implemented.

  PublisherDOI

• Wood as a Building Material

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  The fact that wood is a natural building material provides it with many benefits. This chapter examines wood, its growth, and related properties: grain and cell structure, defects, the relationship between wood and water, dimensional stability, and various deterioration mechanisms (fungal decay, insects, weathering, and fire), as well as ways to address those. Trees can broadly be classified into two categories: softwoods and hardwoods. Many factors impact the geographic establishment of a particular tree species. From a biological perspective, tree growth starts with a process called photosynthesis. As a tree grows, it extends branches from its trunk outward and toward any available light. Wood's mechanical properties are evaluated in only two: parallel to the grain and perpendicular to the grain. Wood and water have an important relationship: Trees need water to live and prosper. An important concept that underlies the wood–water relationship is wood's hygroscopicity .

  PublisherDOI

• Mass Timber Building Systems and Their Layout

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  This chapter serves as a concise guide to the most important aspects a designer must consider for mass timber buildings, along with associated best practices – a kind of “cheat sheet” for any building project. It provides a high-level overview of the many early design choices that mass timber designers face, outlining the available options along with their respective advantages and disadvantages. Owing to tree growth patterns and the resulting natural directionality of wood fiber in all wood-based products, wooden buildings generally exhibit certain basic material characteristics and typologies. Building-level layout concepts include choosing the structural system, panel layout, span capacities and optimization, primary/secondary beam hierarchy, interruptions in load flow and cantilevers, and long-span solutions. Detail-level concepts include column continuity, beam-column connections, panel connections, general connection considerations, and acoustics and vibration.

  PublisherDOI

• Mass Timber Fasteners

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  This chapter covers many fastener types available to the timber designer today. It explains the structural behavior and design procedures of the fasteners. Screws are extremely versatile fasteners for mass timber and other wood structures. Nails are the simplest wood fasteners and are widely used in light-frame construction. Many heavy-load connections employ either bolts or drift pins as fasteners between the steel and the wood. In addition to mass-produced screws, nails, and bolts/dowels, there are many other types of connection hardware that are pre-engineered and can be used in standard and/or custom-designed situations. Of all the connection types, glued connections are by far the stiffest. To protect a fastener against corrosion and improve its durability, manufacturers are adding various treatments during the fastener's production process. These can include: coating, galvanizing and several combined coating types.

  PublisherDOI

• Mass Timber Systems for Lateral Loads

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  A structure composed strictly of beams and columns may be adequate to carry gravity loads, but without bracing or other means, it will lack the ability to resist lateral loads. This chapter discusses different types of mass timber lateral systems and the fundamentals of their design. Lateral loads are those that act horizontally on buildings. High winds can generate substantial loads within a structure. Seismic forces are generated in buildings when the ground moves during an earthquake. Vertical ground motion also occurs during earthquakes, leading to vertical seismic forces in buildings. The effective transfer of lateral forces between lateral force-resisting systems elements is fundamentally reliant on well-designed connections. Diaphragm stiffness is influenced by the materials and composition of the diaphragm as well as its aspect ratio.

  PublisherDOI

• Design of Mass Timber Beams and Panels for Gravity Loads

  2026-01-16

  otherSenior author

  This chapter explores the design procedures for mass timber beams and panels in bending. It presents an overview of beam statics and strength of materials. The chapter then introduces design analyses addressing bending, shear, and deflection checks to ensure compliance with code-specified strength and deflection criteria. It provides several hand calculation examples and guidance on how to work with manufacturer design aids to streamline the design process. The chapter also provides a brief overview of beam behavior within the framework of material mechanics, assuming that the reader is already familiar with the principles of mechanics. Beam reactions occur at the supports as a result of applied loads. The chapter then provides some of the more common beam types and loading cases for mass timber. The deflection check ensures that the maximum beam deflection will be less than or equal to prescribed deflection limits.

  PublisherDOI

• Index

  2026-01-16

  otherOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Peggi L. Clouston

  16 shared

• A. Bahmanzad

  ORCID

  8 shared

• Sanjay R. Arwade

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  7 shared

• Leander Bathon

  RheinMain University of Applied Sciences

  5 shared

• Frank Lam

  University of British Columbia

  4 shared

• Helmut G. L. Prion

  4 shared

• Niloufar Khoshbakht

  4 shared

• Zhuo Yang

  1 shared

Education

• M.A.Sc., Wood Science

  The University of British Columbia

  2002

• Dipl.-Ing., Civil Engineering

  RheinMain University of Applied Sciences

  1998