Dr. Melissa Burton
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD Wind Engineering, BASc
Mechanical Engineering,
AFFILIATIONS
CEng IMechE, Vice Chairman
ASCE sub-committee “Designing
for Wind-Induced Motion in Tall
Buildings”
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Dr. Melissa Burton joined BMT Fluid Mechanics in 2011 as Regional Manager for the Americas. She is a wind
engineering expert with recognized contributions in the effects of wind-induced vibration on occupant comfort.
Her previous over ten years’ experience in the field involved working as principal engineer or technical expert for
the wind engineering studies on hundreds of international projects. She has extensive experience in wind
tunnel testing and computational numerical analysis, investigating wind issues such as wind loading and
dynamic response for high-rise buildings, stadiums, and long-span roof structures.
She is an accomplished advisor on microclimate strategies and helps to provide early identification of design
issues which may lead to adverse microclimate response. Her technical expertise in microclimate assessment
ranges from wind comfort, dispersion analysis, external and internal wind pressures, wind tower positioning,
natural ventilation, and thermal comfort. In addition, she has been involved in developing climate models for
various wind codes and has experience in full-scale monitoring of tall building motion and water flume
visualization.
Melissa gained professional qualification as a mechanical engineer at the University of Waterloo in Canada and
then later obtained her PhD in wind engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She
has both lived and worked in the USA, UK and Asia and has a global portfolio of project work.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Dr. Melissa Burton’s professional experience covers a range of fields in mechanical and structural engineering
with a strong emphasis on tall building developments and microclimate applications for masterplanning.
Specific recent project involvement has amongst others included the following key projects:
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432 Park Avenue, New York, USA
Maiden Lane, New York, USA
Atlanta Falcons Stadium, Atlanta, USA
Kyle Field, College Station, USA
118 Fulton Street, New York, USA
Las Vegas Wheel, Las Vegas, USA
Miami World Center, Miami, USA
Columbia Tower, Seattle, USA
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Chow Tai Fok Tower, Guangzhou, China
Tianjin 117, Tianjin, China
Leadenhall Tower, London, UK
Central International, Bogota, Columbia
Singapore Sports Hub, Singapore
Los Faros de Panama, Panama
Southern Star Observation Wheel, Australia
Heart of Doha Masterplan, Doha, Qatar
MELISSA BURTON • +1.917.324.5501 • [email protected]