Dr. Kurata completed his graduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2009 and conducted two-year post-doctoral research at University of Michigan. Prior to attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, he received his B.S. degree in Architecture, M.S. degree in Architectural Engineering from Kyoto University, and M.S. degree in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology at the ROSE School, University of Pavia, Italy. His current research interests are in the areas of post-disaster structural damage screening, self-diagnosable passive damping system and sustainable structural rehabilitation and repairs.