In our second episode with natural hazards engineer Jason DeJong, we learn about biogeotechnics — a field that links biology and the natural world with engineering. 

DeJong explains how researchers at NHERI UC Davis have learned to use bacteria to chemically bind sand particles and create high-strength soils — that are resistant to liquefaction. It’s called biomediated ground improvement. A related approach, called biomimicry or bioinspired engineering, seeks to imitate natural designs. For example, engineers at UC Davis study snake skin to design more efficient piles.

“How can we push more towards bio systems that can be that much more efficient.”

On this episode, natural hazards Jason DeJong discusses the experimental centrifuges, including the giant nine-meter centrifuge, at the UC Davis Center for Geotechnical Modeling, a NHERI facility. DeJong explains how rapidly spinning centrifuges create “hypergravity” — a force up to 200 Gs — to study how structures and soil withstand natural hazards. 

Here’s how it works: researchers place a physical model in the centrifuge bucket and subject it to a high-speed, hypergravity field. Then, using equations, they scale the loading forces proportionate to the model. This crazy, high-speed environment, enables scientists to see and measure the stresses of earthquakes, waves and wind on natural and built environments.

“That proportional scale is amazing. We can simulate real-world systems that we can’t really do any other way.” - Jason DeJong

Jason DeJong  

NHERI UC Davis Centrifuge

Don’t miss our full interview with Ian Robertson on today’s episode. We are discussing the NHERI Science Plan, a long-term guide to addressing gaps in natural hazards engineering research. Robertson explains this community-driven document and how it is evolving in the upcoming third edition to incorporate aspects of hazard simulation, modeling tools, and social science integration. 

Download a copy for a fascinating look at the work ahead in natural hazards engineering research. 

https://www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/nco/science-plan/

Ian Robertson discusses the third edition of the Science Plan, a living document for natural hazards to consult as they design their individual research projects. Version three of the NHERI Science Plan incorporates key uses of simulation and modeling tools, social science approaches such as policy and economics, as well as the NSF-funded Extreme Events Reconnaissance teams — who do field research after an earthquake or a hurricane.

Be sure to download a copy for a fascinating look at the work ahead in natural hazards engineering research. https://www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/nco/science-plan/

In this episode, NHERI’s Ian Robertson discusses how natural hazards engineers quantify how well they are addressing the big problems, sometimes called “grand challenges.” For civil engineers, success is often measured by the incorporation of new designs into building codes. Robertson discusses the long-term processes for getting ideas for resilient structures into actual practice. For instance, the NHERI Science Plan highlights high-impact areas for study and provides examples of the kinds of research needed to get into code — and address the grand challenges.

“By incorporating social science in our engineering research, we can be more cognizant of how it is going to impact society.” - Ian Robertson 

Find details and download the NHERI Science Plan:

https://www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/nco/science-plan/

The NHERI Science Plan is a long-term guide to addressing gaps in natural hazards engineering research. NHERI’s Ian Robertson provides background on this community-driven document, its purpose, history and evolution. He reveals updates that will be included in the upcoming third edition, which will incorporate aspects of hazards simulation and social science integration.

The Science Plan is an excellent heuristic for early-career researchers, who can use it to hone in on high-impact problems.  

Find details and download the NHERI Science Plan:

https://www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/nco/science-plan/

In our third and final episode with Lori Peek of the NHERI CONVERGE facility, we learn how to get involved in extreme events research (EER). Formal education or training is not required. Peek directs listeners to the CONVERGE website for details on the NSF-funded extreme events groups to see which appeal to you. You can join more than one. 

The data collected by EER groups goes toward engineering research, but Peek says that by working with local communities, there are ways to apply damage mitigation lessons directly, from the bottom up.

Lastly, Peek urges anyone interested in disaster research to explore other CONVERGE resources. The CONVERGE modules help train people to conduct field research.

NHERI CONVERGE website: https://converge.colorado.edu/

List of extreme events research groups: https://converge.colorado.edu/research-networks/

NHERI CONVERGE training modules and other resources: https://converge.colorado.edu/resources/

In our second episode with Lori Peek of the NHERI CONVERGE facility, Peek discusses the social infrastructure that enables extreme events reconnaissance (EER) teams to work together on NSF-funded natural hazards research. She explains the NHERI Leadership Corps and how this coordinating group unites researchers from different disciplines — from engineers to social scientists to data scientists. She also gives examples of how EER teams differ in their actions and membership. Lastly, Peek describes the shared commitment among EER teams, to gather and share their data publicly on the NHERI DesignSafe cyberinfrastructure — so the full gamut of multidisciplinary natural hazards data is available for the entire research community to build on.

Related Links:

NHERI CONVERGE Facility

University of Colorado Boulder Converge Facility 

Lori Peek, NHERI CONVERGE Principal Investigator 

In this episode of DesignSafe Radio, host Dan Zehner interviews Lori Peek, principal investigator for the NHERI CONVERGE facility, based at the University of Colorado Boulder. Peek is also professor of sociology at UC Boulder and director of the Natural Hazards Center at UC Boulder.

Peek explains how, within NHERI, CONVERGE represents the intersection of social science with engineering. For CONVERGE, the focus is on hazards in general, and how they affect populations, and less on specific types of disasters and natural hazards.

CONVERGE represents cross disciplinary work, between engineers and social scientists, and it’s particularly notable with the “Extreme Events Reconnaissance” groups that CONVERGE administers. Peek describes the seven “EERs” supported by NSF that collaborate and communicate under the CONVERGE umbrella:

• GEER, Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance
• SSEER, Social Science Extreme Events Research
• StEER, Structural Extreme Event Reconnaissance
• NEER, Nearshore Extreme Event Reconnaissance
• OSEER, Operations and Systems Engineering Extreme Events Research
• SUMEER, Sustainable Material Management Extreme Events Reconnaissance
• ISSEER, Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Extreme Events Research

Related Links:

NHERI CONVERGE Facility

University of Colorado Boulder Converge Facility 

Lori Peek, NHERI CONVERGE Principal Investigator 

This episode is our full interview with NHERI REU students. The students are Adithya Salil Nair from the Ohio State University, Claire Sorensen from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and William Zakka from University of Texas Austin. 

The full interview episode is also available on Youtube!

Related Links:

NHERI REU Summer Program Information

Meet the REU Students

NHERI Simcenter