EARTHQUAKES, TSUNAMIS, TORNADOES and other natural disasters strike with little or no warning. By developing new computer tools to evaluate buildings, utility networks and other infrastructure, Oregon State is helping communities to reduce damage and speed recovery.
Oregon State is part of the Community Resilience Center of Excellence located at Colorado State University, which has received support from a five-year, $20 million U.S. Department of Commerce grant.
“Engineering plays a big role in how resilient the built environment is in response to a variety of hazards,” says Daniel Cox, professor in the Oregon State School of Civil and Construction Engineering and associate director for the center.
Oregon State leads the Cascadia Lifeline Program, a research initiative with government and private industry to help improve critical infrastructure performance during a major Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. Oregon State faculty have also contributed to the Oregon Resilience Plan, an initiative to mitigate damage from that earthquake and the resulting tsunami.
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