DesignSafe Radio

Pedro Fernandez-Caban Assistant Professor Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering   Episode 1: Designing roofs to resist hurricane winds Wind engineer Pedro Fernández-Cabán conducts experiments at the NHERI University of Florida wind tunnel, trying to discover how to prevent roof failure in low-rise buildings during hurricanes. In this episode he describes how he use...

Episode 2: StEER reconnaissance: how does it work? StEER’s Stephanie Pilkington covers virtual damage assessments, travel and data-sharing logistics, and the business of deciding the types of damage data to collect. Field-mission complexities include coordinating w/local authorities and EM teams – and federal agencies like FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and in the case of hurricanes, NOAA (the...

Episode 1: Post event reconnaissance with StEER, the Structural Engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance network   Engineer and UNC professor Stephanie Pilkington introduces the StEER network, a group of volunteer experts who perform post-event recon missions after extreme events like hurricanes and earthquakes. Learn about StEER data collecting and how you can get involved.   Visit the StEER web...

Reid Zimmerman, PE, SE Technical Director, KPFF Consulting Engineers Two approaches to engineering. For the NHERI Tallwood research project, practicing engineer Reid Zimmerman has been working with engineers in academia to produce a full-scale, 10-story wood building. The Tallwood structure is an experimental specimen that also looks and functions like a “real,” engineer-designed building. In this...

NHERI Tallwood Megaproject: a research and industry partnership. DesignSafe Radio host Dan Zehner catches up with Jeff Berman, NHERI Tallwood co-PI and earthquake engineer from the University of Washington. Berman explains how “mega-projects” like Tallwood simply can’t be done without significant collaboration between academia and industry experts at companies such as Simpson Strong-Tie, Swinerton...

EPISODE 3 NHERI Tallwood: Testing earthquake performance of mass timber products In our final episode with NHERI Tallwood co-PI Jeff Berman, we learn about some of the wood products used in this 10-story wood structure — such as mass-plywood panels, cross-laminated timber, and laminated veneer lumber. Industry partners like Boise Cascade and Freres Engineered Wood have donated many mass-timber com...

NHERI Tallwood: Rocking walls in tall buildings. In our second episode with NHERI Tallwood co-PI Jeff Berman, we nerd out on “rocking walls.” How do these seismic-protection systems keep tall structures safe during earthquake shaking?   The NHERI Tallwood project is funded by the National Science Foundation, with support from many industry partners.   Follow the NHERI Tallwood project via the live...

NHERI Tallwood Megaproject: a research and industry partnership. DesignSafe Radio host Dan Zehner catches up with Jeff Berman, NHERI Tallwood co-PI and earthquake engineer from the University of Washington. Berman explains how “mega-projects” like Tallwood simply can’t be done without significant collaboration between academia and industry experts at companies such as Simpson Strong-Tie, Swinerton...

U of Nevada earthquake engineer Keri Ryan shows us the external wall units on the 10-story NHERI Tallwood building: spandrels with ribbon windows and glass curtain walls, called mullions. Architects as well as engineers want to see how such non-structural elements perform under earthquake loading. During the March 2023 shake table test, more than 750 sensor channels will record behaviors like drif...

In this episode, earthquake engineer and #NHERITallwood co-PI Keri Ryan gets specific about #NHERITallwood nonstructural components: non-loadbearing walls — elements extremely prone to earthquake drift and damage. Ryan shows us the cold-formed-steel exterior-wall subassemblies and some of the innovative building components that can prevent non-structural deformations due to ground shaking. CEMCO @...

In this special DSR episode, earthquake engineer Keri Ryan takes us on a 20-minute walking tour of the NHERI Tallwood structure. See the 10-story mass-timber building under construction — from the outside in! This milestone experiment is taking place at UC San Diego on the world’s largest outdoor shake table. For the first time, researchers are developing and validating a resilient seismic design...

Today we chat with Keri Ryan, a co-principal investigator on the NHERI Tallwood project. We catch up with her onsite at the enormous UC San Diego shake table, a NHERI experimental facility. Ryan, an earthquake engineer at University of Nevada Reno, provides a succinct primer on the Tallwood research project, a 10-story wood building designed to resist earthquake loads. Curious? More background on...

Machine-learning expert Krishna Kumar joins host Dan Zehner to discuss the annual NHERI Hackathon. Kumar details this exciting event, which takes place every year at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Leveraging DesignSafe data and computational resources, participants have three days to code solutions to natural hazards problems using machine learning. Kumar is an assistant professor in civil a...

The full interview episode with Stanford-based structural engineer Barbara Simpson — in person at the Oregon State University Wave Laboratory, a NHERI experimental facility.

What’s it like to be a young woman in engineering? Barbara Simpson shares some undergraduate and PhD experiences and talks about the importance of having positive, confidence-building mentors. Now a research engineer at Stanford University, she says, “This is where I was meant to be.” Ultimately, she says, diversity in engineering makes for more ideas, perspective and fun. Follow Simpson’s blog: h...

Onsite at the NHERI OSU wave laboratory, Dan Zehner and Barb Simpson talk about “real time hybrid simulation.” This technique joins numeric models with physical experimentation enables engineers to deal with those pesky problems of scale. In a current project, Simpson is studying wind, wave, and soil behavior at play in offshore wind turbines — which in 2016 had average hub-heights of over 330 fee...

Today we have an exciting meet-up with Stanford-based structural engineer Barbara Simpson — in person at the Oregon State University Wave Laboratory, a NHERI experimental facility. Simpson’s passionate about building computer programming skills in undergraduate engineers, particularly those in underrepresented groups who may lack such experience. She applies parallel processing in her own investig...

Today we delve into engineering education with Jeremy Waisome, instructional assistant professor at the University of Florida. As well as being an engineer and researcher, Waisome is an eloquent science communicator. She’s dedicated to educating the next generation of engineers — and the public — about vital engineering concepts. Among her many roles, she leads education and outreach efforts at th...

In our final episode featuring Jeremy Waisome from the NHERI University of Florida facility, we learn the importance of exposing high school and college students to engineering education as a college major. Waisome explains enriching opportunities such as the NHERI Research Experiences for Undergraduates program and the importance of having role models and mentors who come from one’s own community...

Misconceptions about engineering. Engineering educator Jeremy Waisome describes a variety of pathways to engineering and why having a diverse workforce is so important. “There’s so much that we underestimate what we do as engineers — and the impact it has on other people’s lives.” she says. At the University of Florida, Waisome trains high school teachers at Title 1 schools to incorporate engineer...

Today we delve into engineering education with Jeremy Waisome, instructional assistant professor at the University of Florida. As well as being an engineer and researcher, Waisome is an eloquent science communicator. She’s dedicated to educating the next generation of engineers — and the public — about vital engineering concepts. Among her many roles, she leads education and outreach efforts at th...

Tune in for our full interview with NHERI RAPID Director Joe Wartman. After major earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, the RAPID team springs into action with specialized tools for data reconnaissance missions. Wartman discusses the RAPID equipment, key missions — and how engineers use perishable data to make our communities more resilient. #NSFfunded #naturalhazards #engineering #research  LinkedI...

Since operations began in 2018, the NHERI RAPID facility has deployed reconnaissance teams and equipment to more than 80 sites around the world. Director Joe Wartman describes several, including a mission to Florida after Hurricane Michael that helped change building codes and an emergency deployment to Miami after the Surfside Condo collapse in 2021.  #naturalhazards #reconnaissance #datareuse #b...

What happens after a reconnaissance mission using NHERI RAPID tools? In this episode of DesignSafe Radio, RAPID director Joe Wartman discusses the post-processing phase, when collected perishable data gets converted into a form researchers can use. The RAPID team, with its knowledge and experience, smooths the way for research teams — from planning to obtaining practical output.  https://rapid.des...

Facility director Joe Wartman details the NHERI RAPID tool kit. Natural hazards reconnaissance teams can deploy the RAPID’s laser scanners, drones, multi-spectrum cameras, listening devices – even a bathymetry boat. With many years of collective field experience, the RAPID team itself provides invaluable technical expertise. https://rapid.designsafe-ci.org/ #NSFfunded #naturalhazards #extremeEvent...