Research Highlight - MMI NSF-Grantees Conference

UM-CEE faculty and students attended the 2009 CMMI NSF-Grantees Conference in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii, organized by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition to attending conference sessions and activities, some of them also found time to get together and hike up Diamond Head. According to locals, early seafaring visitors saw the hill glinting in the sun, as if studded with numerous diamonds. Eager explorers were disappointed to find that the scintillations were caused by reflections off a worthless mineral, nevertheless the name stuck.

The CMMI conference, which showcased research sponsored by the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division at NSF, drew about 1,500 CMMI Grantees from all over the country. Attendees presented posters, gave talks about their research projects and discussed the latest trends in research. Profs. El-Tawil, Hansen, Kamat, Lynch, Michalowski and their students presented work on a wide range of topics including: computational modeling of building collapse, rapid reconnaissance for seismic damage using augmented reality technology, behavior and design of new fiber reinforced cementitious composites for blast loading applications, new hybrid experimental/computational methods for simulating the effects of earthquakes on structures, multiscale modeling of pavement response, situational awareness technology and its application to construction activities, and the effect of seismic loading on pipeline integrity and response.

UM-CEE faculty and students hike up Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii. Left to right in the picture: Prof. Radoslaw Michalowski , Prof. Will Hansen, Remy Lequesne (grad student), Prof. Vineet Kamat, Chung Chan Hung (grad student), Prof. Sherif El-tawil. (Not Pictured Prof. Jerry Lynch).