Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Jean-Pierre Bardet

National Civil Engineering Department Heads Meetings

Portland, OR May 27, 2009

Research in Civil Engineering

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Outline

1.Reports on Earthquakes

2.Virtual Earthquakes

3.Conclusion

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

NAE Grand Challenges• NAE Grand Engineering Challenges

• Serve as a call to action and a focal point for society’s attention to quality of life issues.

• Address complex social, climate, and technological problems as well as global human problems that will require multidisciplinary teams of engineers working with policy makers, industry professionals, and social scientists in focused problem solving communication.

• In the 21st century, civil engineers will have to play a pivotal role while scientists and other engineers explore • genomic structure of life• build nano-materials• extend life spans• assemble huge information systems• connect cultures via social networks.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

NAE Grand Challenges• Civil engineers will have to innovate as population grows and

demographics changes. • They will have to resolve challenges from

• unprecedented urbanization• increasing consumption of resource• national security• global climate change, economic globalization• pressures from poverty.

• They will face daunting challenges such as • new energy sources• warmer planet due to excess of greenhouse gases• flooding of coastal developments due to sea- level rise• aging and inadequate infrastructures in cities and megacities

with large, dense populations.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

USC and Megacities• In 2007 USC found its big vision by focusing its research

directions on the challenges of megacities like Los Angeles. • Mega-cities with more than 10 million people exemplify urban

challenges caused by population growth, urban migration and globalization

• Megacities will have to• Become safer and more livable, • Have a sustainable environment, • clean air and drinking water, • and less traffic congestion.

• November 2007, thanks to Sonny Astani, a developer in downtown Los Angeles, our Department received the largest naming gift ever to be bestowed to a department of civil and environmental engineering in the Nation

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Sessions• 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM: Session 1: J. P. Bardet

• Big picture in engineering and civil engineering

• Richard Richard Miller, Olin College

• President Blaine Leonard, ASCE

• 3:00 PM – 3:30:PM: Break

• 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Session 2: George Blandford

• Research, government incentives, and engineering practice.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Survey

Stro

ngly

dis

agre

e

Dis

agre

e

Neu

tral

Agre

e

Stro

ngly

agr

ee

Stro

ngly

dis

agre

e

Dis

agre

e

Neu

tral

Agre

e

Stro

ngly

agr

ee

1

Make solar energy economical 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

2Provide energy from fusion 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

3

Develop carbon sequestration methods

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

4Manage the nitrogen cycle 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

5Provide access to clean water 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

6

Restore and improve urban infrastructure

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

7Advance health informatics 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

8Engineer better medicines 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

9Reverse-engineer the brain 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

10Prevent nuclear terror 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

11Secure cyberspace 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

12Enhance virtual reality 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

13Advance personalized learning 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

14

Engineeri the tools of scientific discovery

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Relevance to CE Importance to society

NAE 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering CE Department Heads Conference,

Portland, May 26-28, 2009

Using a pen/pencil, circle your selection

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Richard K. Miller

• President and first employee of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering on February 1, 1999, where he also holds an appointment as professor of mechanical engineering.

• Before joining Olin College, • 1992-1999: Dean of Engineering at the University of Iowa. • 1977-1992: Professor and Associate Dean, University of

Southern California• 1976-1977: Professor: University of California, Santa

Barbara. • About 100 technical publications in the field of applied

mechanics, and has won five awards for teaching excellence. • Member of the governance boards for two independent

colleges and The Stanley Group, an international engineering services company.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Richard K. Miller

• Chair of the NSF Engineering Advisory Committee• Chair of the Association of Independent Technological

Universities• Member of the Visiting Committee for the School of

Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University• Member of the Higher Education Working Group of the Council

on Foreign Relations• Consultant to the World Bank in forming new universities in

developing countries. • B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of

California, Davis in 1971, where he is the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award.

• S.M. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1972• Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from Caltech in 1976.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Blaine Leonard

• President-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2008, and will be installed as president in the fall of 2009.

• Research program manager for the Utah Department of Transportation in Salt Lake City since 201.

• Responsible for balancing needs, priorities and resources in the Research Division, as well as managing a wide variety of geotechnical, structural, seismic, environmental, and traffic safety research efforts.

• He manages the applied research program – including the project selection process and budgets.

• Served as vice president and principal civil/geotechnical engineer for Van Boerum & Frank Associates, Salt Lake City

• Adjunct professor at the University of Utah in the civil and environmental engineering department.

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Blaine Leonard

• Fellow of ASCE. • Vice president of Zone IV• Director of District 11• Governor for the Society’s Geo-Institute• President of the Utah Section• Chairman of the Utah Section geotechnical group• President of the University of Utah Student Chapter. • In 2000, he was named the Utah Section Engineer of the Year.• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering • Master’s in geotechnical engineering from the University of

Utah. • A licensed professional engineer in Utah, Arizona, California,

Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado

Sonny Astani

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Panel

• President Richard Miller, Olin

College

• President Blaine Leonard, ASCE

• J. P. Bardet, USC (Moderator)