Engineering & Preservation of Existing Structures Research

Research

Engineering & Preservation of Existing Structures

Research topics include non-destructive testing, structural health monitoring, numerical modeling, condition assessment, load rating, service-life modeling, strengthening and repair, and asset management of civil infrastructure. Non-technical aspects such as social and historic significance of structures, equity, sustainability, and resilience are also discussed.

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Ultrasound and Algorithms: PSU Engineer Thomas Schumacher Is Mapping Pyramids in Giza and Saving Bridges in Portland

Shannon Yentzer | May 23rd 2023

Less than 10% of the Egyptian Pyramids in Giza have been charted, but new technological advances and innovative thinkers are looking to change that. Maseeh College’s Civil Engineering Professor Thomas Schumacher’s ongoing work with the ScanPyramids project in Egypt is part of that effort...

Engineering & Preservation of Existing Structures Research Faculty

Faculty contact information is listed in our Faculty & Staff Directory.

Faculty	Title	Research Areas
Peter Dusicka	Professor & Department Chair	Earthquake resistance and retrofit of bridges, seismic assessment of high voltage infrastructure, strength assessment of green building systems, design strategies for rapid occupancy following extreme events.
Arash Khosravifar	Assistant Professor; Affiliate faculty in EPES	Geotechnical earthquake engineering, soil liquefaction, geotechnical numerical and physical modeling, soil-structure interaction (SSI), probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and ground motions
Diane Moug	Assistant Professor; Affiliate faculty in EPES	Geotechnical earthquake engineering, in-situ testing, numerical modeling, soil constitutive modeling, characterization of unique or problematic soils
Franz Rad	Emeritus Professor	Earthquake vulnerability of buildings in urban areas and seismic retrofit.
Thomas Schumacher	Professor & Associate Chair of the Graduate Programs	Novel sensing methodologies for non-destructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure, i.e. acoustic emission and ultrasonic monitoring, carbon nanotube-based composites, and video-based monitoring.
David Yang	Assistant Professor	Risk management and resilience assessment under disaster and climate change, decision-making under uncertainty, and life-cycle management of civil infrastructure.

Engineering & Preservation of Existing Structures Research Facilities

Laboratory	Location	Primary Contact	Additional Contact	Description
Geotechnical Design Laboratory	EB 260	Arash Khosravifar, Diane Moug		A combined seminar, teaching, and research space, including a geotechnical dedicated PC computer lab, a geotechnical library, and equipment for liquefaction susceptibility and cyclic behavior of these soils.
Insitu Testing Laboratory	EB 265	Arash Khosravifar, Diane Moug		Prep space for field research and insitu testing and analysis.
Soil Mechanics Laboratory	EB 270	Arash Khosravifar, Diane Moug		Additional space for graduate student geotechnical research primarily conducted in EB 260.
Concrete & Structural Research Laboratory	TBA	Evan Kristof, Mary Ann Triska		Used in conjunction with the iSTAR Lab for testing of structural laboratory specimens; primarily graduate student research centering on materials, including the containment of various equipment used to mix, pour, and test concrete.
Infrastructure Materials Lab	EB 370	Mary Ann Triska	Evan Kristof	TBA
Infrastructure Testing and Applied Research (iSTAR) Laboratory	SRTC B2-42	Peter Dusicka	Thomas Schumacher, Franz Rad	The iSTAR Lab's mission is to enhance the knowledge of the engineering community by providing information about structures and structural elements; to that end, this lab is a hub for undergraduate, graduate, and faculty structural engineering research. Lab capabilities include static, dynamic and cyclic testing, and the availability of analytical analysis utilizing computer generated models and customized computer programming.
Non-destructive Testing (NDT) Laboratory	SRTC B2-32	Thomas Schumacher	Peter Dusicka, Franz Rad	Non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring, sensors and instrumentation, and structural evaluation. Includes a bank of dedicated PCs for graduate students.