REU Site: Simulation and Technology for Resilient Outcomes in Natural Hazards Engineering and Graduate-Readiness

The STRONG-R REU Site brings together the capabilities of four NHERI (Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure) network facilities and engineering education experts to deliver a focused, computational and research-driven program that prepares undergraduate students to address the changing and complex challenges of protecting and fortifying U.S. critical infrastructure and communities against extreme natural hazards, including wind, earthquakes, and water. STRONG-R offers computational workforce development that takes advantage of state-of-the-art facilities and knowledgeable and partnered research teams. Through immersive, hands-on research experiences at complementary NHERI sites—spanning large-scale experimental testing, high-performance simulation, reconnaissance, and community-level resilience modeling—the program directly supports NSF’s strategic goals of accelerating innovation, translating foundational research into applied solutions, and cultivating a robust and skilled STEM workforce to advance national security and economic strength. Twenty-seven students over three cohorts will undertake interdisciplinary investigations during a ten-week summer program using NHERI’s advanced facilities and tools to evaluate infrastructure vulnerability, design mitigation and retrofit strategies, and analyze the cascading impacts of hazard events on the built environment. The program is geographically distributed across three University sites (RAPID at U of Washington, SimCenter at UC Berkeley, and DesignSafe at UT Austin), with centralized coordination of mentoring, community engagement, professional development, and assessment of program outcomes at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Professional development activities and structured engagement with academic mentors, industry professionals, and public-sector partners will reinforce the practical relevance of their research and align with NSF’s emphasis on science translation, societal benefit, and efficient use of public resources. By providing a clear and intentional pathway from discovery to implementation, this program equips undergraduates to contribute meaningfully to the resilience of the nation’s infrastructure systems and to the broader scientific and engineering enterprise. This project is jointly funded by the NSF Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Section and the NSF Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Section. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.