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The Kiewit Center for Infrastructure & Transportation

Research Area: Sustainable Infrastructure, Earthquake Engineering, Natural Disaster Mitigation, Transportation Systems
Description: Enhancing the lives of aging bridges & other infrastructure through design & testing of retrofitted systems - therefore avoiding building costly new facilities.
Contact: Scott Ashford
Director
Civil & Construction Engineering
Web: http://kiewit.oregonstate.edu/


Research by structural engineering professor Chris Higgins (seated) and graduate students (from left, Melissa Robelo, Ae-young Lee, and Tanarat Potisuk) are helping the Oregon Dept. of Transportation assess the remaining capacity and predict the remaining life of Oregon's cracked bridges.

Related Stories:
Tsunami Research and Experts at Oregon State University

One wing of the cavernous metal building contains a small ocean--a 730,000- gallon tank capable of simulating the earthquake-triggered tidal waves known as tsunamis.

At the opposite side of this same building, 26-ft.-long concrete bridge girders weighing some four tons are being bounced up and down under the weight of a huge hydraulic actuator that is simulating decades of truck traffic driving across a bridge.

In a basement lab across campus, an innovative alternative to Oregon's gas tax is being designed using wireless technology.

All these projects are part of the OSU research cluster called the Kiewit Center for Infrastructure & Transportation, directed by professor Scott Ashford . Research here is aimed at making roads, bridges, ships, coastal development, and more safer for everyone.