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Intellectual Merit
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The project addresses the SCEC4 priority objective 6e “collaborate with the engineering community in validation of ground motion simulations”, and contributes to interdisciplinary focus area G “Earthquake Engineering Implementation Interface (EEII)”, specifically, propagating “rupture-to-rafters simulations of building responses” to emergency response. We utilized existing ShakeOut simulations (Graves et al., 2011a) in special initiative C “Community Modeling Environment (CME)” and extended the high performance computing-facilitated “M8 simulations” (Cui et al., 2010) to the Marquette CAVE virtual reality. This work builds upon advancements in several fields, including ground motion simulations, performance-based earthquake engineering, visualization, and earthquake preparedness. Through our work, site- and structure-specific ShakeOut scenarios were developed that customized the immediate shaking environments (e.g., residential vs. hospital settings) for the general public. Similar to flight simulators that train pilots, such virtual shaking provides muscle memory for potential emergency response participants regarding the expected level of shaking and damage to inform decision and response before an earthquake hits. This study has advanced our understanding of the role of visualization in connecting earthquake science, engineering, and policy. |
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Broader Impacts
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The project enhances communication, education, and outreach through supporting undergraduate and graduate researchers, connecting SCEC scientists with earthquake engineers and visualization specialists, and disseminating research results via professional conferences and academic courses. This project (a) established the partnership between the Multi-Hazard Sustainability (HazSus) research group, which is directed by Lin, and the Marquette Visualization Laboratory (MARVL), which is directed by LaDisa and supported by visualization technology specialist Larkee; (b) provided undergraduate research experience for BS student Kren who continued to pursue graduate education upon graduation; (c) broadened the participation of McNair Scholar Ramos, a first-generation minority student; (d) introduced MS student Thomas to NSF XSEDE visualization workshops; (e) trained PhD student Nikbakht via independent and collaborative research. Creative and original concepts were disseminated to the visualization, engineering, and science communities (Lin, 2014a, 2014b). Presentation was made at the 3rd International Conference on Earthquake Early Warning (Lin et al., 2014). A Marquette conversation among engineers, visualization specialists, and the larger University community was initiated, via collaborative meetings among faculty, student, and staff as well as virtual shaking demo to external speaker at the inaugural Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics seminar. SCEC initiatives also became part of Lin’s curricular materials developed for Performance-Based Engineering, an advanced graduate course at Marquette. Nikbakht and Lin (2015)’s work has been accepted for oral presentation in the Seismological Society of America (SSA) Annual Meeting in Pasadena, CA. This work has potential applications for the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills worldwide and the Earthquake Early Warning system in California to reduce risk. |
