REU Program in Full Swing

Published on April 7, 2017
By Karina Vielma-Cumpian

 

The NHERI REU summer program has gained momentum in its inaugural year. The Education and Community Outreach Committee, a leadership group of representatives from the ten NHERI equipment sites, worked diligently to plan and organize this year’s recruitment, application, and selection process.  The ECOC was formed for this purpose and has been instrumental in the success of this year’s program.

In the fall semester, the committee met monthly to discuss the summer schedules along with drafting and editing recruitment materials.  After careful review, the student application went live on the DesignSafe NHERI site in late November and the deadline for submission was extended to March 1st.  Applications were distributed to the sites, and currently, a committee from each site is reviewing over forty applications to select participants for the ten operational experimental sites including:

  • Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center, Lehigh University
  • Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM), University of California-Davis
  • Powell Laboratory (terraformer wind tunnel and full-scale destructive testing for extreme wind events), University of Florida
  • Wall of Wind International Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University
  • Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST), University of California-San Diego
  • O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, Oregon State University
  • Rapid Response Research Experimental Facility, University of Washington
  • Experimental equipment site for dynamic in-situ testing using large-scale mobile shakers, University of Texas-Austin
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation Center, University of California-Berkeley
  • Cyberinfrastructure and Data Management, University of Texas-Austin

Students will be notified in late March about their application status and those accepted will begin important processes in preparation for the summer program such as faculty mentor and graduate student mentor matching.  The ten-week REU summer program will take place in two blocks; the first will take place May 29 – August 4 and the second June 19 – August 25.

All experimental sites anticipate welcoming undergraduate students who will gain invaluable research experience working with the natural hazards engineering community.

 

     

Karina Vielma-Cumpian
NHERI Education and Community Outreach (ECO)

Research Fellow and Educational Specialist
University of Texas, San Antonio