Dr. Maria Koliou, an assistant professor in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been awarded a RAPID grant (CMMI 1829433) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate the seismic resilience of wood frame building systems and explore the efficiency of various seismic retrofit/repair solutions in enhancing urban community resilience.
Koliou is serving as the lead principal investigator in conjunction with Dr. Shideh Dashti, an associate professor at University of Colorado, Boulder, Dr. Keri Ryan, an associate professor at the University of Nevada-Reno, and Dr. Chris Pantelides, a professor at the University of Utah, who are serving as co-principal investigators. This grant will allow researchers from the United States and Japan to collaborate as a team to conduct experimental seismic studies on wood frame building systems. The systems will be tested on the world’s largest earthquake shake table (E-Defense) in Miki, Japan, in early 2019.
Past studies have made progress on understanding structural systems and nonstructural component response, but this study will focus on building interactions with lifeline components and soil-structure interaction during seismic events.
Koliou’s research interests consist of multi-hazard performance-based design of buildings and non-building structures, engineering risk analysis, post-disaster system functionality and community resilience, collapse assessment of structural systems, experimental methods in earthquake engineering and timber structures. She has previously been awarded research grants on different aspects of her research portfolio including a seed grant through Texas A&M’s Program to Enhance Scholarly and Creative Activities, a RAPID grant from the Texas Sea Grant program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a project on seismic testing of Cross Laminated Timber structures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Koliou has also recently received the Structural Engineering Institute’s Young Professional Scholarship from the American Society of Civil Engineers, and an NSF-supported travel grant to attend the 2018 Engineering Mechanics Institute conference.