Mahin Introduces the SimCenter at the 2017 WCEE
Published on February 2, 2017
Steve Mahin, NHERI SimCenter director, highlighted the center during his keynote address at the 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, held January 9-13, in Santiago, Chile.
In his talk, Mahin described how multiple factors are altering and complicating how engineers design modern structures. These factors include rapid urbanization and transformation of the landscape; rapid introduction of new technologies, design and analysis tools; new structural systems and construction materials; tightening economic constraints; and changes in public expectations.
He emphasized the need for the natural hazards engineering community to take proactive and holistic approaches to improving the economy and ensuring the sustainability and resilience of structures, infrastructure systems and cities. Such approaches require collaborative contributions from experts in many disciplines; new and powerful software tools are needed to address these challenges adequately.
He outlined the new applications and workflow management tools being introduced by NHERIs SimCenter, explaining that they will enable multidisciplinary experts to work together using new or existing software applications in ways never before possible. In particular, the SimCenters powerful, cloud-based, open source resources for computational modeling and simulation will allow multidisciplinary teams to work together synergistically to better understand and mitigate the adverse effects of natural hazards on the built environment.
The SimCenter will start rolling out details about its diverse array of services and educational programs over the next few months. The DesignSafe-CI website will be the primary portal for getting information on SimCenter activities and accessing its products. Mahin will be introducing the SimCenter at other meetings around the US, such as the 13th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering to be held May 21-24, in Gainesville, Florida.
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Steve Mahin is director of the NHERI SimCenter |