From Tornado Videos to Wind Data — A Physics-Based Framework for Inferring Near-Surface Wind Characteristics from Debris Flight Imagery
Dr. David Roueche

About the Webinar

With the near ubiquity of smartphones, security cameras, and other video recording platforms, it is very common for videos to be captured of tornadoes. Can this imagery be harnessed to extract meaningful, reliable information on the near-surface wind characteristics of tornadoes, for which such information is typically lacking? This talk will (1) present a framework for this process, based on physics-informed debris flight modeling and wind inference, (2) describe validation efforts performed at the NHERI Wall of Wind Experimental Facility at Florida International University, and (3) demonstrate the application of the framework in some real-world cases.

Presenter

Dr. David Roueche | Gottlieb Associate Professor of Structural Engineering, Auburn University; Director, NSF Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance Network

David Roueche is the Gottlieb Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at Auburn University, and one of the directors of the NSF Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance network. His research focuses on furthering our understanding of the performance of low-rise buildings under extreme wind loading conditions, with a particular emphasis on capturing high-quality perishable data from past storms and using it to validate prediction frameworks and infer knowledge related to the fundamental wind-damage relationship.