Expert Witness Blog

Structural engineering experts witnesses opine on the science and art of designing and constructing buildings, bridges, frameworks and other similar structures to safely resist the forces to which they may be subjected. Structural engineering researchers at Rice University are leading a new $1.6 million research program funded by the National Science Foundation to help design a new generation of "smart" shock absorbers for buildings and bridges in earthquake-prone areas.

"What we are trying to do is to come up with new and intelligent ways to develop smart buildings and bridges that sense what's happening when a quake hits and react in real-time," said principal investigator Satish Nagarajaiah, professor in civil and environmental engineering and professor in mechanical engineering and materials science...In the newly funded project, his lab is partnering with researchers at the University at Buffalo; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; the University of California, Los Angeles; and California State University, Fresno.