[EVENT CANCELLED!] Agents of change for resilient infrastructure – public lecture by Tom O’Rourke
COVID-19 UPDATE:
Kia Ora Koutou,
We regret that in light of the current COVID-19 situation, we have taken the decision to cancel Professor Tom O’Rourke’s lecture tomorrow evening.
I would like to extend my thanks to Tom for his willingness to give a seminar to us here in New Zealand.
Once the situation has settled down, we will try to see if it is possible to re-organise this seminar and in that case we will re-advertise the talk.
Best wishes and thank you for your understanding,
Mark Stringer
Abstract
The effects of hurricanes with respect to infrastructure resilience are reviewed with reference to Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. The effects of Hurricane Sandy on New York City and subsequent programs to improve the City’s infrastructure are described. Special attention is focused on the restoration of the L Line Tunnel, which was flooded by Hurricane Sandy. Professor O’Rourke will describe how a team from Cornell and Columbia Universities was assembled at the request of Governor Andrew Cuomo to help re-engineer a $1/2 billion project to rehabilitate the tunnel, and still keep the subway in service. The new approach integrates several advanced technologies, including distributed fiber optics and LiDAR, and makes a breakthrough in infrastructure restoration resulting from interdisciplinary work between civil and electrical engineers. He will also describe recent advances in earthquake resilience for the regional water supply for Southern California. The agents of change that lead to improved policies and approaches are explored, including the technical, institutional, and social challenges of introducing new technologies and engaging community support.
Biography
Tom O’Rourke is the Thomas R. Briggs Professor of Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, Distinguished Member of ASCE, International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Member of the Mexican Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He authored or co-authored over 400 technical publications, and has received numerous awards for his research. His research interests cover geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, underground construction technologies, engineering for large, geographically distributed systems, and geographic information technologies and database management.
Live Link Zoom: https://canterbury.zoom.us/j/347745268
Registration
We’re expecting to get pretty high numbers, so can you please book your seat through the Eventbrite page (link above).