RCN: Research Network in Hybrid Simulation for Multi-Hazard Engineering

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Hybrid simulation is a powerful cyber-physical research methodology that integrates physical experimentation with computational simulation to observe and evaluate the performance of engineering systems under realistic conditions. Originally pioneered in the field of earthquake engineering, hybrid simulation includes a suite of efficient and cost-effective techniques that has potential for broad application across many science and engineering disciplines. For example, such experimental evaluation of new design concepts and devices is intended to examine the performance of civil infrastructure, such as buildings and lifelines, when exposed to natural hazards, such as earthquakes and windstorms. Thus, these experiments enable knowledge generation and innovations that will reduce fatalities, maintain business continuity, and minimize economic losses resulting from natural hazards. A growing interdisciplinary and international community of researchers is using hybrid simulation to address societal grand challenge problems related to multi-hazard engineering. However, existing technical barriers have limited advancements in hybrid simulation. This research coordination network will be established to accelerate progress in advanced hybrid simulation methodologies to address societal grand challenges, build capacity in a range of laboratories, and build partnerships among engineering disciplines. This research coordination network aims to facilitate the scientific advances needed to establish the theory of and expand the capacity for hybrid simulation as it applies to multi-hazard engineering. The specific objectives are to: (1) diversify, broaden, and expand the community of researchers in hybrid simulation, (2) foster peer-to-peer and institute-to-institute partnerships that will be able to tackle the scientific challenges that lie ahead, (3) develop the common research agenda for hybrid simulation, (4) share digital artifacts, such as open-source data, models, lectures, techniques, and tools, across laboratories and disciplinary boundaries, (5) build the capacity for hybrid simulation in a greater number of existing laboratories, and (6) cultivate international collaborations to share knowledge and enable access to resources. These objectives will be achieved through activities such as focused workshops, online networking, sharing of resources, peer-to-peer communications, international partnerships, research agenda development, and dissemination activities. Digital artifacts, such as computational models, experimental data, and learning materials, will be gathered and shared through the NSF-supported Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Designsafe-ci.org web portal. A diverse, core group of junior faculty and graduate students will be engaged, while senior and mid-career faculty also will participate and share expertise. By breaking down the existing technical barriers that have limited the advancement of hybrid simulation methods, this broader community of researchers will be prepared to solve societal grand challenge problems related to natural hazard events.